NEWSBRIEFS (06/04/00)

NEWSBRIEFS

Kwasniewski for Ukraine's integration

WARSAW - President Aleksander Kwasniewski said on May 26 that Poland will support Ukraine's integration into Europe, the PAP and Interfax news services reported. "Europe will be free only if Ukraine becomes a member of the European structures, if it is allowed into European markets," Interfax quoted him as saying. Mr. Kwasniewski met with Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma in Rzeszow at a Polish-Ukrainian economic forum where they discussed ways to boost bilateral trade and investment as well as joint plans to construct an Odesa-Brody-Gdansk gas pipeline. Mr. Kwasniewski denied reports that Poland supports a project to construct the Yamal-Slovakia pipeline via Polish territory and bypassing Ukraine, Ukrainian Television reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma: no reason to disband Rada

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma told a forum of businessmen in Kyiv on May 30 that there are "no political, legal, economic or other reasons" to hold early parliamentary elections in Ukraine, Interfax reported. Mr. Kuchma said some political forces unhappy with the political stability in Ukraine are trying to campaign for early elections. He noted, however, that it is premature to predict that the pro-government parliamentary majority has already acquired "a stable and permanent character." (RFE/RL Newsline)

President warns of overestimating growth

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma said he is "resolutely opposed" to exaggerating the impact of the 10 percent industrial-production growth in Ukraine in the first quarter of this year. In his opinion, Ukraine's production sector is "very inert" and this year's growth has resulted not only from "recent decisions and measures" but also from "all the past work." He warned that "the growth impetus has not become stable yet, it may exhaust itself very soon." Mr. Kuchma also expressed his concern that economic improvement has not translated into higher wages for average Ukrainians or into a reduction of the existing wage and pension arrears. He said that as of May 10 the government's wage backlog totaled $6.4 billion hrv ($1.2 billion U.S.). (RFE/RL Newsline)

Belarus, Ukraine criticize Russia

BREST - Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and his Ukrainian counterpart, Leonid Kuchma, met in Brest on May 27 and agreed to sign accords on mutual debts and border issues, Belapan and Interfax reported. No details of the accords have been made known. President Kuchma said after the meeting that Russia is pursuing its own political interests in the Commonwealth of Independent States while failing to promote genuine economic integration. "All the CIS countries have ratified the free trade accord, only Russia is undecided. What customs union can we speak of?" Belarusian Television quoted Mr. Kuchma as saying. "This is the main problem, a stumbling block. ... He [Kuchma] is right," Mr. Lukashenka responded. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Crimean Parliament sacks Cabinet

SYMFEROPOL - The 100-seat Crimean Parliament on May 24 voted 68-20 to dismiss the peninsula's government, led by Prime Minister Serhii Kunitsyn, Interfax reported. An adopted resolution says the performance of the Crimean Cabinet has been unsatisfactory this year. Crimean Parliament Chairman Leonid Hrach will now submit Mr. Kunitsyn's dismissal for Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma's approval. The election of a new Crimean prime minister is subject to Kyiv's approval. Messrs. Hrach and Kunitsyn have repeatedly tried to oust each other, forcing President Kuchma to mediate on each occasion. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv reacts to Crimean developments

KYIV - Ukraine's First Vice Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov on May 25 said the Crimean legislature's ouster of the Crimean Cabinet will destabilize the situation on the peninsula, Interfax reported. "The economy is improving and positive trends are increasing, so the tension that took place [in Crimea] is quite absurd," Mr. Yekhanurov commented. The chief of the presidential administration, Volodymyr Lytvyn, said the same day that President Leonid Kuchma has every reason "to cancel" the ouster of Serhii Kunitsyn's Cabinet. Mr. Kunitsyn said the legislature dismissed him to protect patrons in the peninsula's energy sector from an anti-corruption drive he had launched. The Associated Press reported that he noted there "were no economic arguments" against his government, adding that it had spurred industrial growth early this year and reduced its debt to public sector workers. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Miensk upset by Helm's pledge

MIENSK - The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Belarus said on May 27 that it is upset by Sen. Jesse Helms' pledge to sponsor legislation to provide direct U.S. financial support to democratic forces and civil society in Belarus, the Belapan news service reported. Mr. Helms, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, promised such a move at a May 24 meeting in Washington with a Belarusian opposition delegation. The delegation consisted of Vintsuk Viachorka, head of the Belarusian Popular Front; Anatol Liabedzka, head of the United Civic Party; Pavel Zhuk, chief editor of Nasha Svaboda, an independent newspaper; and Zmitser Bandarenka, a leader of the Charter-97 human rights group. The ministry warned the United States that the pledged support constitutes interference in the internal affairs of Belarus. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Teachers demand overdue wages

KYIV - Some 2,500 teachers on May 26 picketed the government building to demand that the government pay their overdue wages, and for it to increase salaries and budget spending on education, Interfax reported. According to Leonid Sachkov, head of the Trade Union of Education Workers, the wage backlog in the sector now totals 140 million hrv ($25.8 million). Mr. Sachkov said the average monthly wage of a teacher is 138 hrv ($25). (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukrainian troops to be reduced

