NEWSBRIEFS (12/31/95)

NEWSBRIEFS

Marchuk heads delegation to Poland

WARSAW - Ukrainian Prime Minister Yevhen Marchuk, heading a senior economic delegation, visited Poland on December 17 and met with, among others, his Polish counterpart, Jozef Oleksy. Ukrainian and Polish ministers of industry, transport, communications, farming and finance signed agreements determining timetables for various projects. The communications ministers agreed to extend the telecommunications highway between Lviv and Rzeszow to Kyiv and Krakow. The Polish side expressed interest in buying shares in privatized Ukrainian iron mines and steelworks, Polish dailies reported on December 19. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Moldovan reactions to Duma elections

CHISINAU - The outcome of the Russian parliamentary elections will not influence Moldovan foreign policy, an adviser to President Mircea Snegur told Infotag on December 18. He described Communist Party of the Russian Federation Chairman Gennadii Zyuganov's statement that the restoration of the USSR was inevitable as "irresponsible" and out of touch with reality. Another presidential adviser was quoted as saying that Moldova hoped the new Russian State Duma would adopt a more realistic stance on both the ratification of the Russian-Moldovan Army Withdrawal Agreement and the settlement of the conflict in the Transdniester region. In a related development, Moldovan Communist Party General Secretary Vladimir Voronin hailed the Communists' strong showing in the Russian elections. According to BASA-Press, Mr. Voronin plans to discuss the Transdniester conflict with Communist Duma deputies soon. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Presidential appointments

KYIV - Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma appointed Deputy Prime Minister Roman Shpek to head the National Council on Statistical Issues, Ukrainian Radio reported On December 25. Mr. Kuchma also created a Commission to Reform Professional-Technical Education and named Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Kuras as its head. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Transdniester vote held

TIRASPOL - Preliminary results of the voting held in the December 24 elections and referendum in the breakaway Transdniester region of Moldova indicate that 54 out of 67 seats in the Parliament were filled as a result of the votes cast, Western and Moldovan agencies reported on December 25. There will be run-offs in the remaining districts, all affecting the second chamber of the legislature. It is not clear yet which party emerged victorious, but reports indicate most voters favored the Bloc of Patriotic Forces, which stands for closer links with Russia and a revival of the Soviet Union. In the referendum held concomitantly with the elections, 81.8 percent approved the region's separatist Constitution, which proclaims Trans-dniester an independent state, and 90.6 percent voted in favor of its joining the CIS and its related structures. Moldovan leaders denounced the elections and the referendum as illegitimate. Official Russia distanced itself from the poll. ITAR-TASS quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying that the region was "part of the Republic of Moldova," and what happened there was "an internal affair of that independent and sovereign state." (OMRI Daily Digest)

Lukashenka foiled by Constitutional Court

MIENSK - The Belarusian Constitutional Court ruled on December 26 that a presidential decree revoking privileges from some sectors of the population was unconstitutional. The court found that the president did not have the right to issue, abolish or suspend laws. This was the right of the legislature, and the decree was an "attempt by the president to assume certain functions of the legislature." (OMRI Daily Digest)

Walesa snubs Kwasniewski inaugural

WARSAW - Aleksander Kwasniew-ski, the newly elected neo-Communist president of Poland, was sworn in on December 23, replacing Lech Walesa, whose term expired the day before. President Kwasniewski said he was open to dialogue with his political opponents and the Catholic Church and that he will continue to work for Poland's entry into European structures and NATO. Former President Walesa stayed home in Gdansk and did not participate in the inauguration ceremonies, nor did deputies from the pro-Walesa Confederation of Independent Poland. Only a few deputies from opposition parties were present. Outside the Parliament building around 1,500 anti-Communist demonstrators protested against the investiture, Polish dailies reported on December 27. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Ukraine strengthens Bosnia ties

KYIV - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent a diplomatic note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia-Hercegovina indicating Ukraine's readiness to establish full diplomatic relations with the latter country, said Ukrainian Television on December 21. (Respublika)

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