NEWSBRIEFS (10/26/03)

NEWSBRIEFS

Ukraine holds firm regarding Tuzla

KYIV - Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Markian Lubkivskyi said on October 21 that Ukraine will not "under any circumstances" allow Russian workers to connect a contentious dam project with Ukraine's Tuzla Island in the Kerch Strait, Interfax reported. Builders of the Russian dam, which has stirred a bitter Russian-Ukrainian dispute, are reportedly some 200 meters from the Ukrainian border, which is marked near Tuzla islet with buoys. The Verkhovna Rada was to hold a hearing on October 22 devoted to Ukrainian-Russian relations. President Leonid Kuchma, who is currently in Brazil, has reportedly decided to interrupt his scheduled 11-day tour of Latin America and return home in connection with the dam controversy, according to Interfax, which was quoting the presidential press office. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv issues warning to Moscow

KYIV - The Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry has warned Moscow in a diplomatic note that the Russian side will be held fully accountable for any potential border conflict connected with the construction of a Russian dam in the Kerch Strait, Interfax reported, quoting ministry spokesman Markian Lubkivskyi. Mr. Lubkivskyi said Kyiv is concerned about a request by the Russian side to provide "copies of documents, including cartographic ones, on which the Ukrainian side is basing its suppositions regarding its ownership of the island of Tuzla," which the dam project is gradually approaching. The dam is now reportedly some 400 meters from the Ukrainian frontier. "It is unacceptable for Ukraine to confirm the indisputable fact that the Tuzla island is an inalienable part of the Ukrainian territory," Mr. Lubkivskyi said. (RFE/RL Newsline)

NATO chief pledges to raise issue

KYIV - NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson said in Kyiv on October 20 that he will speak about the Tuzla situation during his upcoming visit to Moscow, Interfax reported. Mr. Robertson said Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, with whom he met earlier the same day, did not ask for NATO's assistance in resolving the looming dispute. According to the NATO chief, the Ukrainian-Russian border problem in the Kerch Strait should be settled by both concerned sides with the participation of such organizations as the United Nations. Meanwhile, National Deputy Ihor Ostash of the Our Ukraine bloc, who visited Tuzla last week, told journalists on October 20 that the dam construction is very likely to trigger a "provocation" that could even lead to a Ukrainian-Russian military clash. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma: Tuzla project "unfriendly"

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma said on October 17 that the ongoing construction of a dam in the Kerch Strait is an "unfriendly" action by Russia, Interfax reported. "A good neighbor does not behave in this way," Mr. Kuchma added. Simultaneously, he expressed his certainty that the builders of the dam will not violate Ukraine's border. Mr. Kuchma said he is skeptical about reports that the dam project was initiated by local authorities from Russia's Krasnodar Krai. "Judging by the speed [of the dam construction] and the costs involved, there is no doubt that this is an action of the central government," the Ukrainian president said. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Gryshchenko warns of consequences

KYIV - Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Kostyantyn Gryshchenko told journalists on October 18 that the controversy around the Russian dam in the Kerch Strait might prevent the Verkhovna Rada from ratifying the accord on the Single Economic Space of Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakstan and Russia, Interfax reported. "This is the most obvious idea, and it should be obvious for all, including our Russian partners," Mr. Gryshchenko added. "Possibly, it would be good for Ukraine to deploy its naval vessels where its territorial water begin and see how Russians reacts," Leonid Kravchuk, leader of the Social Democratic Party-United caucus in the Verkhovna Rada and the first president of independent Ukraine, told journalists the same day. "If Russia continues to build a dam into our territorial waters, we will have to resort to force [to stop the construction]," Mr. Kravchuk added.

5,000 in Lviv protest Russian act

LVIV - Some 5,000 people gathered in Lviv on October 19 to protest the dam construction in the Kerch Strait. Demonstrators called the construction a "predatory" action on the part of Russia and appealed to the Ukrainian leadership to take immediate measures to defend Ukraine's territorial integrity. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Verkhovna Rada again in disarray

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada session on October 16 started with a blockade of the parliamentary rostrum by deputies from the opposition Socialist Party, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine, UNIAN reported. A similar protest was staged by the opposition in the Verkhovna Rada earlier this month. The opposition demanded that the legislature begin voting on bills proposing parliamentary elections under a fully proportional system. The Communist Party caucus did not take part in blocking the rostrum, but apparently supports the demand. "The political reform will start only when a law on elections is adopted," Interfax quoted Communist Party head Petro Symonenko as saying. Instead, Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn proposed a vote on a bill establishing the monthly subsistence minimum for 2004, but that vote proved abortive. Only 188 deputies from the pro-presidential majority voted for the bill (226 votes were necessary for passage). (RFE/RL Newsline)

Has Rada's work ground to a halt?

KYIV - Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn told journalists on October 16 that until the Parliament passes a law stipulating parliamentary elections under a proportional system, its work "will not be efficient and will not be continued," Interfax reported. Mr. Lytvyn was commenting on his consultations with the leaders of parliamentary caucuses and groups following a tumultuous session earlier the same day. Lawmakers voted on October 16 on three different bills proposing parliamentary elections under proportional systems, but none received the 226 votes required for passage. Socialist Party leader Oleksander Moroz proposed working out a draft election bill that might "suit everybody," adding that unless such a bill is passed, the legislature has no right to consider other issues. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Symonenko: political reform has failed

KYIV - Communist Party head Petro Symonenko told journalists in Kyiv on October 20 that the political reform proposed by the presidential administration and the pro-presidential majority has failed, Interfax reported. "Constitutional reform ... has been concocted as a distracting political maneuver," Mr. Symonenko said. He was commenting on a meeting of the leaders of parliamentary groups earlier the same day. The Verkhovna Rada's activities appear to be suspended by a bitter row over the adoption of a fully proportional election law. Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn said on October 20 that as long as opposition and pro-presidential parliamentary leaders fail to find a compromise regarding the election law, he does not see much sense in holding plenary sessions of the Verkhovna Rada. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Heavy machinery sent to Tuzla

KYIV - Ukrainian authorities dispatched several dozen border guards, bulldozers and excavators to the islet of Tuzla to halt a Russian dam project's advance on Ukrainian territory, ITAR-TASS reported. "You are close to the borders of sovereign Ukraine. Halt!" reads a sign on the Tuzla coast facing the builders of the dam, who are reportedly less than a kilometer from the island. Aleksander Tkachev, governor of Russia's Krasnodar Krai, said construction will be stopped at a distance of 600 meters from the island. Despite that assurance, Ukraine sent a dredger and a seaborne crane to the area and marked a division line in the Kerch Strait with buoys. According to Krasnodar Krai authorities, the dike is essential to protect the Russian coast in the area from being washed away by the sea. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma dismisses envoy to Poland

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma has recalled Oleksander Nykonenko from his post as Ukraine's ambassador to Poland, Interfax reported on October 15. Mr. Nykonenko reportedly attacked and beat a Polish police officer in August after he was detained in Warsaw on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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