NEWSBRIEFS (06/22/97)

NEWSBRIEFS

Foreign debt numbers out

KYIV - Ukraine's foreign debt stood at $8.8 billion on April 1, according to calculations by the Verkhovna Rada Auditing Chamber. That figure could rise to $13 billion by early next year if the government carries out its plan to borrow $4.2 billion from various sources. Of the potential borrowing, $1.2 billion would go to covering the state budget deficit. A figure of $15 billion, which includes debt servicing costs, was also cited. According to the Auditing Chamber, in the first quarter of 1997 the foreign debt fell by $53 million, even as $167.9 million was spent servicing the foreign debt. Auditing Chamber specialists say the total foreign debt is not a critical point if GDP and exports are considered. But because GDP is continuing to decline and the foreign trade deficit to widen, foreign debt could eventually lead to economic dependence on other countries. Ukraine is due to pay some $1.4 billion in debt servicing alone this year, including $500 million in interest. (InfoBank, Eastern Economist)

Russian flags hoisted in Crimea

SEVASTOPOL - Russia has hoisted tsarist-era naval flags over its Black Sea Fleet vessels and facilities here, it was reported on June 17. The development comes in the wake of the signing last month of Ukrainian-Russian agreements on division of the fleet and the status of Sevastopol. Under the agreements, Russia ended up with 82 percent of the vessels of the old BSF. Under the terms of a 20-year lease, it also gained exclusive use of Sevastopol's main bays. Until the agreements were signed, the BSF flew Soviet naval flags. (Eastern Economist)

Ukraine-Turkey oil accord signed

ANKARA - The ministers of energy of Ukraine and Turkey, Anatolii Minchenko and Recai Kutan, signed a deal on June 18 to build an oil pipeline from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea through Turkey. Mr. Kutan told journalists the pipeline will initially carry 40 million tons of crude oil per year to Ukraine, whose oil demands are increasing. The Turkish state oil company Botas will oversee the project. It is unclear when construction of the project will begin. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine may join military alliance

KYIV - Volodymyr Horbulin, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, was quoted by Interfax on June 18 as saying Ukraine has not ruled out discarding its pledge of neutrality and joining a military alliance in the future. He added that the bilateral treaty Ukraine concluded with Russia in May does not prevent it from entering any military alliances it chooses. Mr. Horbulin also said the Ukrainian government will go ahead with the production of tactical missiles, despite U.S. objections. He said he has sent a letter to U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott explaining the decision. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Banks lining up for accounting switch

KYIV - The National Bank of Ukraine has announced the preliminary results of a tender to select commercial banks that will assist in the transition to international accounting standards, local media reported in June 17. Among the 15 banks selected for the pilot project are VaBank and Azhio Bank of Kyiv, Grant Bank of Kharkiv and Elektron Bank of Lviv. Western specialists will choose finalists from among the 15 selected so far. The NBU will switch to international accounting standards on October 1; commercial banks must do so by January 1, 1998. (Eastern Economist)

Ukrainian planes at French airshow

PARIS - The Ministry of Machine-Building is presenting an exposition of Ukrainian aerospace technology at the high-profile Paris Airshow under way in the city of Le Bourjet. The Ukrainian hardware on display includes models by Kyiv's Antonov plant, Zaporizhia's MotorSich and the Kharkiv Aviation Plant. The main attractions are prototypes of Antonov's AN-74 and AN-70 and Kharkiv's TK-200. In all, more than 100 major airplane manufacturers, including Boeing, Airbus Industrie and MAN are demonstrating their latest products at the exhibition, which runs through June 22. (UNIAN, Eastern Economist)

John Deere harvester deal inked...

KHERSON - U.S. farm equipment manufacturer Deere & Co. and the Khersonski Kombainy enterprise signed an agreement on June 10 on technical cooperation in producing combine-harvesters in Ukraine. According to Minister of Agriculture Mykhailo Zubets, plans call for 6,000 harvesters to be produced within the next five years. The machines will have an average capacity of 9 kilograms of grain per second. Mr. Zubets said the productivity of John Deere harvesters is about 11 times the productivity of their Soviet-era brethren. This means Ukraine could require 50,000 Deere-style harvesters compared to 120,000 Soviet-style ones, the most modern example of which is the Don harvester. The previous day, President Leonid Kuchma had met with Deere & Co. executives in Kyiv. (Eastern Economist)

...as Polish harvesters to arrive in Kharkiv

KHARKIV - A consignment of 50 Bizon Polish grain harvesters is to be delivered to the Kharkiv Oblast Administration in the next several days, it was reported on June 4. The harvesters, worth $5 million, were purchased through the locally based UkrSybInkor. The company plans to sell the harvesters to regional farm enterprises in return for harvested grain. Proceeds from the grain sales will then be used to pay off Bizon, headquartered in Plock, Poland. Plans call for the harvesters to be fully paid for within three years. Watching developments closely will be the Malyshev Plant, based in Kharkiv, which is considering forming a harvester-manufacturing joint venture with Bizon. According to UkrSybInkor President Yevhen Nazarov, the demand for such harvesters is 10,000 to 12,000 units per year. (Eastern Economist)

Syndicate "authority's" murder probed

LUHANSK - Police are continuing their investigation into the shooting death of a local businessman on June 7. Valerii Dobroslavskyi was killed along with his driver and bodyguard when gunmen sprayed his car with automatic rifle fire. A colleague in a second car was killed and three of his companions wounded. Detectives recovered 120 shell casings and parts of a grenade launcher. In 1995 Mr. Dobroslavskyi became head of the Youth of the 21st Century and founded the youth newspaper 21st Century. He was well-known for organizing concerts in Luhansk by Russian pop stars. According to Internal Affairs Ministry officials, the killing probably involved the settling of accounts between criminal groups. So far this year, Luhansk Oblast Militia have broken up 56 criminal groups, in the process arresting 217 persons charged with committing 346 crimes. Police have seized 26 kilograms of explosives and 15 automatic weapons from criminal groups. (InfoBank, Eastern Economist)

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