NEWSBRIEFS

Kyiv, Prague disagree on debt

KYIV - Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Anatolii Zlenko and his Czech counterpart, Jan Kavan, held talks in Kyiv on October 22. Mr. Kavan urged Kyiv to repay its Soviet-era debt to the Czech Republic, which dates back to a construction accord in 1985. Kavan said the debt should have been repaid by the end of 2000. "Depending on the dollar-hryvnia exchange rate to be used in calculations, we think Ukraine's debt amounts to $200-220 million," STB television quoted Mr. Kavan as saying. Meanwhile, Mr. Zlenko said the debt stands at $79.8 million, adding that Kyiv is going to pay it with commodities and gas supplies. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Transdniester leader visits Kyiv

KYIV - Igor Smirnov, the leader of Moldova's Transdniester breakaway region, met with Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma in Kyiv on October 22, Interfax reported. "In particular, the presidents of both countries discussed relations between Ukraine and Transdniester in the energy, transport and humanitarian spheres. Considerable attention was paid to the situation at the Transdniester-Ukraine border as well as to customs issues," Interfax quoted a Transdniester official as saying. The meeting followed the previous week's visit by Ukrainian Prime Minister Anatoliy Kinakh to Chisinau, where Moldova and Ukraine failed to sign an expected accord on the introduction of joint customs service posts. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yuschenko sues Financial Times

KYIV - The Ukrainska Pravda website reported on October 22 that former Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko has sued the Financial Times for an article the newspaper published on June 5, 2000. The article, which dealt with then-U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit to Kyiv, mentioned Mr. Yuschenko in one paragraph, saying that his government has been a disappointment and recalling that Mr. Yuschenko in his former capacity as chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, was accused of mismanaging bank funds. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Pliusch's driver, bodyguard found dead

KYIV - Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ivan Pliusch's driver, Pavlo Poteraiko, was found dead in a Kyiv park on October 22, Interfax reported two days later. Later the same day and in the same park, a police patrol detained an apparently intoxicated man who turned out to be Mr. Pliusch's bodyguard Oleksander Skliar. Mr. Skliar asked the patrol to call for an ambulance, but died before it arrived. Rada Vice-Chairman Viktor Medvedchuk told the Parliament on October 24 that, according to an official statement by the Internal Affairs Ministry, both men died of heart problems. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rushailo: jet downed by missile

MOSCOW - Russian Security Council Secretary Vladimir Rushailo said on October 22 that a Ukrainian missile had accidentally brought down a Russian airliner on October 4, Interfax reported. At the same time, he said that Russia will not pay any compensation to the families of the victims, as that is Ukraine's responsibility. Meanwhile, Russia's Sibir Airlines said on October 22 that it plans to file a suit against those responsible for the crash, Russian and Western news agencies reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

New agency to fight money laundering

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma decided on October 20 to set up a governmental monitoring committee to combat money laundering, Interfax reported, quoting the chief of the State Tax Administration, Mykola Azarov. Mr. Azarov said the new body will gather information about dubious financial transactions in Ukraine and elsewhere. According to Mr. Azarov, "colossal sums" of illegal capital in Ukraine affect the state budget and national security. "Thirty percent of the crude oil imported to Ukraine from Kazakstan was supplied to us by such an exotic state as St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Among the suppliers are virtually unknown structures. When we try to find them for purposes of taxation, we often fail," New Channel television quoted him as saying. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Why did minister lie about jet crash?

KYIV - Defense Minister Oleksander Kuzmuk told journalists on October 19 during a special hot-line link that he never doubted that a Ukrainian missile downed a Russian airliner on October 4, Interfax reported. "For me, from the very beginning there were no other versions, and there could not be. Otherwise, why would I have tendered my resignation [immediately after the crash]?" Mr. Kuzmuk said. However, the minister did not explain why five days after the airliner tragedy he assured the Verkhovna Rada that the missile downing theory was impossible since the missile fell into the sea two minutes before the plane disappeared from radar screens and the plane was far outside the missile's range. National Security and Defense Council Secretary Yevhen Marchuk said on October 19 that Kuzmuk's dismissal should be expected within days, but President Leonid Kuchma's spokesman noted on October 20 that the president will fire Defense Minister Kuzmuk if a government commission finds the minister responsible for the crash. (RFE/RL Newsline)

