NEWSBRIEFS (02/02/97)

NEWSBRIEFS

Poland, Ukraine to sign reconciliation

WARSAW - Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and his Polish counterpart Aleksander Kwasniewski announced at a press conference in Warsaw that a declaration on reconciliation would be signed when Mr. Kuchma returns to Poland in May, Polish media reported on January 24. President Kwasniewski reiterated Poland's support for Ukraine's efforts to integrate into European structures and the Central European Free Trade Agreement, and said NATO should conclude a partnership treaty with Ukraine similar to the one the alliance intends to sign with Russia. The two presidents agreed that isolating Belarus would only worsen the situation there and endanger stability in Europe. At the same time, the two countries' industry ministers signed a memorandum on trade liberalization similar to the one Poland had signed with Russia last November. During his visit President Kuchma received an award from the Polish Business Club for boosting Polish-Ukrainian trade, which was estimated at $1.4 billion in 1996. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Another claim on Sevastopol

MOSCOW - The chairman of the Nizhnyi Novgorod region, Boris Nemstov, who is considered one of Russia's leading liberal reformers, added his voice to that of Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov who has claimed that Sevastopol is Russian. Mr. Nemtsov was quoted as saying that Sevastopol, located in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which is part of Ukraine, is "a Russian city acquired with Russian blood." He called for "Russian economic expansion in Crimea, beginning with Sevastopol," and urged Russian banks to buy up shops and factories there and thus "turn Sevastopol into a Russian city de facto." Mr. Nemstov also said that Russian economic expansion should extend to Ukraine and Belarus ... then the integration and unification of former Soviet republics would become inevitable." (Jamestown Monitor)

Moroz urges clear stance on NATO

KYIV - Oleksander Moroz has urged the Verkhovna Rada to take an official position on NATO expansion and the deployment of nuclear arms on the territory of new member-countries, ITAR-TASS reported on January 24. The Rada chairman complained about the often divergent opinions among politicians over Ukraine's possible membership in NATO at a time when a "a complicated process of re-evaluating the idea of NATO expansion is under way worldwide." Mr. Moroz's comments followed Foreign Minister Hennadii Udovenko's visit last week to Geneva, where he said neutral Ukraine is not planning to join NATO. Earlier this month, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Volodymyr Horbulin had suggested Ukraine might join NATO by 2010. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Kuchma greets Clinton on inauguration

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine sent a congratulatory message to U.S. President Bill Clinton on his inauguration. Mr. Kuchma underlined the broad range of possibilities for expansion of relations between the two countries now that the two have entered into a "strategic partnership." He further noted that Ukraine and the United States "are united by common values, interests and approaches to the development of world society based on principles of freedom, democracy and peace." Mr. Kuchma added that he is confident U.S.-Ukraine relations will deepen within the framework of the Kuchma-Gore Commission. (Respublika)

Kuchma denies wanting to postpone vote

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma's spokesman, Dmytro Markov, has dismissed reports about extending the term in office of both the president and the Parliament as "political rumors," Ukrainian TV reported on January 28. Mr. Markov noted that the president believes postponing the presidential and parliamentary elections would damage the country's democratic development and worsen confrontation between political forces. Rukh spokesman Vitalii Shevchenko said calls to extend the powers of the Verkhovna Rada and the president until 2000 or 2001 are unconstitutional and constitute "political intrigue." (OMRI Daily Digest)

Ukrainian trade unions may form party

KYIV - Oleksander Stoian, chairman of the Ukrainian Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), has announced that the unions may create their own party, UNIAN reported on January 28. He added that the unions will be more active in future elections and want to win enough seats in the Verkhovna Rada to set up their own faction. Mr. Stoian noted that the FTU is undecided about supporting any of the existing parties. Rada Chairman Oleksander Moroz has urged the trade unions to increase their political power by establishing contact with parties that "act in tandem with the trade unions," UNIAN reported on January 27. (OMRI Daily Digest)

