NEWSBRIEFS (08/01/99)

NEWSBRIEFS

Ukraine, Russia stage joint navy parade

SEVASTOPOL - Ukraine joined Russia's annual celebration of Black Sea Fleet Day, July 25, for the first time since the country gained independence in 1991. Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov attended a joint navy parade in Sevastopol. Mr. Luzhkov stressed his view that Sevastopol belongs to Russia, adding that the issue "sooner or later will be resolved as history and justice demands," the Associated Press reported. Following a meeting with the Moscow mayor the same day, President Kuchma said "Sevastopol is and will remain Ukrainian, I do not have any disputes on the matter with anyone," ITAR-TASS reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Strategic bombers for gas debts?

KYIV - Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksander Kuzmuk said on July 26 that Ukraine can give Russia 10 Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic bombers to cover part of Kyiv's debt for Russian gas supplies, Interfax reported. Mr. Kuzmuk added that the price of each aircraft would "exceed $25 million." Russia has so far not responded to the defense minister's offer. Under a 1991 arms reduction program, Ukraine is obliged to eliminate all bombers and other nuclear hardware by December 2001. The U.S. has contributed more than $500 million for that purpose. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Poland-America-Ukraine council meets

WARSAW - The first council meeting of the Poland-America-Ukraine Cooperation Initiative (PAUCI), a trilateral initiative designed to foster linkages and exchanges among the three countries, was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw on July 19. Participants of the meeting included Daniel Fried, U.S. ambassador to Poland; Steven Pifer, U.S. ambassador to Ukraine; Marek Zikowski of the Eastern Europe Department at Poland's Foreign Affairs Ministry; and Yevhen Bersheda, first vice minister for foreign affairs of Ukraine. The PAUCI will provide grant funding and support for linkages among Polish and Ukrainian civil society and government leaders, focusing on the areas of macroeconomic policy, small business development and local government reform. The program will be implemented by the newly formed PAUCI Secretariat, through an agreement between the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Eurasia Foundation. (Eastern Economist)

EU chief praises Ukrainian president

KYIV - "Let me take this opportunity to express my personal admiration for the leadership of President [Leonid] Kuchma and the concrete achievements of Ukraine in the past five years," Reuters quoted Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen, who now presides over the European Union, as saying in Kyiv on July 23. An EU delegation led by Mr. Lipponen signed agreements on oil transport and on nuclear safety and research. Mr. Lipponen pledged up to 150 million euros ($143 million U.S.) to strengthen Ukraine's banking and financial systems. He also said the EU may provide funds to complete the construction of two nuclear reactors in Ukraine. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tkachenko slams Kuchma leadership

KYIV - Parliament Chairman Oleksander Tkachenko, a major candidate in the October presidential race, has accused President Leonid Kuchma of harboring authoritarian plans and causing the economic and social collapse of Ukraine. "The years of the current president will be remembered in history as the epoch of political cynicism, lack of action, irresponsibility and downfall of the entire social life," Mr. Tkachenko said in Cherkasy on July 23, according to the Associated Press. Mr. Kuchma's leftist rivals have recently begun publicizing the idea that the president may introduce a state of emergency in order to call off the presidential elections. Mr. Tkachenko mentioned the acute fuel crisis, price hikes and a possible devaluation of the hryvnia as probable reasons for a state of emergency in the country. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rabinovich falls ill as officials lift ban

KYIV - The daily newspaper Den reported on July 24 that Vadym Rabinovich, R.C. Group president, planned to return to Ukraine July 26. His charter flight was expected to land at Boryspil Airport at 10 p.m. and well-informed sources said Mr. Rabinovich had been officially notified that the ban on his entry to Ukraine had been lifted on the morning of July 26. However, shortly before departing Jerusalem, Mr. Rabinovich felt sick, underwent a medical examination, and was hospitalized for heart dysfunction. Mr. Rabinovich may have to spend several days in hospital. (Eastern Economist)

Miners stage protest marches

KYIV - Some 1,000 miners' wives and children began a protest march on July 22 from Krasnodon, Luhansk Oblast, to the oblast center 40 kilometers away, to demand back wages for their husbands and fathers. Meanwhile, hundreds of miners from the Krasnodon area continued their protest march, which was begun earlier this month, to Kyiv, some 800 kilometers from Krasnodon. Official reports say Ukrainian miners are owed a total of 1.9 billion hryvni ($478 million U.S.). (RFE/RL Newsline)

