NEWSBRIEFS (03/30/97)

NEWSBRIEFS

NATO warships visit Odesa

ODESA - A flotilla of NATO warships arrived on March 23 for a friendly four-day visit. Seven ships docked at the Black Sea port of Odesa, where they were met by the flagship of the Ukrainian navy, the Hetman Sahaidachny. The ships were welcomed by most locals, but a small group of about 10 protesters held banners reading "NATO go home!" and "Hands off Ukraine!" The ships' captains and crews were to meet with Ukrainian navy brass, local officials and religious leaders. The ships will allow local residents to come aboard and get a closer look at a British destroyer and frigates from the United States, Greece, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey. The unofficial visit is considered a gesture of goodwill toward Ukraine, a member of the NATO Partnership for Peace program. Russia has not publicly opposed the visit, but it has spoken out vehemently against plans for a U.S.-Ukrainian exercise, Operation Sea Breeze, planned for the Black Sea this summer. The exercise will have American forces landing on the Crimean peninsula. The Kremlin is incensed about the original Sea Breeze scenario, which was to have NATO peacekeepers break up a revolt by ethnic separatists backed by a neighboring state. The thinly veiled reference to ethnic Russians chafing under Ukrainian rule in Crimea was quickly scrapped, but Moscow still sees the operation as a threat and has refused an invitation to take part. (Associated Press, Reuters)

Masterpieces stolen from Poltava museum

KYIV - Two paintings by European masters were stolen by masked gunmen who burst into the Poltava Museum of Fine Arts on March 21. The paintings - "Still Life with Lobster" by Klari Peters, a 17th century Dutch artist, and "Fight with Turks" by Eugene Delacroix, the 19th century French painter - are estimated to be worth $800,000. Three masked men held museum workers at gunpoint and removed the paintings during the museum's regular hours, police said. (The New York Times)

EC and Ukraine reach steel agreement

BRUSSELS - Negotiators from the European Commission and Ukraine have reached a new steel agreement that will allow Ukraine to increase sales to the European Union of certain iron and steel products up to the year 2001. The deal is linked to the introduction of normal competitive conditions in Ukraine, notably in the areas of competition policy, state aid and environment protection. This will ensure that Ukraine can enjoy stable growth for one of its major exports to the European Union, while gradually bringing the competitive conditions of the Ukrainian steel industry more into line with those of the European Union. The agreement will be submitted for approval to the EU Council of Ministers and the Ukrainian authorities, and should enter into force on July 1. Total EU imports of Ukrainian iron and steel products - those subject to quantitative limits and those where trade has already been liberalized - rose from 660,000 tons in 1993 to 1.6 million tons in 1995. (European Commission)

Belarus expels U.S. diplomat

MIENSK - Serge Aleksandrov, first secretary of the U.S. Embassy in Belarus, has been declared persona non grata and asked to leave the country within 24 hours for taking part in an unsanctioned opposition demonstration on March 23. The rally of more than 10,000 people was held in Yakub Kolas Square in Miensk to commemorate the 69th anniversary of the Belarusian Popular Republic. Scuffles with police broke out, and several policemen were reported to have been injured while dispersing the rally with truncheons and tear gas. Some 70 demonstrators, who smashed police car windows with chunks of ice, were detained. Mr. Aleksandrov was detained for "provocative actions." An Embassy spokeswoman said that Western diplomats often watch protests from the sidelines "to observe the political situation, but not to participate." Belarusian TV claimed Mr. Aleksandrov has been spying for the CIA. Two days earlier, the U.S. had cut off its $40 million aid to Belarus because of the country's poor human rights record. Civic Union leader Henadz Karpenka and former Internal Affairs Minister Yurii Zakharenka also were taken into custody on the day of the protest. Mr. Karpenka was arrested on March 25 as he left the residence of the Czech ambassador to Belarus, ORT reported. Mr. Karpenka is to be tried on April 1 for disturbing public order by taking part in recent protest demonstrations. The day before his arrest, several parties nominated him as head of a united opposition. RFE/RL on March 25 reported that the government has secretly tried and sentenced scores of protesters. Fines are as high as $600, and jail sentences vary from three to 15 days. (OMRI Daily Digest)

U.S. responds to diplomat's expulsion

WASHINGTON - The U.S. State Department issued a statement condemning the expulsion of Serge Aleksandrov, first secretary of the U.S. Embassy in Miensk, after he observed clashes between demonstrators and police. Spokesman John Dinger said the U.S. is considering retaliatory measures. U.S. Ambassador to Belarus Kenneth Yalowitz protested the incident to the "highest level of Belarusian authorities." Several days later, Ambassador Yalowitz was recalled to Washington to report to Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, as relations between the two countries worsened. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement saying that "S. Aleksandrov's activities fall outside the 1961 Convention on Diplomatic relations." Law enforcement agencies in Belarus say they possess materials proving that Mr. Aleksandrov is a career CIA officer working under cover. Meanwhile, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka said during a meeting with new Belarusian Ambassador to the U.S. Valerii Tsepkalot that it is important to increase cooperation with the U.S. He said that despite some difficulties in relations, there is no anti-American campaign in Belarus and that the expulsion of a U.S. diplomat was aimed against a specific person. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Oversight council to tackle economic crisis

KYIV - Ukraine's government has set up an oversight council to tackle the country's economic crisis, international agencies reported on March 24. The council is headed by leading reformist Vice Prime Minister Viktor Pynzenyk and will deal with tax reform, wage and pension arrears, and government bureaucracy. The move follows President Leonid Kuchma's sharp criticism of Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko's government in his annual address to the nation and the Verkhovna Rada. Mr. Kuchma has appointed liberal economist Volodymyr Lanovyi to head the State Property Fund, Ukrainian TV reported. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Azerbaijan's president in Kyiv

KYIV - On arrival in Kyiv on March 24 for a two-day official visit, President Heidar Aliev of Azerbaijan held talks with President Leonid Kuchma on bilateral cooperation, the planned Transcaucasus transport corridor, European security and the future of the CIS, ITAR-TASS reported. President Aliev told journalists that after the existing Baku-Batumi oil pipeline is repaired and extended to the Georgian Black Sea port of Supsa in 1998, Azerbaijan's Caspian oil will be shipped from Supsa to Ukraine for export to the West. Azerbaijani and Ukrainian representatives signed a series of bilateral inter-governmental agreements, including several on military cooperation, but Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Hennadii Udovenko stressed that the latter are not directed against any third country. (OMRI Daily Digest)

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