NEWSBRIEFS (01/09/00)

NEWSBRIEFS

World leaders hail Yeltsin legacy

PRAGUE - U.S. President Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan all praised Boris Yeltsin for his role in leading Russia during its transition, while pledging to continue work with acting President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Schroeder, French President Jacques Chirac and the Swiss Foreign Ministry also called for an end to the war in Chechnya. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Mr. Yeltsin's resignation "opens the door to the continuation of vital reforms." Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said he hopes to work with Mr. Putin "to do our utmost to conclude a peace treaty in 2000." Chinese leader Jiang Zemin praised Mr. Yeltsin for forging a "strategic partnership" with China, adding that he was willing "to carry out friendly cooperation" with Putin. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lukashenka's cites political loss

MIENSK - In his televised New Year's address on December 31, 1999, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka called Russian President Yeltsin's resignation "a step of a courageous man. My heart cannot accept this political loss for me," he added. Mr. Lukashenka said President Yeltsin has made a major personal contribution to "the sacrosanct case of the unification of our nations." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Presidents comment on resignation ...

PRAGUE - Azerbaijan's President Heidar Aliev has suggested that former Russian President Boris Yeltsin stepped down "because he was unable to work any more." Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze on December 31, 1999, praised Mr. Yeltsin's move as courageous, adding that he "made a unique contribution to democratic reforms in Russia." A spokesman for Kyrgyzstan's President Askar Akaev told RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau on December 31, 1999, that Mr. Yeltsin's move was "the right one," and will strengthen democratic institutions in Russia. Tajikistan's Imomali Rakhmonov said Mr. Yeltsin made "a resolute and wise move, opening the way to the young." Uzbekistan's Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov termed the resignation the only correct decision in the circumstances. (RFE/RL Newsline)

... and Putin's elevation to presidency

PRAGUE - Acting President Vladimir Putin held telephone conversations on January 3 with Presidents Heidar Aliev of Azerbaijan, Imomali Rakhmonov of Tajikistan and Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan. Neither Mr. Aliev nor Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze publicly commented on Mr. Putin's elevation to the post of acting president, but both expressed hope that bilateral relations with Russia will now improve. President Askar Akaev of Kyrgyzstan and Mr. Rakhmonov both sent messages of congratulation to Mr. Putin. Mr. Rakhmonov also expressed confidence that cooperation between Tajikistan and Russia will continue, according to ITAR-TASS. Mr. Karimov said on January 3 that he believes the expectation of many people both in Russia and abroad that Mr. Putin will restore Russia to its former superpower status are entirely justified. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv optimistic about IMF program

KYIV - Yurii Yekhanurov, Ukraine's new vice prime minister, on January 4 said the government will ask the International Monetary Fund to send a mission to Kyiv on January 10 in order to negotiate the resumption of the fund's $2.6 billion loan program, Interfax reported. According to Mr. Yekhanurov, the government should implement "69 preliminary measures" until the end of January to obtain further IMF credit tranches. He said he is confident that the IMF will resume the loan program. "Everybody in the world and, first and foremost, our people should realize that [we are] a government of new formation, with new approaches, and we want such changes in Ukraine that could enable us to count on an efficient economy in the future," he noted. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Charges filed in attack on Vitrenko

KYIV - The Security Service of Ukraine on January 4 announced that charges have been lodged against Serhii Ivanchenko in connection with a grenade attack on Progressive Socialist Party leader Natalia Vitrenko during her presidential campaign rally in Kryvyi Rih on October 2, 1999, Interfax reported. Mr. Ivanchenko was arrested on December 25, 1999, in Moscow and transferred to Ukraine on December 31. The agency described Mr. Ivanchenko as a campaign organizer for a rival presidential candidate, Socialist Party leader Oleksander Moroz. Mr. Moroz denied any involvement in the attack, which injured 29 people, including Ms. Vitrenko. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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