Kuchma and Yeltsin meet in Moscow (07/11/99)

Kuchma and Yeltsin meet in Moscow

Eastern Economist

MOSCOW - President Leonid Kuchma traveled to Moscow on July 4 for informal talks with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The two met informally at Mr. Yeltsin's dacha to breathe life back into Russian-Ukrainian relations.

They discussed bilateral cooperation in energy and agriculture, and Black Sea Fleet issues. Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitrii Yakushkin informed media that the two leaders agreed that ownership of the Black Sea Fleet's flagship, Moskva, which was recently built in Mykolaiv, will be transferred to Russia. Also on the agenda was a discussion of international issues, specifically the situation in Yugoslavia and the Kosovo settlement.

Presidents Yeltsin and Kuchma discussed Ukraine's energy arrears which, according to Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin's testimony before the Russian Federation Council on July 3, total approximately $1 billion (U.S.). In his testimony Mr. Stepashin said Ukraine has difficulty paying the debts in cash, adding that both sides were discussing different forms of payment.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko complained in Kyiv on July 3 that critical supplies of Russian petroleum necessary for conducting the fall harvest were being held up by Russian business structures.

According to President Kuchma's spokesman Oleksander Martynenko, the presidents agreed that Mr. Yeltsin would pay an official visit to Kyiv in September.

Before flying to back Kyiv on July 4, President Kuchma met briefly with the Yaroslavl Oblast Chairman Anatolii Lisitsin to discuss prospects for economic cooperation between that oblast and Ukrainian enterprises.

| Home Page |