NEWSBRIEFS

Kyiv can claim Russian gas

KYIV - Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov said on Channel 5 on December 27, 2005, that Ukraine has the right to 15 percent of the Russian gas flowing in transit across its territory. "If 1,000 cubic meters of gas crosses the Ukrainian border, we have the right to take 150 cubic meters as payment for gas transit. This is a contract. This is a legal formula and our indisputable right," Mr. Yekhanurov said. Gazprom Deputy Chairman Aleksandr Medvedev said the previous day that Gazprom will stop gas supplies to Ukraine on January 1 at 10 a.m. if both sides fail to agree on a new gas price for 2006. "My forecast is that nothing will change after January 1, 2006," ITAR-TASS quoted Ukrainian Presidential Secretariat chief Oleh Rybachuk as saying on December 26, 2005. "Private consumers, individuals and communal services will feel no difference at all, while the interests of enterprises will be defended toughly, and the talks are conducted in this way," Mr. Rybachuk added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

PM says Swedish arbitration possible

KYIV - Prime Minister Yekhanurov said in Kyiv on December 23, 2005, that his cabinet is drafting documents for possible appraisal of its gas-price dispute with Moscow by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, which is internationally recognized as a neutral venue for settling commercial disputes (see "RFE/RL Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova Report," December 27, 2005), Ukrainian and international news agencies reported. "I am asking for all necessary documents to be prepared in case of irresponsible statements, particularly those in written form," Mr. Yekhanurov said at a cabinet meeting. Earlier the same day, Russian gas giant Gazprom staged a televised rehearsal for switching off gas supplies to Ukraine. Naftohaz Ukrayiny chief Oleksandr Ivchenko said on December 26, 2005, that Ukraine's reserves of gas at underground storage facilities are sufficient to last the country through the winter but failed to mention any specific volumes. Ukraine has 13 underground storage facilities, whose capacity exceeds 30 billion cubic meters. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Our Ukraine bloc slams rivals

KYIV - The pro-presidential Our Ukraine bloc has condemned the position taken by the Party of Regions and other opposition forces in the ongoing gas dispute with Russia and accused them of "betraying national interests," Interfax-Ukraine reported on December 26, 2005. "We are surprised at the position taken by the Party of Ukraine [led by former Premier Viktor Yanukovych] that allows itself to be used as a means of pressure on the part of a foreign state and does not back Ukraine in its talks with Russia," Our Ukraine said in a statement. Our Ukraine also lambasted President Viktor Yushchenko's erstwhile ally, former Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko, for what it called her "antipatriotic rhetoric" in the gas row. "We refuse to believe that Yuliya Volodymyrivna's antipatriotic rhetoric has something to do with the dropping of legal proceedings initiated against her in Russia," the statement notes. Russian prosecutors said on December 26, 2005, that they have closed a bribery case against Mrs. Tymoshenko because the statute of limitations has expired on the corruption charges against her. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine, Turkmenistan agree on energy

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan - Ukrainian Energy Minister Ivan Plachkov and Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov have reached an agreement on 2006 shipments of Turkmen gas to Ukraine, Interfax reported on December 23, 2005. Kyiv's NTN Television reported that Ukraine would pay $60 per 1,000 cubic meters in 2006, an increase on the $44 paid for 2005 shipments, but other reports gave no price information and suggested that the final terms would be announced at a later date. "The volumes and price parameters have been decided in principle and on mutually advantageous terms, and the corresponding documents will now be prepared for signing," RFE/RL's Turkmen Service quoted Mr. Plachkov as saying on December 22, 2005. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Russian navy chief assails Ukraine

MOSCOW - Admiral Vladimir Masorin, commander of the Russian navy, criticized Ukraine on December 26, 2005, over suggestions from some politicians that Kyiv could make unscheduled inspections of Russian Black Sea Fleet bases on Ukrainian territory, RIA-Novosti reported the same day. "The tone of such statements is unacceptable," Mr. Masorin said, according to a statement quoted by RIA-Novosti. "It seems that they are aimed at questioning the ratified agreements on the Black Sea Fleet and avoiding implementing them," Mr. Masorin added. "It is worrying that the current statements of some Ukrainian politicians about inventory checks are politically motivated and are often made without any knowledge of the subject in question. Such an interpretation of the issue is clearly destructive." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko stays calm over gas dispute

