Yushchenko makes Odessa-Brody demands

KIEV, Ukraine, May 6 (UPI) -- Kiev should make the technical arrangements to switch the operations of the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline to its intended direction, the Ukrainian president said.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko told a council tasked with putting a Eurasian oil corridor into practice that Odessa-Brody should move as designed, the Ukrainian Independent Information Agency reports.

"I demand that the government immediately switch the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline to the designed, direct regime of its use," he said.

The leaders of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine agreed in 2008 to implement a Eurasian oil-transport corridor, which envisions expansions to Odessa-Brody to Poland and on to Europe.

In August, Yushchenko signed a measure to ensure the 419-mile pipeline would run in its intended direction, from east to west. It had run in the reverse direction toward Russia following supply concerns.

Yushchenko said April negotiations with his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, would allay any concerns over supplies for Odessa-Brody.

Meanwhile, Yushchenko called on government officials to exercise their political will to move forward with the plans.

"I understand that there were and still are political reasons to block this decision, but today I apply to the common sense and national interests," he said. "I'm confident that the government will have courage and wisdom to make the respective decision."

Energy ties between Russia and Ukraine remain tense following a January row that prompted Russian energy giant Gazprom to disrupt gas supplies for weeks.