Putin in France announces Poland would receive $1 billion for pipeline route

During a visit to France, Russian President Vladmir Putin announced that Poland would receive $1 billion annually for the transit of a natural gas pipeline through its territory from Russia to Western Europe. Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Ivan Ivanov had sent an angry request to the European Union (EU) to clear the way for Russian investment by ending the capricious behavior of Poland and Ukraine to delay the flow of gas to the EU. Poland has been trying to persuade Russia to take a different approach towards Ukraine, which Poland considers a strategic ally. According to Economy Minister Janusz Steinhoff, Poland does not want gas pipelines to avoid Ukraine, but he said Poland was ready to talk and the best way to do so would be to organize a conference to which all future players would be invited. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p.1).