Failure to agree on epitaph delays reopening of Polish cemetery in Ukraine

"Independent and powerful Ukraine, our strategic partner, is a valuable neighbor for Poland, and some time in the future, for the European Union as well," said Prime Minister Leszek Miller in Kiev yesterday. He also gave assurances that Poland intends to "continue to perform the role of a spokesman for the European interests of Ukraine before our Western partners." Both Miller and his Ukrainian counterpart, Anatolij Kinach, stated that "everything that is possible" must be done to remove obstacles making mutual economic cooperation harder. Kinach praised Poland's European aspirations, saying that its accession to the EU should contribute to the development of democracy in Ukraine. Miller also referred to the long-awaited opening of the restored Cmentarz Orlat Polish military cemetery in Lvov. While the prime minister mentioned February 20 as a possible date for the reopening, unofficial sources say this is unrealistic due to the failure to agree on the wording of an epitaph on the grave of five unknown soldiers. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, A2, A6) M.K.