Prime Minister of Ukraine Viktor YaNUKOVYCH reported that in connection with the situation that has developed around HUTA CZESTOCHOWA, Ukraine received a proposal from Hungary to refuse Poland's services in representing our state's interests in the European Union.

As a UNIAN correspondent reports, the premier announced this today at a press conference in Zaporizhzhia. (UNIAN: the Polish Ministry of State Treasury made a decision to select the Indian concern LNM as the strategic investor of the HUTA CZESTOCHOWA metallurgical combine instead of the Ukrainian Industrial Union of Donbas.)

According to V. YaNUKOVYCH, "ISD participated in the privatization of several foreign enterprises. In particular in Hungary. And there were no obstacles there — the decision was made. And now Hungary says: let us now be your ambassador in the EU instead of Poland, if Poland discredits Ukraine."

At the same time, the Prime Minister of Ukraine refused to express his opinion regarding the reasons that influenced the decision of the Polish Ministry of State Treasury, citing that "we do not have final conclusions."

However, V. YaNUKOVYCH stated: "we will investigate further and draw appropriate conclusions, on the basis of which, and taking into account which, we will build our subsequent relations."

As UNIAN reported, on February 20 the Polish media reported, citing the head of the Polish Ministry of State Treasury Zbigniew KANIEWSKI, that the international corporation LNM has been selected as the strategic investor of the Polish metallurgical plant HUTA CZESTOCHOWA. After this information was made public in the Ukrainian media, the press service of the "Industrial Union of Donbas" corporation, which participated in the tender to determine the investor for the Polish metallurgical combine, circulated a statement according to which "a separate agreement was reached between certain officials of the Polish government and representatives of LNM that HUTA CZESTOCHOWA goes to an offshore participant of the tender."

The "Industrial Union of Donbas" corporation, founded in 1995, is an industrial association that owns large blocks of shares in leading enterprises of Ukraine's mining and metallurgical complex. In 2003 the ISD corporation became the winner of the competition for the sale of 79.48% of the shares of the Danube Ironworks of the Dunaferr group (Hungary).

LNM Group is one of the world's largest steel producers, owns steel assets in the USA, India, Western and Central Europe, in particular, in Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic.

The HUTA CZESTOCHOWA metallurgical plant is a bankrupt enterprise whose total debt amounts to about 300 million dollars. The total number of employees is about 5 thousand people.