Tusk: Solidarity Must Drive Ukraine Reconstruction Effort

Opening the second day of the conference in Rzeszow, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stressed the importance of international cooperation in the context of the war in Ukraine. He described the event as an important step in preparations for the June summit on Ukraine's reconstruction, to be held in Gdansk.

Tusk said the conflict clearly demonstrated the foundations of international solidarity and cooperation. The conference, he added, represented a key stage in preparations for a forum on Ukraine's post-war reconstruction.

Before the conference opened, Tusk met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. The two expressed mutual gratitude, both for Poland's assistance to Ukraine and for Ukraine's defense against Russian aggression.

Tusk stressed the symbolic importance of Rzeszow, describing it as one of the first cities to mobilize in support of refugees in the early weeks of the war.

He said cooperation should go beyond military support and extend to planning Ukraine's post-conflict reconstruction, expressing confidence that the country would maintain its independence and territorial integrity. He added that the involvement of free-world nations in supporting Ukraine had been unprecedented.

(pap, bak)