THREE PRESIDENTS PLAN CLOSER POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC TIES.

Presidents Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine and Valdas Adamkus of Lithuania joined their Polish counterpart Aleksander Kwasniewski in Rzezow (southern Poland) on May 25 for a meeting of their countries’ Economic Forum. Large groups of businessmen accompanied the governmental delegations. The economic talks focused on encouraging mutual trade and investment and on creating a transit system for Azerbaijani oil from Ukraine’s Black Sea coast to Poland and on to the Baltic Sea. Kuchma declared his personal resolve to press for “profound economic transformations” in Ukraine.

During the political talks, Kwasniewski appealed to the leading Western countries and international institutions to support reforms in Ukraine, as “no reform is possible without financial assistance. The world, Europe, and this region need Ukraine. An independent Ukraine means security, stability, and good prospects for all of us,” the Polish president remarked. Kuchma and Kwasniewski scheduled two follow-up meetings for this year. (Ukrainian agencies, May 25)

TURKEY ALSO SEEN AS UKRAINE’S PARTNER.