NEWSBRIEFS (09/26/99)

NEWSBRIEFS

Security concerns over soccer match

KYIV - Ukraine is ready to play a European championship qualifier against Russia in Moscow on October 9 after suggesting the game should be moved to a neutral venue because of fears of terrorism. President Leonid Kuchma, a big soccer fan, said at a news briefing on September 16 that ,"As a fan, I think the match should take place in any case. But Russia should provide security for the soccer players and the match." Ukrainian news agencies had quoted Borys Voskresenskyi, vice-president of the Ukrainian Football Federation, as saying on that the qualifier should be switched and adding that Ukraine would ask European governing body UEFA to move the tie to a neutral country. Volodymyr Lashkul, a vice-chairman of the football federation, said on Friday the body had not asked UEFA to move the match from Moscow and would not do so. The Russian Football Union has decided to impose extremely tight security measures at all domestic matches. (Reuters)

Cabinet submits 2000 budget draft

KYIV - The government on September 15 submitted a draft 2000 budget to the Verkhovna Rada. Finance Minister Ihor Mitiukov said the next day that Ukraine's debt obligations in 2000 forced the Cabinet of Ministers for the first time during Ukraine's independence to draft a budget with a surplus. The draft projects the country's GDP in 2000 at 150.8 billion hrv ($33 billion), with revenues set at 27.1 billion hrv and spending at 26.5 billion hrv. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Polish president visits Katyn

KATYN - On September 17 in Katyn, Smolensk Oblast, Aleksander Kwasniewski paid tribute to thousands of Polish prisoners of war murdered by the Soviet Union after its invasion of Poland on that same day in 1939. Some 15,000 Polish army officers, policemen and border guards from the camps of Ostashkov, Kozelsk and Starobelsk were executed by the Soviet NKVD in 1940. President Kwasniewski's trip to Katyn and subsequently to another execution site in Kharkiv serves to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Soviet aggression. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Swiss cooperate in Lazarenko case

BERN, Switzerland - Swiss authorities are providing U.S. officials with legal assistant in the case of Pavlo Lazarenko, who is being held in a San Francisco area federal detention center after he attempted to enter the United States in February on in invalid visa. He later asked for political asylum in the United States, claiming that he is a victim of political persecution in Ukraine. Switzerland is giving the U.S. authorities information on bank documents related to the former prime minister of Ukraine and other persons. In addition, it is freezing all assets that may be related to money laundering in the case. No decision has yet been made on the Swiss request for Mr. Lazarenko's extradition. (The New York Times)

Second Tatar gets 1999 U.N. award

KYIV - Crimean Tatar Elmaz Appasova, a Kamenka resident, received the United Nations' Race Against Poverty award along with five others from around the world at the U.N. headquarters in New York City. The formal announcement in Kyiv came from U.N. Development Program Director Pedro Pablo Villanueva. Ms. Appasova said, "I hope that those of my people still in Uzbekistan and Kazakstan will also have the opportunity to return." Ms. Appasova, a medical specialist, works at an outpatient clinic built under the auspices of the Crimean Integration and Development Program run by the United Nations. This year, the second phase of the project has a budget of $4.5 million (U.S.), part of which is matched by the international community. Mustafa Jemilev, head of the Tatar Mejlis, or council, received a medal and a $100,000 award from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees earlier this year. (Eastern Economist)

Parliament raises minimum pension

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada on September 17 voted 299-8 to approve raising the minimum pension from the current 24.9 hrv ($5.4 U.S.) to 55 hrv, the Associated Press reported. Given President Leonid Kuchma's repeated vetoes of several pension increases, the Parliament's decision seems to be yet another example of the confrontation between the legislature and the government before the October 31 presidential elections. State Pension Fund Chairman Borys Zaichuk commented that his fund, whose annual revenues total 13 billion hrv, will not be able to find the additional 9.7 billion hrv needed to pay for the increase. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kazak president in Kyiv to boost ties

KYIV - Nursultan Nazarbaev arrived in Kyiv on September 16 for two days of economic talks. Mr. Nazarbaev and Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma signed the following day a 10-year economic cooperation agreement. "There are no problems between Ukraine and Kazakstan, but trade is developing slowly," ITAR-TASS quoted Mr. Nazarbaev as saying. Talks between Ukrainian Presidents Kuchma and Nazarbaev on September 17-18 resulted in the signing of several protocols on cooperation in the oil and gas sectors and a 10-year cooperation agreement. Ukraine wants Kazakstan to supply 5 billion cubic meters of gas next year so that Kyiv is less dependent on gas supplies from Russia and Turkmenistan. Kazakstan agreed to supply 1.5 million tons of oil to Ukraine by the end of this year. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada overrides president's veto on budget

KYIV - Lawmakers have overridden President Leonid Kuchma's veto on a bill introducing amendments to the 2000 budget, the Eastern Economic Daily reported on September 16. The amendments, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in June, provided for additional allocations to pay wage arrears to teachers, finance the agricultural sector and increase the financing of the presidential elections. The Parliament also rejected a presidential bill on additional sources of revenues to pay wage and pension arrears as "overtly populist." President Kuchma proposed state-owned assets such as non-arable land, sanatoriums, spas and hotels be sold to raise funds for this purpose. (RFE/RL Newsline)

U.S. envoy resumes duties in Miensk

MIENSK - U.S. Ambassador Daniel Speckhard returned to his post in Belarus on September 14 after being recalled to protest his eviction from the ambassador's residence in June 1998. The U.S. State Department said Mr. Speckhard's return was made possible by Belarus's pledge to abide by the Vienna Convention and to compensate for losses suffered by the U.S. Embassy as a result of the envoy's eviction. "I'm very glad to return to Belarus - we have fallen in love [with the country]," Ambassador Speckhard said at a Miensk airport. "Having Ambassador Speckhard back in Miensk will enable us more effectively to promote democracy and human rights, help those who support and work for the restoration of democratic rule, and promote other interests that we have in Belarus," the State Department noted. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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