NEWSBRIEFS (11/05/00)

NEWSBRIEFS

Border delimitation nearly complete

KYIV - Ambassador-at-Large Yurii Kostenko, chief of the Ukrainian delegation to the border delimitation talks with Russia, told journalists on October 31 that the delimitation of the Ukrainian-Russian frontier has "practically" been concluded, Interfax reported. Mr. Kostenko said some 30 sections of the border in Rostov Oblast (Russia) as well as Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts (Ukraine) remain to be determined. He added that the sides must demonstrate "particular caution" with regard to these sections since they are in densely populated areas. According to Mr. Kostenko, an agreement on the delimitation of the Ukrainian-Russian land frontier may be ready for signing in the summer next year. He admitted that Kyiv and Moscow currently differ on how to determine the maritime part of their border in the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Swiss foreign minister visits Kyiv

KYIV - Switzerland's foreign affairs minister, Joseph Deiss, signed agreements on cooperation in transport and the avoidance of dual taxation during his visit to Kyiv on October 30, Interfax reported. Mr. Deiss pledged that Switzerland will continue rendering humanitarian aid to Ukraine, including to people affected by the Chornobyl nuclear disaster and to Tatars who are resettling to Crimea. Parliament Chairman Ivan Pliusch urged the Swiss minister to help Ukraine return "illegal deposits of Ukrainian citizens in Swiss banks," the Eastern Economist Daily reported. During a news conference at the end of his visit, Reuters reported that Mr. Deiss said Switzerland is ready to supply cannons for Ukraine's new tank, provided that those weapons are not sent to "undesirable" countries. Ukraine needs a cannon that meets NATO standards in order to attract international buyers for its newly developed tank. (RFE/RL Newsline)

President approves subsistence minimum

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma on October 30 approved the monthly subsistence minimum for this year at 270.1 hrv ($49.7 U.S.), Interfax reported. According to a law passed in July 1999, the monthly subsistence minimum is calculated each year by the government, endorsed by the Verkhovna Rada and approved by the president. The same day, Mr. Kuchma signed a law passed earlier this month stipulating that "the volume of the state's main social benefits to people for whom those benefits are their main source of livelihood" may not be lower than the subsistence minimum. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv seeks EU mediation on gas transit

KYIV - First Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Oleksander Chalyi said on October 27 that Kyiv wants more say in developing Europe's energy market, Reuters reported. He also asked the European Union to help mediate in Kyiv's dispute with Moscow over gas transit via Ukraine. "It is necessary to draw the European Union into the process of settling the issue of the transit of Russian energy to Europe," Mr. Chalyi stated. He said Ukraine wants "to apply European tariff policies" to shipments of Russian gas; this suggests that a new tariff scheme might involve Western gas consumers who are currently shouldering transit costs, according to Reuters. The issue of Russian gas supplies to Europe is likely to be raised at this week's Russia-EU summit in Paris. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Poland, Ukraine sign protocol

WARSAW - Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek and his Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko, signed a protocol on mutual trade and economic cooperation on October 27, the PAP news service reported. The protocol mentions the completion of the Odesa-Brody-Gdansk pipeline, joint participation in "European energy plans," as well as the cooperation in ship-building, production of agricultural machinery and modernization of Ukraine's power generation plants. Poland's trade turnover with Ukraine amounted to $700 million in January-July of this year, up 30 percent compared with the same period last year. Mr. Buzek commented that Polish-Ukrainian economic relations have acquired a "qualitatively new level." Mr. Yuschenko said his trip to Poland last week confirmed that both countries are strategic partners pursuing a single goal: European integration. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukrainian president visits Portugal

LISBON - President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine visited Portugal on October 25-27, holding talks on bilateral trade and cooperation with Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio and Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, Interfax reported. The two sides signed an agreement on friendship and cooperation as well as intergovernmental accords on investment, education, science, technology, and media. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Growth in GDP better than expected

KYIV - First Vice Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov said on October 25 that the government expects this year's GDP to grow by at least 3.5 percent compared with last year, Interfax reported. Earlier this year, the government predicted that the economy would grow by 2 percent in 2000. Mr. Yekhanurov said newly privatized food and wood-processing companies were among the main factors contributing to the revised growth estimate. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Privatization of energy suppliers launched

KYIV - The State Property Fund has announced a tender for privatizing three regional energy distributors, the Eastern Economist Daily reported on October 26. The fund wants to sell 75.56 percent of ZhytomyrOblEnergo, 75 percent of KyivOblEnergo and 75 percent RivneOblEnergo. The asking prices for those stakes are 95.174 million hrv ($17.5 million), 174.032 million hrv, and 100.612 million hrv, respectively. Conditions of the tender include repaying the energy distributors' debts to energy-generating companies, uninterrupted supplies of electricity to consumers who have no debts and preserving jobs for one year after the purchase. The tender date has been set for February 22, 2001. The fund plans to announce next month the terms for selling another three regional energy distributors. President Leonid Kuchma commented from Lisbon, where he was on an official visit, that corruption and the influence of "oligarchs" over the economy will ease once Ukraine privatizes its key assets, Reuters reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Italy plans Consulate in Lviv

LVIV - The chairman of the Lviv Oblast State Administration, Stepan Senchuk, met with Italian Ambassador to Ukraine Iolanta Brunetti to discuss the opening of an Italian Consulate in Lviv. Italy is one of the countries actively cooperating and trading with the Lviv Oblast. (Eastern Economist)

More funds issued for Chornobyl closure

KYIV - The Chornobyl nuclear power plant will close on time as scheduled on December 15, Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko assured the public, saying that another $100 million (U.S.) was issued to the Fuel and Energy Sector to compensate for the plant's closure. Commenting on social protection of the Chornobyl plant's employees, Mr. Yuschenko said that more jobs will be created in Slavutych, while some employees will stay on at the power plant to complete work which might be needed for the next 15 years. (Eastern Economist)

Communists remain more popular

KYIV - The Center for Social and Marketing Studies (SOCIS) has found that if parliamentary elections were held in October, the Communist Party of Ukraine would obtain 20.42 percent of the vote, Interfax reported on October 27. The poll registered a wide gap between Ukraine's Communists and other parties: the Social Democratic Party (United) would be backed by 4.58 percent of voters, the Popular Rukh of Ukraine (Gennadiy Udovenko's wing) by 4.17 percent and the Green Party by 4.17 percent. The other 13 parties mentioned by respondents did not exceed the 4 percent threshold that political parties in Ukraine need to overcome in order to have their candidates elected to the Parliament on party tickets. Of those polled, 37.33 percent said they would not vote for any party, while 7.58 percent refused to answer the question about their party preferences in legislative elections. (RFE/RL Poland, Belarus and Ukraine Report)

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