NEWSBRIEFS (03/31/96)

NEWSBRIEFS

Ukrainian plane forced down in Russia

KYIV - Russian air defense forces on March 24 forced a Ukrainian military transport to land in the city of Rostov-na-Donu, near the Ukrainian border, Russian and Ukrainian media reported the next day. The 11-76 plane was forced down because it allegedly had not filed flight plans for its retum from Central Asia, Russian General Staff sources said, describing the incident as "a grave violation of international agreements." The Ulcrainian govemment denied having violated any laws and claimed that proper flight plans had been filed and authorization granted by the Russian air control system. Ukraine is not a formal member of the unified CIS air defense system, limiting its participation to informal contacts and exchanges of information. (OMRI Daily Digest/Respublika)

Kuchma wraps up Swiss visit

BERN - Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, at the end of his two-day visit to Switzerland, signed a joint communique with Swiss President Jean Pascal de la Miro on expanding ties between the two countries, Ukrainian and Western media reported-on March 22-23. Mr. Kuchma also met with U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata, who expressed an interest in helping Ukraine obtain intemational aid for the resettlement of Crimean Tatars on the Black Sea peninsula. He also discussed Ukrainian cooperation with U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Jose Ayala Lasso and addressed Geneva's intemational conference center on Ukraine's place in Europe. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Consolidahon of centrists continues

KYIV - Three Ukrainian political parties have formed a new political alliance called Mist (Bridge), Radio Ukraine reported on March 22. The center-right Democratic Party of Ukraine, the centrist Social-Democratic Party and the center-left Labor Party support democratic and free-market reforms but also favor maintaining a social safety network. Another center-right party, the Christian-Democratic Party of Ukraine, announced it was joining several civic organizations in another political alliance, the Christian-Social Union, reported Ukrainian Television on March 22. They are joined by the All-Ukrainian Association of Entrepreneurs as well as several similar regional groups. Recently, a new centrist caucus, Social-Market Choice, was formed with 31 members, including former President Leonid Kravchuk and other well-known figures, it is now the second-largest caucus after the Communists. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Parliament raises poverty threshold

KYIV - The Ukrainian Parliament voted to raise the poverty threshold from below 5 million karbovantsi to 6.8 million kbv ($36) a month, Radio Ukraine reported on March 25. Legislators ordered the government to find funds to raise pensions and social benefits to reflect the increase. In other news, President Leonid Kuchma issued a decree creating a presidential Council on Science and Scientific-Technical Policy to oversee reforms in science and scientific research. He appointed Volodymyr Horbulin, secretary of his Security Council, as the new council's chairman. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Marchuk in Moscow for Yeltsin visit prep

MOSCOW - Ukrainian Prime Minister Yevhen Marchuk met with his Russian counterpart, Viktor Chemomyrdin, here on March 26 to prepare for Russian President Boris Yeltsin's scheduled April 4-5 visit to Kyiv, Western media reported. The division of the Black Sea Fleet, in particular Russian leasing of shore base facilities, remains the outstanding issue in the bilateral treaty on friendship and cooperation. Meanwhile, a voluntary organization called "300 Years of the Russian Fleet" has launched a national campaign to raise money from banks and businesses to pay for the completion of eight new naval vessels, including the cruiser Peter the Great ITAR-TASS reported on March 26. (OMRI Daily Digest)

| Home Page |