Tusk's office explained why the Polish president was not invited to Gdańsk

The public accusations by Karol Nawrocki of the Office of the President of Poland regarding the lack of an invitation to the International Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine (URC-2026) in Gdańsk are purely a political ploy. The current format of the event does not provide for the participation of heads of state at all, as it is strictly a government-level track involving the executive branch. 

This was stated on Polsat News by Adam Szlapka, the official spokesperson for the Polish government.

The spokesperson for the Cabinet of Ministers expressed surprise at the artificial escalation of the scandal by representatives of the Presidential Palace—Press Secretary Rafał Leszkiewicz and Head of the Office for International Policy Marcin Przydacz. Slapka emphasized that experienced diplomats fully understand the difference between international formats, so their attempt to cast doubt on the composition of the participants indicates deliberate manipulation.

The Polish government’s position is based on several key arguments:

• Exclusively government-level: The Reconstruction Conference has traditionally served as a working tool of the Multilateral Donor Coordination Platform, bringing together heads of government, relevant ministers, business representatives, and international investors.

• International precedent: During similar large-scale URC summits previously held in Germany (Berlin) and Italy (Rome), neither German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier nor Italian President Sergio Mattarella participated.

• A similar approach from Ukraine: Due to the forum’s governmental nature and against the backdrop of the ongoing diplomatic crisis between Kyiv and Warsaw, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also canceled his visit to Gdańsk. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko will officially lead the Ukrainian delegation to URC-2026.

• Mirror actions: Adam Szlapka recalled that Karol Nawrocki had previously organized international events with representatives from the Baltic and Northern European countries on his own, using a strictly “presidential format,” and did not invite government officials to them at all.

The Prime Minister’s spokesperson concluded that the decision not to involve the head of state carries no hidden agenda or malicious intent on the part of Donald Tusk’s government. At the same time, he explicitly noted that from the very beginning, the Presidential Palace had shown no constructive interest in the preparation of this conference—which is important for Ukraine—other than public criticism and attempts to score political points.

Source: Polsat News.