Polish foreign minister tells Ukraine that economics will determine pipeline

Yesterday Polish Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Bartoszewski met his Ukrainian counterpart Anatolii Zlenko. They discussed the issue of the Russian gas line through Poland,which is projected to bypass Ukraine. "We are ready to increase gas supply to the European Union countries. Currently we supply 120 billion cubic meters of gas, but after a relatively small modernization of the Ukrainian gas pipes network, we would be able to send as much as 170 billion, much more than the new pipe line to be constructed" said Zlenko. "We hope that all the parties interested - Russia, Ukraine, Poland and the European Union - will meet together in an effort to discuss the issue," he added. Bartoszewski, however, commented to reporters after the meeting that "We want to base our actions on economic viability, not any sort of political ideals." (Reuters, Rzeczpospolita, p.A7) A.Z.