NEWSBRIEFS (05/31/98)

NEWSBRIEFS

Tarasiuk, Primakov reach understanding

KYIV - Borys Tarasiuk and Yevgenii Primakov, the foreign affairs ministers of Ukraine and Russia, told ITAR-TASS on May 26 that they had reached "complete understanding" during their talks in Kyiv earlier that day. Mr. Tarasiuk said the sides managed to agree "even on those issues that had earlier been a stumbling block in relations." Currently, the thorniest issue in bilateral relations is the ratification of the Russia-Ukraine friendship treaty by the Russian State Duma. Deputies in the Russian lower house postponed voting on the treaty following Mr. Tarasiuk's statement earlier this month that NATO expansion eastward "fully suits Ukraine's interests." Other outstanding issues include delimiting the Ukrainian-Russian maritime border in the Azov Sea and the signing of additional documents on the stationing in Crimea of Russia's part of the Black Sea Fleet. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Berezovskii for postponing CIS forum

MIENSK - Addressing a meeting convened in Miensk on May 19 to prepare for the CIS interstate forum tentatively scheduled for July, CIS Executive Secretary Boris Berezovskii proposed postponing that forum until the fall, Interfax reported. The forum is to debate reforming the Commonwealth of Independent States. Mr. Berezovskii said he concluded from his meetings earlier this month with the presidents of Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, and Georgia that it is "unrealistic" to hold the forum in July given that "no hasty moves will bring a radical improvement," according to ITAR-TASS. Almost all participants at the April summit of the CIS held in Moscow expressed dissatisfaction with the way the CIS operates. Mr. Berezovskii positively assessed the role of the CIS in containing conflicts between its members. And he warned against blindly copying the experience of other international bodies such as the European Union. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tatars mark anniversary of deportation

SYMFEROPOL - Some 10,000 people gathered in Symferopol on May 18 to mark the 54th anniversary of Stalin's deportation of Crimean Tatars, ITAR-TASS reported. Addressing the gathering, Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Jemilev said the 250,000 Tatars who have returned to the peninsula find themselves "in a disastrous situation and without rights." Many have no jobs and housing, and 70,000 Tatars do not have Ukrainian citizenship. A resolution adopted at the gathering demanded a simplified procedure whereby Crimean Tatars can acquire Ukrainian citizenship. It also demanded Crimean Tatar representatives in state bodies, and official recognition of the Kurultai and the Mejlis, the representative bodies of the Crimean Tatar people. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Crimean Parliament elects chairman

SYMFEROPOL - By a vote of 52 to 39, the Parliament of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea on May 14 elected Communist leader Leonid Hrach as chairman. According to ITAR-TASS, the standoff between the Communists and their adversaries was resolved in a political deal whereby the Communists will "pay" for Mr. Hrach's election by agreeing to the appointment of Serhii Kunitsyn, leader of the bloc of parliamentary centrist factions, as prime minister. Immediately after his election, Mr. Hrach proposed a motion to dismiss Anatolii Franchuk's government, and the legislature passed a resolution terminating the government's tenure and ordering the ministers to fulfill their duties until a new Cabinet is appointed. Mr. Hrach said on May 20 that he hopes to establish a partnership with Kyiv. Mr. Hrach has already met with President Leonid Kuchma, whose presidential spokesman announced that Mr. Kuchma agrees to Mr. Kunitsyn's appointment as Crimean prime minister. (RFE/RL Newsline)

New government approved in Crimea

SYMFEROPOL - The Crimean Parliament on May 27 approved a new government for the autonomous republic, ITAR-TASS reported. By a vote of 71 to eight, the Parliament appointed Serhii Kunitsyn as prime minister and approved a new Cabinet composed mainly of representatives of the Crimean Communist Party, the Popular Democratic Party, and the "Union" Party. Mr. Kunitsyn, who heads the regional branch of the National Democratic Party of Ukraine, is considered to have strong support in Kyiv. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine's miners want no middlemen

LUHANSK - In addition to demanding the payment of wage arrears for the past 10 months, Pervomaisk miners picketing the Luhansk Oblast administration building want middlemen to be eliminated from the coal trade, ITAR-TASS reported. The middlemen, they said in a statement to the press, have "robbed us - they have bought coal from us very cheaply and sold it at prices several times higher." Negotiations with the oblast administration have yielded no results, since the authorities continue to pledge wages for this month. (RFE/RL Newsline)