Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko speaks during his news conference in Kiev, January 13, 2009. Russia started pumping gas destined for Europe via Ukraine on Tuesday for the first time in nearly a week, but the European Union said little or no gas was flowing to countries suffering urgent energy shortages. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)  Photo Gallery>>>

    WARSAW, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said here on Wednesday that Ukraine did not take any actions aimed at blocking the flow of Russian natural gas to Europe.

    At a joint press conference with Polish President Lech Kaczynski held after their talks here, Yushchenko also declared that Ukraine did not illegally tap gas from pipelines.

    Ukraine had fully settled accounts with Russia for gas deliveries during November and December, Polish news agency PAP quoted Yushchenko as saying. The Ukrainian president is in Poland on a one-day working visit.

    Polish President Kaczynski told reporters that the Ukrainian leader came up with a concept of a "technical agreement" that would make it possible to swiftly resume gas transit from Russia to the EU.

    "It is not for the first time in Europe and in Poland that we deal with an information commotion of sorts," Kaczynski said, referring to the current situation. It was in Poland's and Ukraine's interest to "dig out plain truth," he added.

    Yushchenko said Russia should unconditionally deliver the amounts of gas contracted by European customers to the Ukrainian border.

    He said Ukraine would ask the European Commission to probe the circumstances of the gas crisis that erupted between Jan. 1 and 7.

    The presidents also discussed the European and NATO integration of Ukraine, the European Union's Eastern Partnership Initiative, and a wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation in the political, trade-economic, energy and cultural spheres.

    Another important issue on the agenda is the discussion of measures to prepare for the hosting of the Euro 2012 European Football Championship, according to the PAP report.