In Mariinsky Palace, Victor Yushchenko met with Polish President Lech Kaczynski. They discussed a diverse range of issues and then signed a declaration for energy cooperation.
The Ukrainian leader said the two countries "share the same vision of the role and place of Poland and Ukraine in European integration.”
The sides also focused on energy security and considered ways to formulate new fundamentals of the wholesale energy market. Yushchenko thanked his counterpart for supporting Ukraine in its tense row over gas supplies with Russia.
“This shows we need a new concept of energy securitythat would be relevant to collective interests and national interests of both Ukraine and Poland,” he said.
Mr. Kaczynski said he was convinced Ukrainian-Polish relations would continue to develop. He also assured his colleague that Poland and its president would support Ukraine's bid to join the European Union.
Following their face-to-face meeting, the presidents presided over Ukrainian-Polish talks.NSDCU Secretary Anatoly Kinakh, Defense Minister Anatoly Hrytsenko, Economy Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Industrial Minister Volodymyr Shandra, and Naftogaz Chairman Oleksiy Ivchenko attended the talks.
The presidents discussed ways to launch joint oil and gas projects and solve problems of national minorities residing in the two countries. They particularly agreed it was necessary to create a Ukrainian center in the Polish city of Przemyśl and a Polish center in Lviv. They also spoke about mechanisms to recover national historic and art treasures.
