Gazprom confirms construction of pipeline thru Poland excluding Ukraine

Gazprom confirms construction of pipeline thru Poland excluding Ukraine Russian gas producer and exporter Gazprom confirmed yesterday that it had signed an agreement to construct a new pipeline running through Belarus and Poland, excluding Ukraine. Poland opposes constructing this exclusionary line, and yesterday government spokesman Krzysztof Luft said, "We want to arrange a conference with all countries interested in this project, since there is no possibility of constructing the pipeline without talks with the Polish side." Deputy Prime Minister Janusz Steinhoff sent a letter to Russian deputy minister Wiktor Christienko proposing to holding talks about pipelines to Western Europe and gas deliveries to Poland. He has not yet received a reply. According to Reuters, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuczma said he is not afraid the new pipeline would affect his country's economy, since "such projects usually take a long time to be completed." In addition to the gas pipeline, Gazprom is also constructing telecommunications connections between Moscow and Berlin, to be finished by the end of the year. The Polish Telecom Ministry, which grants such concessions, is not aware of any such project. "Constructing a telecom network requires a concession and no company has applied for that," said Ministry spokesman Przemysl Sypniewski. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p.24)