NEWSBRIEFS (02/04/96)

NEWSBRIEFS

Repatriated soldiers take citizenship

KYIV - Over the past three years some 34,000 officers and noncommissioned officers who served throughout former Soviet republics have returned home to Ukraine. Although most of these persons were born in Ukraine and lived here for lengthy periods of time, juridicaly they had never been citizens of Ukraine, never having submitted the appropriate paperwork. As of June 19, 1995, in accordance with an order by President Leonid Kuchma, individual military units and commands as well as the chief personnel directorate of the Ministry of Defense have been cooperating with the Ministry of the Interior in granting citizenship to the returned service personnel and their families. As of January 26, 98.3 percent of all such personnel and their relatives have received Ukrainian citizenship. The next step involves procuring Ukrainian passports for the newly registered citizens. (Respublika)

IMF officials visit Belarus and Ukraine

MIENSK - A delegation from the International Monetary Fund arrived here on January 29 to determine whether the next tranche of a stand-by credit should be released, Belarusian Radio reported. The credit, worth almost $300 million, was approved last February, but the release of the funds was frequently delayed by the Belarusian government's non-adherence to the reform program. Agence France Presse reported on January 30 that an IMF team arrived in Kyiv to examine Ukraine's adherence to the austerity program necessary to secure the release of the fourth tranche of its stand-by credit. Last year the IMF agreed to grant $1.5 billion in credit to Ukraine, but the release of the fourth tranche was delayed this month because Parliament failed to pass laws on budget revenues. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Acting Crimean prime minister appointed

SYMFEROPIL - Arkadiy Demydenko, Crimean deputy prime minister for industry, has been appointed acting prime minister by the speaker of the regional parliament, Yevhen Supruniuk, UNIAN reported on January 27. Mr. Demydenko will serve until a new prime minister is approved by both Ukrainian government and the Crimean legislature. Crimean deputies dismissed former Prime Minister Anatoliy Franchuk in December 1995. Mr. Supruniuk was instructed by lawmakers to make a temporary appointment and propose candidates for the permanent post. Mr. Demydenko is among four candidates so far named; he has the support of seven parliamentary fractions in the Crimea. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Ukraine not nearly as "pkony" as Sweden

KYIV - Ukraine, though far behind its Western European counterparts, has the potential to improve the availability of telephones greatly by the year 2006, said Minister of Communications Valeriy Yefremov at a session of the Supreme Council Committee on the Energy Sector on January 25. Today there are 17.4 telephones for every 100 residents of Ukraine. In Sweden the comparable figures are 102 phones per 100 persons, while in slightly less telecommunicative France there are 89 phones per 100 persons. Mr. Yefremov believes that within the next 10 years Ukraine's ratio can increase to 48 phones per 100 residents. (Respublika)

Dysentery strikes Luhanske region

LUHANSKE - As of January 26, 57 persons have been hospitalized for dysentery in Sverdlovske. Among them are 49 children. Quarantine measures are being implemented. (Respublika)

Pyvo '96 exposition: ordinary brew-haha

KYIV - "With an Ancient Beverage into the New Millennium" as its slogan, the "Pyvo '96" international beer exposition opened here on January 25, reported the Ukrainian Beer Lovers Party. The party is sponsoring the event, the first of its kind in Ukraine's capital, together with the Kyiv City Council, the "Status" social-cultural center, and local and international investors. At the exposition, Ukraine's potential as a brewer of beer is being highlighted. The aim of the convocation, said Beer Lovers Party member Oleksander Zyrianov, is to promote development of native brewing potential, showcase innovations in the craft and increase contacts between Ukrainian and foreign brewers. Included in the program are a roundtable discussion of privatization of the brewing industry, the work of the agricultural commodities exchange and the founding conference of the Beer Lovers Club. Kyiv's premier brewer, Obolon, will take part in the program. (Respublika)

Baltin still heads Black Sea Fleet

SEVASTOPIL - Despite several high-level statements by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and Russian President Boris Yeltsin that he had been fired, Adm. Eduard Baltin continues to command the BSF, UNIAN reported on January 27. A fleet spokesman told the agency that neither the Russian Defense Ministry nor the Russian Navy Headquarters had received any documents calling for Adm. Baltin's dismissal. (OMRI Daily Digest)

EU levies anti-dumping duty on Ukraine

KYIV - In December 1995 the European Commission introduced provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of unwrought magnesium originating in Ukraine. The commission, governing body of the European Union, is empowered to set uniform tariff rates and act on behalf of injured parties in Union member states. The complaint in this case was brought on behalf of Pechiney Electrometallurgie, a French concern. The commission decided after a two-year investigation that, although Ukraine has been exporting technically to non-Union members, the end users of the magnesium have nonetheless been within the European Union, of which Ukraine was well aware, and that the concomitant effect was to undercut Union producers of magnesium by as much as 40 percent, thereby producing "material injury" to Union industry. According to the commission, Ukraine has captured 7 percent of the Union market, while Union producer shares had declined significantly. In bringing its preliminary order the commission set minimum price per ton for Ukrainian and Russian magnesium at Ecu 2.735, in comparison with a standard EU border price of Ecu 2.701. The commission also decided on allowing Ukraine a 64 percent dumping margin, meaning that any magnesium imports from Ukraine into the EU in a given year above the 64 percent level would be subject to the anti-dumping duty. The commission's preliminary order took effect on December 24, 1995; a final order will be issued within four months thereafter. Council of Advisors to the Parliament of Ukraine)

Russia, Ukraine call time-out in oil talks

KYIV - The controversy surrounding Ukraine's unilateral increase of transit fees for shipments of Russian petroleum exports to Western Europe has not subsided. The two sides agreed on January 26 to take a pause in negotiations aimed at ironing out differences between them. Recently Ukraine raised transit fees by 10 percent, a move that has led to temporary shutdowns of the Druzhba pipeline, which traverses Ukrainian territory and is the main conduit for Russian petroleum exports to Western Europe. At the last round of talks, no progress was made. Similar results are expected after talks are to have resumed on February 2. (Respublika)

Ukrainians consumer fewer food staples

KYIV - Ukrainians ate less meat, fish and dairy products in 1995, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and reported by City-telerate on January 26. Since 1990, the consumption of meat and meat products has decreased by 43 percent, milk and dairy products by 35 percent, fish and seafood by 82 percent, fruits and vegetables by 27 percent and even bread by some 9 percent. In all categories the minimal daily allowance, as set by the authorities, was not even met. Through the past year, the average daily caloric intake was 2,630 calories (a 5 percent decrease in 1994), of which 44 percent consisted of complex carbohydrates and 13 percent of simple carbohydrates. Protein intake experienced a 3 percent decline from 1994 to 1995. The decrease in tracked food consumption was attributed chiefly to inflation, a decrease in real consumer income and imperfect statistics gathering. (Respublika)

Belarus officials meet with Primakov

MIENSK - Newly appointed Russian Foreign Minister Yevgenii Primakov arrived here on January 30 to meet with Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, his Belarusian counterpart Uladzimir Syanko and Prime Minister Mikhail Chyhir, Russian and Belarusian media reported. The leaders focused on Russian-Belarusian integration. Mr. Syanko worried that the pace of economic integration has fallen behind that of military and political integration. President Lukashenka asserted that 90 percent of the Belarusian population supports unification with Russian and that Belarus has made a number of moves in this direction. It is Russia's turn to take the next step, he commented. Mr. Primakov said integration among former Soviet republics did not threaten any country's sovereignty and that the process was irreversible.

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