NEWSBRIEFS (08/28/05)

NEWSBRIEFS

Teriokhin: Ukraine may abandon SES

KYIV - Minister of the Economy Serhii Teriokhin told journalists in Kyiv on August 19 that Kyiv will switch to bilateral economic relations with Russia and is likely to withdraw from the Single Economic Space (SES) with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan that was formally established in 2003, Ukrainian media reported. The Ukrainian minister made the announcement at a joint news conference with Russian Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref, following their talks earlier the same day. "We are switching from multilateral to bilateral cooperation. Primarily with Russia, but it is understood that with Belarus and Kazakhstan, too," Mr. Teriokhin added. Later that day, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko commented that Mr. Teriokhin's announcement was of an "advisory" character. "I think it will be resolved at the highest level which SES concept is to survive," Ms. Tymoshenko added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko pledges participation in SES

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko told journalists in Kyiv on August 22 that Ukraine will continue to take part in the Single Economic Space (SES) that was formally set up in 2003 by Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine, Ukrainian news media reported. Mr. Yushchenko's statement came after Ukraine's minister of the economy, Serhii Teriokhin, announced last week that Kyiv will switch to bilateral economic relations with Moscow and may subsequently withdraw from the SES. President Yushchenko added that Ukraine will contribute to efforts to establish the SES and come up with 10 initiatives concerning "the most complicated and urgent problems" at a CIS summit in Kazan, Russia, August 26-27. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Russia, Ukraine disagree on CIS agenda

MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said in Moscow on August 22 that Russia will reject Ukrainian proposals it wants to add to the agenda for the CIS summit that begins on August 26 in Kazan, Russia, ITAR-TASS reported the same day. He said Kyiv proposed inserting such issues as the demarcation of borders within the alliance and the creation of energy transportation corridors, but the proposals were submitted "too late to be adopted," he said. Mr. Kamynin also said that such issues will be discussed in the future. The foreign ministers of the CIS member-states were to meet in Moscow on August 23 to discuss reforming the organization as well as cooperation in fighting organized crime, ITAR-TASS reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

PM suggests 'privatization amnesty'

KYIV - Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko told a forum of Ukrainian diplomats in Kyiv on August 22 that the government is considering a "procedure for privatization amnesty" with regard to state properties that were sold in the past and are now being disputed in court, Ukrainian media reported. Ms. Tymoshenko urged Ukrainian ambassadors abroad to inform the world that Ukraine is not conducting reprivatization. "Who is spreading this information campaign that Ukraine is a reprivatizer?" the prime minister asked. "These are the well-known people who owned the Kryvorizhstal [steel mill] and the Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant. They have enough money to buy any PR agency in the world, and they do so." The Kryvorizhstal and Nikopol Ferroalloy companies, which have recently been regained by the state, were controlled by Ukrainian oligarchs Rynat Akhmetov and Viktor Pinchuk. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko meets with Futey

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko met with Judge Bohdan Futey of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the presidential press service told Ukrinform on August 23. During the meeting Messrs. Yushchenko and Futey discussed issues related to carrying out judicial reform in Ukraine. The president underscored that such reform is necessary and that independent courts are a priority for the new administration. The parties also discussed contacts with the Ukrainian diaspora. Mr. Yushchenko noted that the administration should work actively to attract diaspora representatives to the democratic processes taking place in Ukraine. According to the president, this would allow Ukrainians abroad to have a "stronger feeling of relations with their motherland and its culture." As reported earlier, the Ukrainian president has decided to hold the sixth World Forum of Ukrainians in Kyiv on November 20-21. (Ukrinform)

New subway station opens in Kyiv

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko and other state officials participated in the inauguration of the Boryspil metro station in Kyiv on August 23, on the eve of the 14th anniversary of Ukraine's independence, Interfax-Ukraine reported. The Kyiv metro's three lines extend for some 60 kilometers and have 45 stations. (RFE/RL Newsline)