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko expressed his certainty on December 21, 2005, that Kyiv and Moscow will break a deadlock in talks over gas prices for 2006 and find a mutually acceptable compromise, Interfax-Ukraine reported. "If we filter out politics, speak about rational relations, and remember that we are eternal neighbors, we must avoid steps that discredit or cause unease to one side or the other," Mr. Yushchenko told journalists during a visit to Kherson Oblast. "I'm convinced that we will find an answer to how, on the one hand, to set a [new transit] tariff, which is two or even 2 1/2 times lower than the regular tariff on this market, and on the other, to set a higher price than the one we have been paying for Russian gas until now. All this can be resolved so that nobody will suffer." Gazprom is demanding a price of $220-$230 for 1,000 cubic meters of gas from Ukraine in 2006, up from $50 for 1,000 cubic meters this year. Kyiv is proposing to phase in a gas price hike over four to five years. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine says no offer from Moscow on gas

MOSCOW - The acting charge d'affaires at the Ukrainian Embassy in Moscow, Leonid Osavolyuk, said on December 22, 2005, that Kyiv has not yet received any official proposals from Gazprom on natural-gas prices for 2006, RIA-Novosti reported. "We are expecting official proposals on natural-gas transit tariffs and prices," Mr. Osavolyuk said. Gazprom this week accused Ukraine of delaying the completion of an agreement (see "RFE/RL Newsline," December 20, 2005). Gazprom has been supplying natural gas to Ukraine under a barter agreement for $50 per 1,000 cubic meters. Gazprom is seeking to raise the price to $220-$230 per 1,000 cubic meters, which is roughly the market price in Europe. Ukraine, for its part, is seeking to increase transit fees for Russian natural gas transported via its territory to $3.50 per 1,000 cubic meters per 100 kilometers, up from the current $1.09 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," December 7, 8, and 13, 2005). (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tymoshenko activists claim "dictatorship"

LVIV - Six managers of the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc's regional headquarters in Lviv Oblast have left the party ranks, quoting their disagreement with the bloc's list of candidates for the 2006 parliamentary elections and the way the party is run by its leadership, UNIAN reported. "We have become angry after we saw the bloc's list of parliamentary candidates. There are practically no representatives of Lviv Oblast," said Mykhaylo Muzhylivskyy from the bloc's Lviv headquarters. "There is a dictatorship in the party. They need only a voiceless herd," his colleague, Ihor Komarnytskyy, added. ITAR-TASS reported that more than 100 rank-and-file Tymoshenko Bloc members in the Lviv region followed the example of their regional managers and left the party. A poll conducted by the Socis Center for Social and Political Studies from December 14-19, 2005, among 2,000 Ukrainians found that if parliamentary elections were held "next Sunday," the Party of Regions would be supported by 22.3 percent of voters, the Our Ukraine bloc by 16.1 percent, and the Tymoshenko Bloc by 11 percent. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko meets with CIA director

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko met with Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Porter Goss on December 20, 2005, to discuss cooperation among the CIA, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Intelligence Agency, President Yushchenko told a press conference the same day. As the Ukrainian president stressed, cooperation between the two agencies is "an obvious cooperation, which Ukraine runs with its all strategic partners, including with the Russian ones." The cooperation is first of all based on the need for information about "such dangerous manifestations as terrorism, smuggling and other international crimes," Mr. Yushchenko said. The meeting also dealt with security-related matters, particularly, the Transdniestrian settlement. (Ukrinform)

Rivne metropolitan passes away

RIVNE, Ukraine - Metropolitan Danyil (Chokaliuk) of northwestern Ukrainian Rivne and Ostroh of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP) died at the age of 47 on December 10, 2005. The late metropolitan was a faithful supporter of Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko), head of the UOC-KP, and worked hard to strengthen the UOC-KP from the beginning, reports the press service of the UOC-KP. Patriarch Filaret and clergy of the cathedral conducted a panakhyda (memorial service) for the repose of the metropolitan's soul. The burial service for Metropolitan Danyil took place at the Cathedral of the Holy Protection in Rivne on December 15, 2005. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Jewish Property Restitution Fund

KYIV - A meeting of the leaders of the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) was recently held in Jerusalem, where they discussed the return of property to the Jewish community in Ukraine. They decided to create a fund to solve restitution issues. jn.com.ua posted the news on November 25, 2005. After the participants of the meeting discussed the situation in Ukraine, they decided to conduct their next meeting in Kyiv in mid-January 2006 and to create a joint fund for the Jewish community in Ukraine, the task of which will be to solve restitution issues there. The administrators of this fund will be representatives of international Jewish organizations representing the WJRO and representatives of the Jewish community in Ukraine equal to their presence in the country. Unlike in Poland, in Ukraine the WJRO is not planning to transfer a part of the returned property to Ukrainian immigrants living in Israel and another part to the Jewish diaspora. All returned property will be used only by the Jewish community in Ukraine. According to reports posted on the same site, a meeting of the leaders of Jewish organizations in Ukraine, at which they discussed how to counteract anti-Semitism and xenophobia, took place on November 23, 2005. As a result, the newly-created initiative group made a decision to form a social committee against anti-Semitism and xenophobia. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

