Canada reacts to initial reports of Lazarenko's illness, removal (07/06/97)

Canada reacts to initial reports of Lazarenko's illness, removal

by Christopher Guly

OTTAWA - Pavlo Lazarenko probably hadn't even unpacked his bags from his recent trip to Canada when reports from Ukraine brought the news that on June 19 Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma had relieved the country's prime minister of his duties because of Mr. Lazarenko's illness.

Though officials in Mr. Lazarenko's office first expressed surprise at hearing about their boss' "sick leave," Mr. Lazarenko is being treated to relieve thrombophlebitis, a circulatory problem usually produced from varicose veins.

In Canada, the federal government responded to the initial reports of Mr. Lazarenko's dismissal as if he had been fired.

Six days before he left his prime minister's job, Mr. Lazarenko was chatting with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in Ottawa, and sidestepping media questions about his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal and his own future.

Ukraine's now-former prime minister denied Western reports that he allegedly pocketed about $260 million (about $185 million U.S.) from his involvement with an energy company that bought Russian gas at low state-controlled prices and sold it for higher prices in his country.

Though President Kuchma's decree appointing First Vice Prime Minister Vasyl Durdynets as acting prime minister didn't cite corruption as the reason, media speculation about Mr. Lazarenko's doomed future seemed to have been proven right.

In Ottawa, Foreign Affairs officials admitted that they were caught by surprise by the speed of Mr. Lazarenko's departure, just days after being feted at a state dinner in the nation's capital. But there were no hard feelings about hauling out the finest china and blanketing downtown Ottawa with Ukrainian flags during Mr. Lazarenko's first visit to Canada.

"The decision to remove Mr. Lazarenko is the constitutional prerogative of President Kuchma as Ukraine's head of state," said Foreign Affairs spokesperson Rodney Moore. "Canada is not in a position to comment on political matters in another country."

Mr. Moore said Mr. Lazarenko's five-day Canadian tour, which included stops in Winnipeg and Calgary, was planned last August, "long before there was media speculation about his future."

In Ottawa's view, Mr. Lazarenko's visit was intended to increase bilateral commercial links between Canada and Ukraine. The prime minister led a delegation of over 100 Ukrainian businesspeople who participated in the private-sector Canadian-Ukrainian Business Initiative conference and the second meeting of the Ukraine-Canada business and trade alliance, the Intergovernmental Economic Commission.

"As prime minister, Mr. Lazarenko demonstrated a strong commitment to building a strong relationship with Canada and reflecting the over-all economic policy of President Kuchma," said Mr. Moore.

Notwithstanding the rumors of Mr. Lazarenko's alleged improprieties, Mr. Moore said Canada accorded him the same treatment befitting any prime minister.

"He was representing his country and came to Canada not as an individual," said Mr. Moore. "There are still strong business, social, cultural and blood links between our two countries."

Nevertheless, Canadian officials, including Prime Minister Chrétien, did raise the sensitive issue of Ukrainian corruption with Mr. Lazarenko.

"Canada has consistently raised concerns not only about corruption, but about the red tape that leads to an unstable, unpredictable business environment," said Mr. Moore. "An unstable, unpredictable business environment might be rendered [even] less predictable if the prime minister always changes and there is uncertainty about the government."

Mr. Lazarenko was the fifth Ukrainian prime minister since Ukraine declared independence in 1991. Although Mr. Durdynets has been appointed acting prime minister, he is expected to be replaced by someone else. Anatolii Kinakh, president of the Ukrainian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, an organization that strongly supported Mr. Kuchma during his 1994 presidential bid, is considered the leading contender for Mr. Lazarenko's old job.

And, if Canadian Foreign Affairs officials might not have even had a chance to complete their formal report of Mr. Lazarenko's visit to Canada, Ottawa's approach to Ukraine has not changed with him gone, said Mr. Moore.

"It's business as usual," he said. "We're confident that the people and the government in Ukraine would agree that our relationship shouldn't be affected in any way by this development. We look forward to working equally as closely with Mr. Lazarenko's acting replacement and with all leaders in Ukraine.

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