Poland to give Ukraine 25,000 tonnes of gasoline from its reserves

KYIV. May 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukraine will receive 25,000 tonnes of gasoline from Poland's reserves as humanitarian aid; the delivery is expected to take place next week, Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Yulia Svyrydenko said at a press briefing with Polish Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Moskwa.

"Poland is our important partner today in overcoming the petrol crisis. A majority of routes for the import of petroleum products are on the western border," Svyrydenko said.

Petrol consumption in Ukraine has been growing on a day-to-day basis, the Ukrainian Economy Ministry said. Whereas daily petrol sales in Ukraine averaged 12,400 tonnes in March, and stood at 9,000 tonnes in April, today they have increased to 13,200 tonnes.

The government's immediate objective is to increase petrol deliveries to at least 15,000-16,000 tonnes per day in order to allow operators to boost their stockpiles, a circumstance, which, in turn, will help reduce queues at petrol stations, Svydyrenko said.

Moskwa, in turn, said during her visit to Kyiv that it is necessary to admit Ukraine to the International Energy Agency, which, Moskwa said, also stands for starting the process to bring Ukraine into the IEA, with Poland pledging to facilitate procedural issues as part of this process.