Armenia cites Ukraine's stabilizing role

KYIV - Premier Valerii Pustovoitenko met Armenian Premier Vazgen Sarkisian to discuss ways to deepen cooperation. According to Armenian data, the Ukraine-Armenia trade turnover is down by $13 million (U.S.), said Mr. Sarkisian. Mr. Pustovoitenko stressed Ukraine's potential to produce farm machinery, cattle and railroad equipment. The parties considered cooperation prospects in alcohol export and power production, and agreed to explore possibilities for the creation of free trade zones. The Armenian prime minister invited his counterpart to visit Yerevan. He said he highly appreciates cooperation under the GUUAM alliance, where "Ukraine can play the role of a stabilizing factor in the region." (Eastern Economist)

Military exercises planned for August

LVIV - The international military exercises "Peaceshield '99" will take place August 1-15 at the Yavoriv training grounds near Lviv. The exercises will take place in accordance with an agreement between Ukraine's Defense Ministry and the U.S. Department of Defense. Officers and observers from 21 countries and military attaches in Ukraine will take part. (Eastern Economist)

Polls say incumbent leads

KYIV - A poll conducted last week by the independent Institute of Social Research and SOCIS-Gallup said 18 percent of respondents plan to vote for the incumbent in the October presidential elections. Progressive Socialist Party leader Natalia Vitrenko has 15 percent backing and Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko 12 percent. A recent poll conducted by the National Academy of Sciences' Sociology Institute found that Mr. Kuchma is supported by 21.8 percent of respondents, Ms. Vitrenko 17.9 percent, and Mr. Symonenko 14.8 percent. A survey of 645 people by Soyuz-Inform also found that the incumbent leads the pack in the election campaign in the cities of Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Kyiv and Sumy with 16.7 percent support. Mr. Symonenko received 12.1 percent; Ms. Vitrenko, 10 percent; Socialist Party leader Oleksander Moroz. 9.9 percent; National Deputy Yevhen Marchuk, 5.7 percent; Rukh Party leader Hennadii Udovenko, 4 percent. The demographic breakdown revealed that old people prefer Mr. Symonenko while the young choose Mr. Kuchma. (RFE/RL Newsline, Eastern Economist)

Stepashin meets with Russian émigrés

MOSCOW - Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin on July 26 met with a group of prominent Russian émigrés, including Roald Sagdaev, professor at the University of Maryland; Valerii Weinberg, editor of Novoye Russkoye Slovo; Vasilii Rodzyanko, the Russian Orthodox archbishop of Washington, San Francisco and West Coast states; and Princes Vladimir Golitsin and Grigorii Gagarin, ITAR-TASS reported. Mr. Stepashin suggested that the émigrés "can do a lot to create a favorable climate in the U.S." regarding Russia. According to the agency, Mr. Stepashin expressed his verbal support for a proposal to set up a New York-based council to supervise lobbying efforts on behalf of Russia in the U.S., but he quipped that the Russian government does not have the money to fund such an organization. Mr. Stepashin arrived in Washington the next day for his first visit there as head of the Russian government. He told reporters that among the aims of his visit are reviving the Gore-Stepashin Commission and developing personal contacts with U.S. Vice President Al Gore, ITAR-TASS reported. At a dinner in Seattle the previous night, Mr. Stepashin told members of the U.S.-Russia Business Council that reports of the "criminalization" of the Russian economy are exaggerated and that he is not dependent on magnates and tycoons. (RFE/RL Newsline)

States comment on Lukashenka regime

KYIV - No changes are expected in Ukraine-Belarus relations in the near future, said presidential spokesman Oleksander Martynenko on July 21 when asked for his outlook in the context of the passing of Alyaksandr Lukashenka's legitimacy as president. "Ukraine has been and will be cooperating with Belarus," said Mr. Martynenko adding, "President Kuchma regards all issues related to Belarus' constitutionally established structure and leadership as its purely internal affairs." Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesmen made comments similar to those of their Ukrainian colleagues, while both the United States and the European Union circulated statements on July 21 saying that July 20 was the day that Mr. Lukashenka's legitimacy as president expired. Polish officials stated that they will retain social contacts with Belarusian individuals whom they know. Charter 97 of Miensk reported that approximately 5,000 protesters had gathered at a peaceful demonstration against dictatorship in the heart of Europe. (Eastern Economist)

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