NEWSBRIEFS (11/28/99)

NEWSBRIEFS

Kuchma to nominate Pustovoitenko

ISTANBUL - President Leonid Kuchma on November 19 told journalists in Istanbul, where he was attending a summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, that he will propose that Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko head the new Cabinet, Interfax reported. Mr. Kuchma added that he made that decision on the basis of "this year's economic results." According to the Constitution of Ukraine, the old Cabinet of Ministers must resign immediately after the president-elect's inauguration. The president appoints a new prime minister, who must be approved by at least 226 parliamentary deputies. The National Democratic Party on November 17 proposed that its leader, the current prime minister, be tapped to head the new cabinet. (RFE/RL Newsline)

President rejects bill on elections

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma said he will not sign the bill on parliamentary elections that lawmakers adopted in its first reading on November 19. President Kuchma noted that he could sign the bill only if a bicameral legislature were introduced in Ukraine. He added that the bill does not conform "with the interests of a majority of people," saying that political parties in Ukraine reflect "only the interests of their leaders, not the people." The chances of those parties improve under a proportional election system, which is proposed in the Verkhovna Rada's bill. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada, Kuchma bicker over inauguration

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada on November 19 passed a resolution stating that President Leonid Kuchma's inauguration for a second term in office will take place on November 30 in the parliament, Interfax reported. Mr. Kuchma said the same day that he had discussed his inauguration with Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksander Tkachenko and agreed with him that the ceremony will take place in the Ukraina concert hall. "Should I take my oath in front of the Parliament? I should take it in front of the Ukrainian people," President Kuchma said. Meanwhile, National Deputy Oleksander Yeliashkevych said that if Mr. Kuchma's inauguration does not take place in the Parliament this will mean "the beginning of the end of parliamentarism" in Ukraine, according to Interfax. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma proposes Black Sea trade zone

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine on November 17 addressed an informal summit of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSECO), which took place shortly before the OSCE summit in Istanbul, Interfax reported. Mr. Kuchma suggested that the creation of a free-trade zone in the region could give a "powerful impetus" to regional cooperation. He also noted that increased cooperation with the European Union and membership in that organization is an "objective necessity for most members" of the BSECO. "We should synchronize to the maximum extent our actions with the EU, primarily in the economic sphere, and pool our efforts in order to prevent the appearance of new dividing lines on the continent," he said. (RFE/RL Newsline)

PM proposes parliamentary coalition

KYIV - Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko on November 17 said a parliamentary pro-government majority can be set up with the participation of the Green Party, the Social Democratic Party (United), the two factions of the Rukh, the National Democratic Party, the Rebirth of Regions group, the Labor Ukraine group, the Reform-Congress group, the Independents group and non- aligned deputies. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tkachenko predicts center-left majority

KYIV - Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksander Tkachenko said on November 16 that the creation of a center-left parliamentary majority is more likely than that of a center- right one, Interfax reported. Such a majority, he argued, could be formed by deputies of the Communist Party, the Socialist Party, the Peasant Party and the Progressive Socialist Party. Mr. Tkachenko added that this alignment could also be joined by the Hromada Party. Mr. Tkachenko noted that the rightist parliamentary parties are unable to form a majority that "could positively influence the [country's] economic development." According to Mr. Tkachenko's deputy, Viktor Medvedchuk of the Social Democratic Party (United), parliamentary deputies may form a majority "in the next few days," spurred on by the prospect of forming a coalition Cabinet. President Leonid Kuchma has threatened to seek the dissolution of the parliament unless that body creates a pro-government majority. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Belarus to be independent in union

MIENSK - Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on November 16 said Belarus sovereignty and independence will remain "inflexible and unshakable" in the planned union state with Russia, Belarusian Television reported. "There will be no question of our joining Russia as six [separate] oblasts or any other state as the whole republic," Mr. Lukashenka said. He noted that Belarus will accept only "equal conditions" and a "civilized method" of integration with Russia, adding that there is no alternative to the process of integration. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Belarus-Russia union treaty amended

MIENSK - Belarusian presidential chief of staff Mikhail Myasnikovich told Interfax on November 16 that Belarus and Russia have found an "optimal variant" of the union state treaty that is to be signed in Moscow on November 26. However, Mr. Myasnikovich noted that the treaty calls for "setting up a union state" and does not envisage the integration of Belarus and Russia into a single state. Mr. Myasnikovich added that during the public debate of the draft treaty more than 1,300 proposals were made on how to improve the draft; as a result, some 500 amendments were introduced into the document. Meanwhile, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's aide Mikhail Sazonau said 99 percent of all amendments are "purely technical" and do not change the nature of the functions or powers of the union bodies as stated in the draft. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine will not join Slavic union

KYIV - Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Ihor Hrushko said on November 16 that Ukraine is interested in deepening cooperation with neighboring countries, but does not intend to join the union of Belarus and Russia, Interfax reported. Commenting on the planned signing of a treaty establishing the union state of Belarus and Russia, Mr. Hrushko noted that "the creation of any Slavic unions would amount to giving preference to some ethnic groups at the expense of others." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kravchuk cited among century's notables

KYIV - The International Biographical Center and the U.S. Biographical Institute have awarded ex-president Leonid Kravchuk the Outstanding Person of the 20th Century medal, which was introduced for the year 2000, for his major contribution to the creation of an independent Ukraine. Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandela, Vaclav Havel, Henry Kissinger and others were also distinguished. (Eastern Economist)

Ukraine's armed forces underarmed

SEVASTOPOL - The Ukrainian army and navy are supplied only 37 percent of their requirements, according to Defense Minister Oleksander Kuzmuk. Nevertheless, the armed forces received 16 new kinds of weapons and machinery in 1999, he added. Currently 430,000 persons serve in Ukraine's military; the country's military forces possesses 231,000 units of machinery, 4,050 tanks, 150 vessels and 53 military plants. (Eastern Economist)

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