UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION LEADER SEES ECONOMIC SPACE AS SOLUTION TO GAS

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, head of the opposition Party of Regions, told journalists in Donetsk on 6 February that the creation of a Single Economic Space with Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia is "the only realistic way for resolving the gas crisis," the "Ukrayinska pravda" website (http://www.pravda.com.ua) reported. According to Yanukovych, that conclusion was reached during recent talks between his party and the pro-Kremlin Unified Russia. "Our countries should have a single energy policy," Yanukovych noted. "Russia is vigorously integrating with the European economic space, and it is very important for Ukraine not to let this process bypass our state."