It might better if Polish companies were not involved in reconstructing Lviv, Poland’s foreign minister has suggested, citing an ongoing legal dispute between the city in western Ukraine and a Polish contractor.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi announced on Wednesday that the city had secured €2.5 million ($2.9 million) in funding and signed six cooperation agreements with foreign partners during an event dubbed “Lviv Resilience Day” in the Polish city of Gdańsk.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
The signings took place ahead of the Ukraine Recovery Conference, a major annual gathering held this year in Gdańsk, to which Sadovyi was not invited, according to Polish officials.
Agreements announced by Lviv involved companies and institutions from several countries, but none from Poland.
Commenting on Polish firms’ absence, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski wrote on X: “Maybe that’s for the best, because the Polish company that built a waste incineration plant in Lviv has been waiting a long time to be paid.”
The comments come amid a broader spat between politicians in Poland and Ukraine over the countries’ sensitive common history, which has led to President Volodmyr Zelenskyy canceling a planned visit to the Gdańsk conference, sending the country’s prime minister instead.
What’s the Lviv dispute about?
Sikorski’s post refers to a long-running conflict between the Lviv city authorities and Polish firm Control Process, which was involved in constructing a waste processing facility in the city.
Ukraine Aims to Sign Deals Worth Over €10 bln at Recovery Forum in Poland
The drawn-out disagreement has brought has been subject to international arbitration.
An International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruling on May 16 found that the city of Lviv had breached the terms of the contract by unilaterally terminating the agreement and refusing to pay the company, according to Polish business outlet Business Insider.
Lviv authorities, however, dispute this interpretation, arguing that the Control Process failed to meet its contractual obligations and experienced delays in construction.
Replying to Sikorski, Sadovyi said that the Polish company “has earned over 30 million euros in Lviv. Unfortunately, the plant, which according to the contract was supposed to be completed in 2023, still does not operate.”
Sikorski responded that “arbitration courts exist for the purpose of amicably resolving disputes,” adding that the “best form of promoting business in one’s own country is the fair treatment of those who are already doing business there.”
Maciej Wewiór, spokesman for the Polish foreign ministry, also commented, saying on X: “We condemn the actions of the Lviv authorities towards the Polish company, and we consider ignoring the findings of international arbitration unacceptable.”
He added that Mayor Sadowy was “not invited” to the Ukraine Recovery Conference, emphasizing that his “Lviv Resilience Day” event was unconnected to the wider summit.
Political row
Relations between many officials in Kyiv and Warsaw have been tense after a diplomatic dispute erupted over Zelenskyy’s decision to honor a World War II-era insurgent group linked to the mass killing of Poles.
Zelenskyy’s move in May sparked widespread condemnation in Poland, and nationalist Polish President Karol Nawrocki last week decided to strip him of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state decoration.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
