Polish minister apologizes for accusations against Kyiv over invitation to defense forum

He said this in an interview with TVN24.

When asked why there were no representatives of Poland at the event, the ambassador said that "this is a question for the Polish side, because Poland was one of the first to be invited to this event."

"We invited everyone from friendly countries, including defense companies. Poland was one of the first to receive this invitation, so we were expecting the Polish side to participate," he added.

According to the diplomat, whether to participate is "a sovereign decision of each country."

"We will send an invitation, and the state will decide whether to accept this invitation or not, based on its interests. That is why we respect such decisions, but this is not a reason to blame Ukraine for not having Poland there," Zvarych said.

Poland's response to Ukraine’s statement 

Polish Minister of State Assets Jacek Sasin said on Radio ZET that Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (Poland's largest state-owned defense concern) "did not receive an invitation as a company". He also spoke of "a number of unfriendly gestures from Ukraine" in recent times. According to the minister, Kyiv is betting on a change of government in Poland.

"This will have a negative impact on Ukraine," Sasin said.

Later, Jacek Sasin officially apologized for his previous statement.

"After speaking with the president of Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (defense company - ed.), I received information that PGZ had received an invitation... Given the above, I am correcting my statement. I apologize for the misunderstanding," Sasin added.

PGZ also commented on the situation, emphasizing the "constant and close bilateral cooperation" with Ukraine and mentioning, in particular, the agreement on the maintenance of Leopard 2A4 tanks that Western countries have supplied to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

At the same time, PGZ spokeswoman Beata Perkowska confirmed that the company had received a letter from Ukraine inviting it to the Defense Technology Forum, but due to "other circumstances" it was unable to participate, which, however, was "in agreement with the Ukrainian side."

• On the day of the International Forum, September 29, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the creation of the Alliance of Defense Industries, which can be joined by arms and military equipment manufacturers from around the world.