KYIV - Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council has set target figures for reducing the number of army troops, Interfax reported on May 29. The council announced that Ukraine's armed forces will total 400,000 by December 31 of this year and 375,000 by December 31, 2005. Defense Minister Oleksander Kuzmuk said the reductions are intended to bring the Ukrainian army closer to European models. He added that army units will be made more mobile, multifunctional and efficient in combat. The numerical strength of Ukraine's army in 1997 was 476,000 troops. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Envoy comments on Chornobyl closure

KYIV - U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Stephen Pifer said on May 29 that Ukraine could improve its chances to raise funds to shore up the sarcophagus over Chornobyl's destroyed reactor if Kyiv announces a date to close the entire nuclear power plant, Reuters reported. "There have already been about $400 million raised to build a new sarcophagus over the destroyed reactor. We still need about $350 million and I expect that my government will shortly be announcing a fairly sizable contribution," Ambassador Pifer noted. He said Chornobyl will be one of the issues on the agenda during U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit to Ukraine on June 5. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Crimean Communists re-elect leader

SYMFEROPOL - Crimean Communists on May 29 re-elected Crimean Parliament Chairman Leonid Hrach as first secretary of the Crimean Republican Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, Interfax reported. They also adopted a resolution obliging Crimean Communists "to expose the anti-popular essence of Ukraine's regime, free all spheres of life from oligarchic domination, replace today's 'democracy' with genuine people's democracy and gradually return social guarantees to the working people." The Crimean branch of Ukraine's Communist Party, which Mr. Hrach has led for nine years, has 8,600 members. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lithuanian cardinal dead at 80

VILNIUS - After a long illness, Cardinal Vincentas Sladkevicius died on May 28 at the age of 80. President Valdas Adamkus said the cardinal "can undoubtedly be considered the 20th century's model of morals, service to God, truth and humanness," the BNS press service reported. Pope John Paul II called Cardinal Sladkevicius a "diligent servant of God" in his tribute to the only Lithuanian cardinal in the last few centuries. Cardinal Sladkevicius was first ordained in 1944 and faced continuous repression and pressure from Soviet authorities, even after his elevation to cardinal 12 years ago. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Poll shows media preferences

KYIV - According to a poll carried out by GfK-USM for the Institute for Politics, residents of Kyiv have the most trust in the newspapers Argumenty i Fakty, cited by 59 percent of respondents, and Khreschatyk, 52 percent. The least trusted are Viechernie Viesti, 2 percent, and Kievskie Viedomosti, 1 percent. The poll showed that the most influential newspaper is Fakty, cited by 65 percent of respondents, RIO with 40 percent and Kievskie Viedomosti with 32 percent. Eleven percent of those polled do not read newspapers at all and 37 percent were attracted to Russian publications. The most popular TV channels were Inter, cited by 82 percent of respondents, and Studio 1+1, 77 percent. The third was Novyi Kanal with 49 percent. The leader among Kyiv's radio stations was Russkoie Radio with 26 percent. The experts stated that the trust in radio in Kyiv is higher than that in newspapers, but much lower than that in television. (Eastern Economist)

Ukraine to destroy all strategic bombers

KYIV - Defense Ministry official Volodymyr Shapovalov told Interfax on May 25 that Ukraine will dismantle its last 15 Soviet-era strategic bombers and 354 cruise missiles by the end of 2001. Mr. Shapovalov added that Kyiv will also destroy five TU-95 aircraft that Russia had sent to Ukraine for repairs but failed to pay for that service. According to Mr. Shapovalov, Ukraine will sign an agreement with two U.S. companies in May on destroying 46 SS-24 intercontinental missiles and their launching complexes by the end of 2005. "The U.S. government guarantees sponsorship of all work until the end regardless of their duration," Mr. Shapovalov noted. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lazarenko hearing postponed again

KYIV - The next hearing of the political asylum case of Ukraine's ex-Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko was postponed to July 24, stated Mr. Lazarenko's lawyer, Maryna Dolgopola. She added that another delay in the case proves the lack of evidence to support Mr. Lazarenko's extradition. Ms. Dolgopola stressed that the hearing postponement was not on Mr. Lazarenko's initiative. She added that Ukraine's Procurator General Mykhailo Potebenko "made false claims in stating that his office has solid proof" in the Lazarenko case. (Eastern Economist)

Yuschenko in Kaniv for memorial

KANIV - Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko on May 21 attended a memorial service commemorating the 139th anniversary of the relocation the ashes of Ukrainian national poet Taras Shevchenko from St. Petersburg to Kaniv. He also participated in a ceremony consecrating the site of a monument to Kozak leader Ivan Pidkova. The monument will be unveiled on October 14 and will be the first of the Kozak Hall of Fame to be built on the initiative of Lviv citizens and Shevchenko National Reserve employees. (Eastern Economist)

| Home Page |