NEWSBRIEFS (08/31/97)

NEWSBRIEFS

"Sea Breeze 97" begins in Ukraine

The "Sea Breeze 97" maneuvers began on August 23 at the Black Sea port of Donuzlav. Warships from the U.S. and Turkey, along with ships from Bulgaria, Georgia, and Romania, are participating in the week-long exercises. The Russian government has expressed opposition to the NATO-backed maneuvers and refused an invitation to participate. On August 25, the anti-NATO group in the Russian State Duma issued a statement describing the exercises as an "action openly hostile to Russia," Interfax reported. The anti-NATO group consists of 254 deputies of the 450 in the Duma.(RFE/RL Newsline)

IMF approves stand-by loan for Ukraine

The IMF on 25 August approved a $542 million stand-by loan to Ukraine to provide approximately $49 million immediately and to release the remainder in installments over the next year, provided Kyiv carries out promised economic reforms. A larger $2.5-3 billion loan was put on hold earlier this year because the IMF stated that Kyiv's economic reforms were not moving forward fast enough. The one-year stand-by loan will support the government's 1997-1998 economic program, which aims to consolidate the progress already made and to reduce inflation from 40 percent in 1996 to 15 percent in 1997 and 12 percent in 1998. To achieve these objectives, the budget deficit will be limited to 4.6 percent of GDP in 1997 and 4.5 percent in 1998, according to IMF statements. (RFE/RL Newsline; Eastern Economist)

Russia's defense minister in Ukraine

Igor Sergeev was in Ukraine on August 26 for talks on military cooperation and implementing the Black Sea Fleet agreement between the two countries. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksander Kuzmuk and Mr. Sergeev signed a military intelligence accord pledging the countries' military forces will not spy on each other. They also discussed the fate of 42 Soviet strategic bombers that remain on Ukrainian territory. Russia initially wanted to buy them, but has since changed its position. The two ministers agreed that experts from both countries will discuss for which purposes the bombers will be used. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukrainian foreign minister in Moscow

Meeting in Moscow on August 27, Hennadii Udovenko and his Russian counterpart, Yevgenii Primakov, reviewed progress in implementing agreements reached by Presidents Leonid Kuchma and Boris Yeltsin during their May meeting in Kyiv, Russian media reported. The two ministers also signed a statement stipulating the legal aspects of the border issue and Mr. Primakov stated that the demarcation of the Russian-Ukrainian border is "not an issue for today." Mr. Udovenko also met with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and announced that President Kuchma will visit Moscow in January or February 1998. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Closer ties sought with Japan

Ukrainian Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko told a visiting Japanese parliamentary delegation on August 27 that Kyiv hopes to have closer ties with Japan, Agence France Presse reported. Mr. Pustovoitenko said Ukraine is particularly eager to encourage the creation of joint enterprises between the two countries in electronics, construction, and oil exploitation. Juro Saito, the speaker of Japanese House of Councilors, headed the delegation of seven Japanese MPs and stated that Tokyo intends to help Ukraine with its economic and political reforms. He added that Japan would like to set up a joint Ukrainian-Japanese research center to study the effects of the explosion at the Chornobyl nuclear power station. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Relations with Israel enter a new phase

The main goal of the Israeli Interior Minister's visit to Ukraine on August 26 was to lay the foundation for cooperation between the two ministries in fighting organized crime and renewing lost personal contacts, said visiting Israeli Interior Minister Avigdor Kakhalani. He said there although there had been no contacts between Israel and Soviet Ukraine, it is now possible to "mention the development of cooperation between our two ministries." Mr. Kakhalani said that there are "several criminals who committed crimes in Ukraine and are now hiding in Israel." He noted the importance of effective cooperation between the respective security services. A representative of Ukraine's Interior Ministry will be posted to Israel shortly. In turn Interior Minister Yurii Kravchenko confirmed the existence of agreements between the ministries on exchange of information. Mr. Kravchenko confirmed that new proposals are being developed and that "thanks to this exchange of information, it will soon be possible to find specific people who are wanted by the security services of our countries." (UNIAN; Eastern Economist)

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