NEWSBRIEFS (09/06/98)

NEWSBRIEFS

Surprise IMF mission arrives in Kyiv

KYIV - Mohammed Shadman-Valavi, head of the IMF's Ukraine mission, led an IMF delegation on an unannounced September 2 visit to Kyiv. The delegation met with Vice Premier Serhii Tyhypko and expects to meet with other government officials, including Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksander Tkachenko to discuss concerns about the T-bill conversion program and Ukraine's obligations to Merrill Lynch International. (Eastern Economist)

Kuchma's impeachment sought

KYIV - Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada's Budget Committee, Yulia Tymoshenko, addressed the parliament on September 2 regarding her resolution to bring impeachment proceedings against President Leonid Kuchma. She said that her resolution stems from President Kuchma's decree on the 1998 budget cuts that she claims violate articles 92-95 of the Constitution. She said that the draft law on impeachment of the President is already before the Verkhovna Rada, but claims that the procedure for impeachment is complicated and a national no-confidence referendum would be a more effective measure. To initiate such a referendum, the Parliament must support the measure by at least 200 votes and at least 3 million voters from at least 18 regions must sign a petition. According to Ms. Tymoshenko, the referendum could be held as soon as January 1999. (Eastern Economist)

Russia, Ukraine should cancel debts

KYIV - Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko said the Ukrainian government wants Ukraine's debt to Gazprom and Russia's debts to Ukrainian plants to be canceled, Interfax reported on August 27. He added that this problem was a major item on the agenda of his talks with Russia's Viktor Chernomyrdin on August 26. "We will insist on this arrangement," the agency quoted Mr. Pustovoitenko as saying. In early July, Ukraine owed Russia $610 million for gas supplies. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Help for Tatar citizenship issue

SIMFEROPOL - Ukraine is close to resolving one of the problems with deported peoples that was threatening the already difficult socio-political situation in Crimea reported UNIAN, and the news was revealed by Presidential Chief-of-Staff Yevhen Kushnariov on August 28. The improvement was made after Ukraine and Uzbekistan signed an agreement on August 22 on the citizenship of Crimean Tatars, the majority of whom came to Crimea from Uzbekistan. The Uzbeki President has signed a document simplifying the procedures as to Crimean Tatars relinquishing their Uzbeki citizenship. Leaders of the more than 80,000 Crimean Tarars in Ukraine expressesd their approval of the agreement. (Eastern Economist)

Ukraine protests Luzhkov comments

KYIV - Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has summoned Russia's ambassador to Ukraine, Yurii Dubinin, to protest statements made by Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov on August 26 in Sevastopol, AP reported. Speaking at the opening of a Russian-language school, Mayor Luzhkov accused Ukrainian authorities of forced Ukrainization of the city and its educational system and of attempts to force the Ukrainian language on ethnic Russian residents. Mayor Luzhkov also told Russian servicemen in Sevastopol to continue to hope that the city will return to Russia. "Some statements by Yurii Luzhkov can be assessed as an intrusion into Ukraine's internal affairs and disrespect for its sovereignty," the ministry said in a statement. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lukashenka promotes Slavic unity (again)

CRIMEA - Belarus and Ukraine can help Russia overcome its crisis if the three former Soviet republics draw closer together, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka told journalists on August 28, at the end of his three-day visit to Crimea. "Bringing the three Slavic countries closer will be a strong factor in stabilizing the situation not only in Russia, but in Belarus and Ukraine," Interfax quoted him as saying. Lukashenka said that the financial collapse in Russia was predictable and that the Russian government "should have warned Ukraine and Belarus." In his opinion, the current situation pushes the three presidents to make "steps toward each other. The three of us will be to blame if we fail to use this unique situation." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Additional sums for pension fund

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma has decreed temporary charges on the sale of gold jewelry, cars, and gasoline to be paid as compulsory pension insurance, Ukrainian News reported on August 31. Under the decree, retailers must pay 3 percent of the price of each piece of gold jewelry (except wedding rings), 100 hryvni (some $44) for each car, and 1 kopeck for each liter of gasoline. Another presidential decree bans enterprises that owe wages from raising employees' wages or benefits until the wage arrears have been paid. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Japanese interested in Ukrainian rockets

KYIV - The Japanese ambassador to Ukraine Yuji Kurokawa has said that Japan may use Ukrainian rockets in future, UNIAN reported on August 28. He said that the first step in this direction will be fulfillment of the project in which a Japanese company is providing a $70 million dollar credit to PivdenMash to produce Zenit rockets for the international Sea Launch project. (Eastern Economist)

Golden Telecom expands network

KYIV - GSM-1800 cellular communications operator Golden Telecom has established international roaming with three more countries: Bulgaria, Greece and Slovenia. Golden Telecom has also widened its GSM-1800 coverage in Ukraine to include the Zoloti Vorota dacha village near Kyiv. (Eastern Economist)

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