Duma members arrive in Kyiv for roundtable (12/22/96)

Duma members arrive in Kyiv for roundtable

by Marta Kolomayets
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - A group of deputies from the Russian Duma arrived in Kyiv on December 17 for a two-day visit, in what has been interpreted as an attempt to assuage strained Ukrainian-Russian relations over the division of the Black Sea Fleet and the status of Sevastopol.

However, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksander Moroz was quick to announce that the discussions were part of a roundtable dialogue, and not conducted on an official level.

"This is an unofficial meeting of representatives of groups and factions of both parliaments and the members of the inter-parliamentary committee on collaboration between Ukraine and Russia."

Representatives from all factions and groups in the Ukrainian Parliament met with a delegation of their colleagues from the Russian Duma, led by Svetlana Goryacheva, vice-chairperson of the lower chamber of the Russian Parliament.

During a press conference at the end of two days of meetings, Ms. Goryacheva said, "Russia has no claims on Ukrainian territory. This is, at least, the opinion of the State Duma. We can squabble, but in the end, we must guide our peoples to accord." Her remarks were reported by Hot Line, an independent weekly news service based in Kyiv.

Indeed, on December 17, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennadiy Tarasov issued a statement that rejected the December 5 Federation Council resolution claiming Sevastopol.

"Sevastopol and all of Crimea belongs to Ukraine," he said, speaking on behalf of the Russian government.

According to Ms. Goryacheva, the goal of the parliamentary visit was to improve contacts between the two legislatures given the fact that Ukraine and Russia share mutual humanitarian and economic interests. She added that the two neighboring countries should cooperate closely in drafting legislation, especially laws concerning social protection.

Chairman Moroz also was pleased with the visit, telling Interfax-Ukraine that "this is precisely how we can achieve an understanding, resolve joint problems and prevent conflicts." He said that cooperation between the two parliaments is promising, especially in the fields of legislative support for economic cooperation, human rights and freedoms, the formation of democratic institutions and cooperation in science and technology.

"We see our future in the development of truly good-neighborly and mutually beneficial relations based on the respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of each others' borders," said Mr. Moroz.

Volodymyr Yatsenko, the national deputy who chairs the Chornobyl Committee in the Verkhovna Rada and a member of the interparliamentary group for ties with the Russian Federation that set up the exchange, told journalists the two days of discussions mark the beginning of a "qualitatively new stage and a new approach to inter-parliamentary contacts."

Despite rumblings of a boycot on the eve of the Russian Duma delegation's visit to Kyiv, all of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada's groups and factions sent their representatives to the roundtable talks. The Reforms faction said that although it favored friendly and businesslike contacts between the two neighboring parliaments, they would only meet with their colleagues if the Russian lawmakers did not lay claims to Ukrainian territory.

And, despite the Russian Foreign Ministry's rejection of the Federation Council's claims to Ukrainian territory, as well as Ms. Goryacheva's statement, Rukh activists picketed the building where the two delegations held their roundtable. Some deputies from the Rukh faction, including Oleksander Lavrynovych, Yaroslav Fedoryn, Vitalii Shevchenko, Ivan Zayets, Andrii Zarudnyi and Heorhii Manchulenko, joined their party's picket line.

The next round of Ukrainian-Russian inter-parliamentary consultations has been slated for December 24-25 in Moscow.

In related news, Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov, whom the Reforms faction has proposed to banning from Ukraine, labeling him a persona non-grata for inciting enmity between the Ukrainian and Russian peoples, will not be traveling to Sevastopol in the near future.

He has postponed his planned December 17 trip to Sevastopol to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new 300-unit apartment block for Black Sea Fleet sailors, financed by the city government of Moscow.

Mayor Luzhkov, who has repeatedly claimed that Sevastopol is legally a Russian city, broke his leg on the eve of his visit, and has had to postpone travel until January.

However, news agencies in Ukraine noted that other factors may have influenced his decision not to travel to Crimea at this point, including an unofficial letter Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister Hennadii Udovenko had sent to the Moscow mayor, requesting that he not go to Sevastopol at this tense period of Ukrainian-Russian relations.