UGCC moves headquarters to Kyiv

KYIV - Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in Ukraine, celebrated liturgy for some 3,000 believers outside a cathedral under construction in Kyiv on August 21, thus marking the move of his Church's headquarters from Lviv to Kyiv, Ukrainian and international news agencies reported. "Thanks to monks and missionaries, Christianity made its way from here - in Kyiv - throughout the Slavic world," Cardinal Husar said. "But we allowed the Church that was established in this holy place to be divided. And we ask ourselves: Is there a way to restore that initial unity to bring confrontation to an end?" Several hundred believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate, an administrative branch of the Russian Orthodox Church, staged a noisy protest against the move near the cathedral. The transfer of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church seat to Kyiv has been condemned by hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow and Kyiv. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said on August 21 that the move is the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church's internal matter. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Nastia Ovchar out of hospital

KYIV - Nastia Ovchar, the 6-year-old burn victim who was treated at the Boston Burn Center, has checked out of the hospital, reported Ukrinform on August 11. President Viktor Yushchenko congratulated Nastia and her mother, Olha, on completing medical treatment at the hospital, inquired about the little girl's health and assured her mother that Nastia would be provided with all aid necessary for a complete recovery. Mr. Yushchenko called Nastia a "little heroine" and said that all of Ukraine awaits her return home. The Ovchars were scheduled to remain in Boston for several weeks and then travel to Ukraine. Dr. Sergei Samborsky said Nastia no longer needs the help of surgeons, and will now be treated by physiotherapists. (Ukrinform)

Four presidents meet in Crimea

SYMFEROPOL - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko met in Crimea on August 18 with his counterparts from Poland, Lithuania, and Georgia, Aleksander Kwasniewski, Valdas Adamkus and Mikheil Saakashvili, respectively, Ukrainian and international news agencies reported. The formal reason for the meeting was the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the youth summer camp Artek in Crimea, which during the Soviet era was a much-coveted recreation and indoctrination center for members of the ideological organization Young Pioneers and their peers from the former socialist bloc. Mr. Yushchenko held bilateral talks with Messrs. Kwasniewski and Adamkus. Mr. Yushchenko's press service reported that he expressed concern over the development of Polish-Russian and Polish-Belarusian relations, noting that the recent beating of Polish diplomats in Moscow and the Warsaw-Miensk spat over an ethnic Polish organization in Belarus "do not have a positive impact on bilateral relations."(RFE/RL Newsline)

President wants economic experts' group

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko has instructed National Bank of Ukraine Chairman Volodymyr Stelmakh and State Tax Administration Chairman Oleksander Kireyev to set up a consultative group of experts to facilitate the adoption of effective economic measures, Ukrainian news agencies reported on August 11, citing the presidential press service. The group, chaired by the president, is to include representatives of international organizations and government institutions, as well as economists and financiers. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Romania takes case to the Hague

BUCHAREST - Romania said on August 16 that it has filed documents with the International Court of Justice in the Hague to support its suit of September 2004 asking the court to resolve its border dispute in the Black Sea with Ukraine, the Associated Press reported. Romania has been locked in a bitter quarrel with Ukraine over how to demarcate their maritime border near the tiny Serpents Island in the Black Sea. The continental shelf in that vicinity is reportedly rich in oil and gas deposits. The Romanian Foreign Ministry said on August 16 that the submitted documents include "a presentation of the juridical reasons for the demarcation option proposed," but did not elaborate. (RFE/RL Newsline)

UOC-MP against monument to pope

KAMIANETS-PODILSKYI - The faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) in Kamianets-Podilskyi will protest a monument to Pope John Paul II that is to be built in the city, according to an August 11 report on pravoslavye.org.ua. Bishop Feodor (Haiun) of Kamianetsk-Podilskyi of the UOC-MP discussed the relations of the Church with the local authorities at a meeting with Mayor A. Mazurchak. The recent decision of the city council to establish a monument to Pope John Paul II was raised. According to pravoslavye.org.ua, this decision was met with indignation among the Orthodox. The mayor was warned that this decision will be protested by the Orthodox at the next session of the City Council. The bishop delivered a memorandum of protest with numerous signatures of the faithful of the UOC-MP to Mayor Mazurchak. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Pora holds first its congress

KYIV - On Saturday, August 20, the Pora party held its first extraordinary congress, having secured a registration certificate from the Justice Ministry. The delegates adopted the party's rules and program and elected the Pora Central Council. The congress also adopted the "Charter on Maidan [Independence Square] Values," which were proclaimed by the Orange Revolution's participants. (Ukrinform)

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