Gerhard Schroeder, Leonid Kuchma, Vladimir Putin

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, right, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, center, and Russian President Vladimir Putin walk after the three met at the Pavlovsky Palace outside St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, June 10, 2002. The three countries signed an agreement of intent to cooperate on modernizing a gas pipeline to bring Russian supplies through Ukraine to Europe, the latest of Moscow's moves to counter U.S.-backed moves to create new pipelines that avoid Russia. Photo by Valery Soloviov / UNIAN