NEWSBRIEFS (06/16/96)

NEWSBRIEFS

Moroz sanguine about Zyuganov

KYIV - Ukrainian Parliament Chairman Oleksander Moroz said Russian Communist Party leader and Russian presidential candidate Gennadiy Zyuganov is a "mature politician and a realist" and said he does not believe the outcome of elections in Russia will affect the constitutional process or political situation in Ukraine, Ukrainian Radio reported on June 10. Mr. Moroz called for creating greater zones of non-alignment, rather than expanding NATO. Others in Ukraine are not so optimistic about a possible Zyuganov victory. Ukrainian Television ran a commentary on June 11 reminding viewers that Russian ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky's proposal to return the eastern oblasts of Ukraine, the Crimea and northern Kazakhstan "under the wings of the Russian two-headed eagle" was only 24 votes short of passage as a Russian Duma resolution. The commentary warned that imperialist forces in Russia are prepared to redraw borders. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Ukraine denies Libya nuke sales

KYIV - The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied selling nuclear technology to Libya in contravention of United Nations sanctions, NTV reported on June 11. The denial was in response to a June 10 article in The Washington Times that claimed Ukraine was maintaining contacts with Libya and contributing improperly to the development of nuclear technology in that country. (OMRI Daily Digest/The Washington Times)

Financing of Chornobyl closure shaky

KYIV - After meeting with G-7 representatives for two days, Ukrainian Environment Minister Yuriy Kostenko announced that the government might have to reconsider its plans to close the Chornobyl plant due to lack of financing, international agencies reported on June 6. Mr. Kostenko said Ukraine needs $840 million immediately to finish constructing two reactors at the Khmelnytsky and Rivne power stations to make up for the loss of energy, should Chornobyl be shut down. Plans for a thermal power station in place of Chornobyl have been shelved for the moment. In December 1995, the G-7 agreed to a $3.1 billion aid package for the closure bill but did not decide on a specific timetable for the release of funds. The chief of the G-7 delegation, Claude Mandil, said some agreements were reached during talks, including a more specific plan on distributing over 10 years $1.4 billion for the closure and a $170 million grant for building storage and processing facilities. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Migrants trapped in refrigerated truck

KYIV - Forty-two illegal Chinese migrants, some suffering from frostbite, were found by Ukrainian border guards in a sealed refrigerator truck abandoned near the Slovak border, officials said on June 11. Spokesman Serhiy Astakhov said knocking from inside the truck, sealed shut according to customs procedures, had attracted the attention of residents of the city of Uzhhorod. Ten migrants were hospitalized with varying degrees of frostbite, Mr. Astakhov said. Police were seeking the driver of the Slovak-registered truck, which entered Ukraine legally last week to buy meat. A total of 9,787 people, most from southeast Asia, were caught last year trying to cross Ukraine's western border to Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. Numbers have remained at a similar level this year. (Reuters)

Shock troops arrive in Belarusian capital

MIENSK - A detachment of 30 OMON troops was brought here from Baranovichy, Ekho Moskvy reported on June 8. Militia commanders justified reinforcing the OMON (special riot police) forces because of restiveness in the city. More troops from Brest, Pinsk and other cities are being prepared for a move to Miensk. On June 10, representatives of industrial trade unions began picketing government buildings protesting low wages and wage arrears. Alyaksandr Bukhvostau, head of the agricultural machinery union, said workers' living standards have fallen so much in the first quarter of the year that it is practically impossible for them to make ends meet. (OMRI Daily Digest)

EU set to grant Ukraine new credit

KYIV - Ukraine is to receive an additional $200 million in credits from the European Union, local agencies reported on June 6. The EU has completed preparatory work on a macroeconomic aid program for Ukraine. A credit agreement has been negotiated by Ukraine and the EU, as well as a memorandum of understanding. Both are to be signed at a meeting in Brussels, on June 19. The new aid program comes on top of last year's 85 million ECU package, disbursed in December. The credit has a 10 year term of repayment and will be disbursed in two tranches of equal value. (Respublika)

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