WARSAW/MINSK - The Ukraine Recovery Conference opened in Poland's Baltic port city of Gdansk on Thursday, with participants pledging billions of euros in reconstruction support.

Co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine, the two-day conference is expected to produce more than 160 agreements worth over 10 billion euros ($11.36 billion), Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.

She also announced that Ukraine signed a $3.39-billion agreement between Ukraine and the World Bank.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the disbursement of the first 3.2-billion-euro tranche of a 90-billion-euro EU loan package to support Ukraine's defense, energy resilience and state budget.

Svyrydenko attended the conference on behalf of President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose absence came amid a diplomatic dispute between the two neighboring countries over wartime history.

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Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski, however, said the dispute would not affect bilateral trade or Poland's military and humanitarian support for Ukraine.

On the sidelines of the conference, Polish energy giant Orlen and Ukraine's Naftogaz signed two agreements to expand LNG trade and strengthen Ukraine's energy security. 

'Not to drag Belarus into war'

During a meeting with Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the Moscow region, on Thursday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he had recently met with Zelensky's representatives, during which he cautioned against any actions that could draw Belarus into the ongoing conflict.

"Our position is peace-loving," Lukashenko said.

Lukashenko stressed his country's neutral stance, saying that Belarus does not want to fight Ukraine, especially with Ukrainian troops near the border.

He called for peaceful negotiations and warned against escalation, saying that Belarus values peace and does not seek confrontation, but will defend itself if needed.