Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli said that the pipeline would now be used for oil shipments from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan through Georgia to Western European markets, in contrast to the former government's decision to pump Russian crude through the pipeline to the Black Sea port of Odessa, according to Vitaly Chepinoga, a spokesman for Tymoshenko. Russia is Ukraine's largest trade partner and energy supplier, and important Russian pipelines and other infrastructure links with Europe run through Ukraine. Nogaideli travelled to Ukraine at the end of March and met top Ukrainian officials, including President Viktor Yushchenko, in his first trip abroad since filling the post left empty by the sudden death of Zurab Zhvania, who apparently suffered carbon-monoxide poisoning. Last summer, Ukraine's Cabinet agreed to open the long-idle Odessa-Brody pipeline for shipments of Russian oil to Odessa. But the United States was opposed to that, saying it would increase Ukraine's energy dependence on Russia, and raise chances of an oil spill, as more tankers would have to travel through thye over-used Bosporus Strait. Georgia stands to benefit from the new deal because it will earn transit fees, and the country, like Ukraine, is interested in expanding its self-reliance as opposed to having to rely on the regional energy power, Russia. Prime Minister Nogaiveli and Ukraine's new President are also understood to have discussed improving bilateral ties, and agreed to refresh an alliance of five former Soviet republics aimed to enhancing regional stability and encouraging economic development. The GUUAM group  comprising Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Moldova  was established in 1997 as a way of seeking cooperation outside Russian influence.