Poland is satisfied with the new Ukrainian president's declarations on importance of relations with the EU, while Polish minority problems in Belarus receive special focus.  

Report by Slawek Szefs

Both developments took place at the presidential inauguration ceremony of Victor Yanukovych in Kiev on Thursday. Ukraine's new head of state pledged to embark to Brussels on his first foreign trip and not, as many had anticipated, to Moscow. Polish president Lech Kaczynski voiced satisfaction with the intentions of Ukraine to continue its pro-European policy.

The presidential inauguration in Kiev was also an opportunity to discuss recent problems of the Polish minority in Belarus. President Alexander Lukashenko met with Poland's foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski to discuss repressive actions undertaken by the Minsk administration with respect to the Union of Poles in Belarus. Agreement was reached on a special bilateral commission to resolve the problem.