WARSAW, Oct 7 (Reuters) -

It is not in Poland's interest to hand over a Ukrainian man

wanted by Germany for suspected involvement in explosions which

damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines, the Polish prime minister

said on Tuesday.

Donald Tusk said that ultimately it was for the court to

decide whether Volodymyr Z., who was

detained near Warsaw

in late September, is handed over. But he reiterated

Poland's long-standing opposition to the pipelines, which Warsaw

says were key to making Europe too dependent on Russian energy.

"The problem of Europe, the problem of Ukraine, the

problem of Lithuania and Poland is not that Nord Stream 2 was

blown up, but that it was built," Tusk told a news conference.

"It is certainly not in the interest of Poland... to

hand over this citizen to a foreign country," he added.

German authorities did not immediately respond to a

request for comment.

A Polish court ruled on Monday

that Volodymyr Z. must remain in custody for another 40

days while a decision is made on whether to transfer him to

Germany based on a European arrest warrant.

Described by both Moscow and the West as an act of

sabotage, the explosions in 2022 marked an escalation in the

Ukraine conflict and squeezed energy supplies. No one has taken

responsibility for the blasts and Ukraine has denied any role.

Another Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating the

attacks was arrested in Italy in August and

plans to fight

extradition to Germany.

Volodymyr Z's Polish lawyer has said his client has done

nothing wrong and that he will plead not guilty.

Germany's top prosecutors' office said in an earlier

statement that the diver was one of a group of people who were

suspected of renting a sailing yacht and planting explosives on

the pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany, near the Danish

island of Bornholm in September 2022.

He faces accusations of conspiring to commit an

explosives attack and of "anti-constitutional sabotage", the

German prosecutors added.