NGOs want compensation for crash

KYIV - Some 1,700 people representing 500 Ukrainian NGOs on October 19 held a congress in Kyiv, Interfax reported. The congress adopted a statement to compatriots and the world community with apologies for "Kuchma's cynical words" asserting that "one shouldn't make a tragedy out of the crash if there has been a mistake." The congress also requested apologies for the attempts of Ukrainian top military leaders to deceive the public about the real reason behind the airliner tragedy. According to the congress, compensation for the downed plane should be paid not from the state budget, but from "foreign deposits of Kuchma and his entourage." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Communists disrupt land code debate

KYIV - Parliament Chairman Ivan Pliushch on October 18 was forced to close a parliamentary sitting earlier than planned after Communist deputies blocked the parliamentary rostrum and began singing the Internationale, STB television reported. The parliamentary agenda provided for discussion of a land code in the second reading, but the Communist caucus objected to that, saying that the code has not yet been approved in the first reading, Interfax reported. According to STB TV, the conflict started around a clause allowing land sales, which are opposed by the Communist Party. (RFE/RL Newsline)

30,000 illegals detained per year

KYIV - Ukraine's police and Border Troops on October 18 reported that the number of illegal immigrants detained annually in the country is 25,000 to 30,000, Ukrainian Television reported. The previous day, police, the Border Troops, and the customs service launched a joint operation in a bid to stem the flow of illegal immigrants transiting the country. According to the network, the task is extremely difficult, as Ukraine has no accords with bordering countries on mutual extradition of illegal migrants. Moreover, the police do not know what to do with illegal immigrants after they have been detained for 10 days; according to current legislation, they must be released after that time. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Moroz calls for broad election bloc

KYIV - Socialist Party Chairman Oleksander Moroz has called for a broad election coalition in order to win next year's parliamentary election and introduce sweeping political changes in Ukraine. Mr. Moroz said the goal of the coalition will be to amend the Constitution of Ukraine to transfer some presidential powers to the Parliament. "More and more people in Ukraine understand that it is necessary to change the system of power, make it subordinate to society and make authorities' decisions clear and transparent," said a statement by Mr. Moroz, according to the Associated Press. Interfax reported that Mr. Moroz addressed his appeal to both Rukh organizations, the Sobor Party, the Reforms and Congress Party, the Fatherland Party, the Communist Party and the For Ukraine group. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada inquires about Melnychenko tapes

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada on October 17 questioned the head of the National Security and Defense Council, the chief of the Security Service of Ukraine, and the procurator-general about their reactions to a recent request made by former presidential bodyguard Mykola Melnychenko, who made secret audio recordings in President Leonid Kuchma's office in 2000, Interfax reported. A week earlier Mr. Melnychenko had asked Ukraine's leadership to confirm that his recordings contain state secrets in order to prevent those secrets from being leaked. Mr. Melnychenko explained that he has received an official demand from the U.S. Justice Department to hand over all the recordings he made in President Kuchma's office. Mr. Melnychenko asked the president and top Ukrainian officials to meet him and listen to the tapes together to determine what material is confidential. Mr. Melnychenko alleges that his recordings contain not only state secrets of Ukraine, but also of Russia, Great Britain, Germany, Israel, Spain, Turkey and some other countries. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Foreign minister visits Georgia

TBILISI - Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister Anatolii Zlenko held talks in Tbilisi on October 17 with his Georgian counterpart, Irakli Menagharishvili, Caucasus Press and ITAR-TASS reported. They focused on bilateral relations, global and regional security, and cooperation, including cooperation within the framework of the GUUAM alliance. Particular attention was focused on the situation in Abkhazia, with Mr. Zlenko affirming Kyiv's support for Georgia's territorial integrity and reiterating that Ukraine would be willing to provide peacekeepers to serve in Abkhazia under a United Nations mandate. But Abkhaz presidential aide Astamur Tania said in Sukhumi the same day that the Abkhaz leadership opposes Ukraine's involvement in any peacekeeping operation," Interfax reported. He said Ukraine "has a non-constructive position" regarding resolution of the conflict. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Zlenko discusses trade with Armenia