French phone-making JV gets under way

KHARKIV - A French-Ukrainian joint venture has begun construction of a telephone assembly line at the Kharkiv Kommunar Plant. The venture's founders are the plant, with a 49 percent stake, and the French telecommunications giant Alcatel NCU, with a 51 percent stake. Under an agreement reached earlier this month by Alcatel NCU and the state company UkrTeleCom, the former will supply telecommunications equipment to Ukraine over the next 10 years in a volume sufficient for installing 130,000 new phone lines per year. Kommunar Plant General Director Oleksander Oslov said the plant will not only assemble telephones from French parts, but will also manufacture some communications units. He said the project will create about 2,000 jobs. (Eastern Economist)

Crimean Tatars protest broadcast cuts

SYMFEROPOL - Leaders of the Crimean Tatars' unofficial parliament, the Mejlis, appealed to Ukrainian and Crimean leaders to reverse sharp cuts in broadcasting in the Tatar language. Tatar leaders are collecting signatures to draw international attention to the problems of Tatars who have returned to Crimea after their nation's mass expulsion in the 1940s. Some 100,000 repatriated Tatars still do not have housing, and over 250,000 who want to return are not able to because of lack of funds. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Ukrainian miners plan march on Kyiv

KYIV - The Central Committee of the Ukrainian Miners' Union has urged the Coal Industry Ministry to insist that this year's budget include subsidies totaling $2.3 billion for coal-mining enterprises, ITAR-TASS reported on January 27. The Verkhovna Rada is scheduled to debate the 1997 budget on February 4. A trade union spokesman said miners are planning to march on Kyiv to picket the buildings of the presidential administration and the Parliament on February 4-5. Some 2,000 miners are expected to take part in the march. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Romanian-Ukrainian talks continue

BUCHAREST - Another round of talks on the Romanian-Ukrainian basic treaty ended in Bucharest on January 14, Romanian media reported. The negotiators agreed to resume talks in Kyiv after examining proposals submitted by each side. Before the meeting, Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Adrian Severin said Bucharest would propose a "compromise package" to settle unresolved issues. Romania wants the treaty to include a condemnation of the 1939 Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, which ceded Romanian territories to the then Soviet republic of Ukraine. It also wants guarantees for the 400,000-strong ethnic Romanian minority living in Ukraine. Romania appears to be under pressure to finalize the treaty before the July NATO summit, at which the first countries to join the alliance are expected to be named. Settling disputes with all neighbors is a condition for NATO integration. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Ukrainian president meets with Sachs

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma met with the U.S. economist and architect of Poland's economic reforms Jeffrey Sachs, Ukrainian Radio reported on January 13. Mr. Sachs noted that foreign investment in Ukraine has been low and said the Verkhovna Rada must pass a new budget based on a reformed tax system in order to attract more investment. He also said the National Bank of Ukraine must continue with its tight monetary policy. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Minister urges public to conserve energy

KYIV - Energy Minister Yurii Bochkarov made a special appeal to the Ukrainian public on January 13, Ukrainian Radio reported. He warned that energy supplies are at a critical level and called on everyone to lower their consumption of energy by 20 percent. The energy production potential of the Dnipropetrovsk hydroelectric station, which supplies water to one-third of Ukraine's territory, has been almost completely used up. Mr. Bochkarov said one of the biggest problems has been the indebtedness of consumers. Ukrainians owe nearly billion hryvni ($1.4 billion) for energy, and Mr. Bochkarov warned that those who do not pay will not receive energy supplies. (OMRI Daily Digest)

National security adviser speaks on NATO

KYIV - Volodymyr Horbulin said that while Ukraine cannot join NATO at present, he does not exclude membership in the future, ITAR-TASS and UNIAN reported on January 15. Since the Constitution states that Ukraine is a neutral, non-aligned state, that document would have to be amended to allow entry into the alliance, he noted. The secretary of the National Security and Defense Council also said Ukraine is currently seeking a special agreement with NATO and plans to open a NATO information center in Kyiv in the spring. He added that he hoped an agreement on special relations with NATO will be submitted for approval at the NATO summit in July. NATO's special relations with Russia should develop parallel to those with Ukraine, but not on a trilateral basis, Mr. Horbulin commented. (OMRI Daily Digest)

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