Gas station openings usually feature free doughnuts and coffee, not presidents of countries. But this gas station is Russian-owned, so why not invite the Russian president, AND, a U.S. senator to boot? So there was Putin, with Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., on the corner of Tenth Avenue and 24th Street, an area of Manhattan not on most tourists' agenda, to ceremonially "open" the Lukoil gas station. Putin -- who made no public remarks -- did eat a glazed doughnut at the urging of Schumer. "And he said it was good," Schumer added. Putin spent only about 10 minutes at the station, shaking hands with equally mum, red-shirted, red-capped employees and touring the "Kwik Farm" convenience store. So why would Putin squeeze this event into his four-day visit to the United States, where he addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations and met with countless heads of state? The gas station is owned by Lukoil Oil Company -- one of Russia's largest oil producers -- which acquired Getty Petroleum Marketing Inc. and its 1,300 stations in November 2000. The acquisition was the first time that a Russian oil company had purchased a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Also, the gas station -- which was a Getty station until two weeks ago -- symbolizes a Russian economic presence in the U.S. at a time when there has been increasing talk of energy cooperation between the two countries, with Russia possibly becoming a key source of oil and gas supplies for U.S. markets. Schumer praised Lukoil for practicing "good old-fashioned American competition," and criticized OPEC for announcing this week that it was cutting oil production by nearly 1 million barrels a day. Schumer said better access to oil supplies means -- in the long run -- cheaper gas for Americans. Lukoil President Vagil Alekperov said through a translator that the company was pleased to be operating on American soil and would provide good service to consumers at good prices. On Friday, prices posted at the station were $1.96 for regular unleaded, considered to be a pretty good bargain in Manhattan, where some stations charge more than $2 a gallon for regular unleaded. The average price of regular unleaded around the nation is $1.62 a gallon, Schumer said. The event was covered by about 50 reporters who were subjected to Secret Service searches. Dogs sniffed their way through the Kwik Farm and media equipment. Police allowed traffic to flow on Tenth Avenue, a major street in Manhattan, but things came to a standstill for the 10 minutes Putin was at the station, angering some commuters -- until they saw the price of the gas. "If they can get gas any lower than that, they will have my business for a long time," said flower deliverer George Bachner. But his business would have to wait. Hours after the president had left, the station was still preparing to open to the public. PIN/1010WINS