YEREVAN - Visiting Yerevan on October 18-19, Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Anatolii Zlenko discussed expanding bilateral trade and economic cooperation between Ukraine and Armenia with Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Bilateral trade turnover doubled during the first six months of this year to reach $14.6 million, according to Noyan Tapan. Mr. Zlenko also reaffirmed Kyiv's interest in participation in construction of the planned Iran-Armenia gas pipeline. His talks with his Armenian counterpart, Vartan Oskanian, and with Armenian President Robert Kocharian focused on the Karabakh conflict. Mr. Zlenko, who visited Azerbaijan and Georgia before arriving in Armenia, told Mr. Oskanian that "despite bellicose statements," Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev is committed to seeking a peaceful solution of the conflict. Mr. Oskanian said Ukraine is ready to contribute to seeking such a solution and that Armenia will work with Kyiv in the coming months to that end. (RFE/RL Newsline)

PM concludes visit to Moldova

CHISINAU - Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh of Ukraine and his Moldovan counterpart, Vasile Tarlev, signed protocols in Chisinau on October 19 attesting to the earlier ratification by their parliaments of a number of important agreements, including the demarcation of the border and the mutual recognition of property owned by each side on the other side's territory, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. After talks on October 18 with Moldova's President Vladimir Voronin, the prime minister of Ukraine said his country backs Moldovan efforts to increase border security, and eliminate illegal immigration and illicit trafficking of arms and drugs. Contrary to Moldovan expectations, however, no agreement was signed on the joint custom checkpoints on Ukrainian territory and Mr. Kinakh said negotiations on this Moldovan request will continue. Mr. Tarlev described the visit as "historic" and pointed out that Moldovan-Ukrainian trade has grown by 47 percent over last year. An agreement on cultural collaboration was also signed, and Mr. Kinakh visited the village of his birth, which is in Moldova. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine bans duty-free sugar imports

KYIV - Ukraine has temporarily banned duty-free imports of sugar from Russia and Belarus, the government press service said on October 11. The decision was made to "defend the local market from massive supplies of cheap Russian and Belarusian white sugar that hit Ukrainian sugar producers' revenues," The Moscow Times reported on October 12. Earlier this year the Ukrainian government had prevented local sugar producers from selling white sugar at prices below 2,300 hrv ($433) per ton, while Russian and Belarusian producers are offering sugar at some 2,100 hrv per ton. Russian and Belarusian sugar traders had enjoyed duty-free status owing to a free-trade zone encompassing Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. However, the duty-free agreement allows the signatory countries to exclude certain commodities. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Citizens protest work at Kuropaty site

MIENSK - Some 40 Belarusian intellectuals and prominent public figures have demanded that the Miensk City authorities stop the road construction work at Kuropaty, a site outside the capital city where tens of thousands were executed and buried by the NKVD in the 1930s, Belapan reported on September 29. They said in a statement that a government commission in 1989 confirmed that Kuropaty is a burial ground of thousands of victims of the NKVD, and that the location is now listed as a Belarusian historical and cultural heritage site. The authors of the statement said they consider the ongoing expansion of the Miensk beltway to be a direct threat to Kuropaty. They want the authorities to suspend construction work, carry out additional archeological excavations at the site, publish the full results of the previous investigation and turn the area into a memorial. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Russia connects tariffs to religious issue

MOSCOW - Jaak Saarniit, the managing director of the Estonian Large Enterprises Association, was told by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko during a visit to Moscow last week that Russia will not grant Estonia equal trade conditions until the issues concerning the Estonian Orthodox Church in Estonia are resolved, Aripaev reported on October 15. Although the Estonian Orthodox Church subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate has applied for registration many times, the Estonian authorities have denied it, arguing that it would be confused with the already legally registered Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, which is subordinate to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The registration can play a role in determining the future of the assets that once belonged to the Russian Orthodox Church in Estonia. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, October 28, 2001, No. 43, Vol. LXIX

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