NEWSBRIEFS (11/30/97)

NEWSBRIEFS

Yeltsin hails improved ties with Ukraine

MOSCOW - In a nationwide radio address on November 21, Russian President Boris Yeltsin hailed improved bilateral ties with Ukraine, which had soured after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, ITAR-TASS and Reuters reported. Mr. Yeltsin said ties between the two Slavic neighbors had been plagued by "mutual reproach and misunderstanding" over the past six years. He acknowledged that differences remain, namely over the division of the Black Sea Fleet, Ukraine's Crimean peninsula and recent Ukrainian-NATO military exercises in the Black Sea. President Yeltsin also accused so-called "demagogues" of fanning nationalistic feelings and warned that Russian foreign policy is the domain of the president. He added that "frank discussions" at a recent informal meeting with President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine had alleviated tensions and paved the way for an official visit to Russia by Mr. Kuchma in February. President Yeltsin also confirmed that leading Russian banks are ready to invest in the production of the AN-70 aircraft, which was designed in Ukraine. The Ukrainian-Russian project could create thousands of new jobs in both countries. (RFE/RL Newsline, Eastern Economist)

Europe critical of continuing executions

KYIV - Representatives of the Council of Europe condemned the continuation of the death penalty in Ukraine and Chechnya, which executed 13 and four people, respectively, in 1997. A deputy of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly from Liechtenstein, Renata Volvend, recently visited Ukraine and insisted that membership on the council should be suspended if executions continue in Ukraine. A similar conclusion was made regarding Russia's membership, as Chechnya is part of the Russian Federation. Ukraine has until 1998 to abolish the death penalty in Ukraine. Membership on the Council of Europe is dependent on the outlawing of the death penalty. At present, 264 people have received the death penalty and are waiting to be executed. The last of the 13 executions occurred in March. Ms. Volvend noted that the death penalty remains in Ukrainian legislation because politicians have been reluctant to eliminate it. (Eastern Economist)

Memorial service held for Lishchynski

KYIV - A memorial service was held on November 20 at the Canadian Embassy for veteran Canadian diplomat Peter Roman Lishchynski, director of the NATO Information and Documentation Center in Kyiv, and his driver, Ivan Bunu, who were killed in a car accident on November 13 in the Kirovohrad Oblast. Representatives from NATO headquarters, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Canadian Embassy, where Mr. Lishchynski has served since being posted to Ukraine in 1992, all spoke, as did relatives, friends and colleagues. Condolences also poured in from officials and friends in Ukraine and overseas, among them Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister Hennadii Udovenko and Presidential Chief-of-Staff Yevhen Kushnariov. (Eastern Economist)

Ukraine mounts defense of hryvnia

KYIV - The National Bank of Ukraine on November 21 announced a series of measures to defend the hryvnia after the currency slipped below its current float rate of 1.70 to 1.90 to $1 U.S., Ukrainian media reported. After the bank indicated that it would raise key interest rates and also increase the reserve requirements for banks, the hryvnia rebounded from 1.97 to $1 early in the day to close within its range at 1.883, ITAR-TASS reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Three states to jointly fight crime

CHISINAU - The internal affairs ministers of Moldova, Ukraine and Romania will collaborate in the fight against organized crime, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. A formal declaration on this collaboration follows an accord on jointly combating organized crime that the three countries' presidents signed at the first meeting of the Moldova-Ukraine-Romania trilateral meeting in Izmail, Ukraine, in early July. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Patriotic youth march in Miensk

MIENSK - Between 2,500 and 3,000 members of the Patriotic Union of Youth staged a rally in Miensk on November 23 to mark the first anniversary of the referendum on amendments to the Constitution that expanded the powers of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Almost twice that number of opposition supporters later marched through the city to demand the reinstatement of the Parliament dissolved by Mr. Lukashenka one year earlier. The oppositionists carried the banned red-and-white national flag. (RFE/RL Newsline)

| Home Page |