U.N. honors Ukrainian peacekeepers

KYIV - According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's press service, 130 Ukrainian peacekeepers who are part of the United Nations' mission to Lebanon were decorated for service to peace on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of the establishment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Congratulating the military personnel, UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Alan Pellegrini noted Ukraine's weighty contribution to the regulation of the Middle East conflict. He also underscored the important role the Ukrainian Engineers Battalion has been playing in UNIFIL. The Ukrainians, Maj. Gen. Pellegrini noted, have displayed bravery and high skills in discharging operational and humanitarian duties of the U.N. mission. Distinctions for participation in peacekeeping missions under the U.N. aegis are awarded once a year to every contingent, but not earlier than aftthree months after their missions' onset. Every six months peacekeepers are given special insignia that show their terms of service as members of U.N. missions. Ukraine began its peacekeeping mission to Lebanon in July 2000. (Ukrinform)

Envoy to Russia to be replaced

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko has relieved Ukrainian Ambassador to Russia Mykola Biloblotskyi. Mr. Biloblotskyi has held the post for six years. This year is supposed to see the rotation of dozens of Ukrainian ambassadors, who have held their posts for longer than the usual terms. The president has appointed 16 ambassadors so far. Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Volodymyr Ohryzko recently disclosed that 14 more ambassadors are soon to be appointed. Mr. Ohryzko noted that this will not be the last wave of diplomatic appointments as there remain nine countries to which ambassadors are to be appointed by the end of 2005. (Ukrinform)

Yanukovych's party outlines platform

KYIV - Former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych outlined the parliamentary election program of his Party of the Regions of Ukraine during a convention in Kyiv on December 2, 2005, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Mr. Yanukovych said the short-term goals of his party are to reduce unemployment, create well-paid jobs and provide people with decent salaries. Mr. Yanukovych stressed that his party favors a transition to a federal system that could help balance the level of socioeconomic development of various regions. Speaking about foreign political priorities, the former presidential candidate said the Party of the Regions is "against haste in joining international organizations." Mr. Yanukovych also said his party is for granting the Russian language official status. The convention endorsed the party's list of candidates for the March 26, parliamentary elections. According to recent polls, the Party of the Regions is the most popular party in Ukraine and can count on some 18 percent of the vote. (RFE/RL Newsline)

SDPU wants votes on NATO, SES

KYIV - The Central Election Commission has agreed to register initiative groups seeking a referendum on Ukraine's accession to NATO and the Single Economic Space (SES) - a declared community comprising Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, Interfax-Ukraine reported on November 30, 2005, quoting Olha Buyanovska, a spokeswoman for Social Democratic Party - United (SDPU) lawmaker Nestor Shufrych. According to Ms. Buyanovska, the commission also decided that signatures in support of the referendum should be collected by March 1. In order to hold a referendum in Ukraine, an initiator needs to collect no fewer than 3 million signatures in at least two-thirds of the country's regions within three months. The SDPU filed a motion to seek a referendum on Ukraine's NATO and SES membership to the Central Election Commission last week. (RFE/RL Newsline)

EU begins monitoring border

KYIV - The European Union on November 30, 2005, officially initiated its operation to monitor the Ukrainian-Moldovan border, Ukrainian and international media reported. The operation has been set up to combat smuggling, which is believed to be rife, especially along Ukraine's 400-kilometer-long border with Moldova's separatist Transdniester region. The operation's inauguration ceremony in Odesa was attended by EU High Representative for the Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, European Commissioner for External Affairs and Neighborhood Policy Bettina Ferrero-Waldner, Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk and Moldovan Foreign Minister Andrei Stratan. The operation consists of some 70 border policemen and customs officers from 16 EU countries and 50 local staffers. It has a budget of 8 million euros ($9.4 million U.S.) and a two-year mandate, which can be extended. The monitors are authorized to make unannounced inspections at any location on the Ukrainian-Moldovan frontier. However, they will not operate on Transdniestrian territory. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lytvyn: no waste sites near Chornobyl

KYIV - Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn said at a December 19, 2005, press conference while on a working trip to the Zhytomyr region, that no depots will be constructed in the Chornobyl exclusion zone for storing fissile fuel wastes. Mr. Lytvyn said the state must reassure the people who suffered from the Chornobyl nuclear accident about this. Regrettably enough, he added, the president's utterances about such a storage facility were misconstrued. Those who support such an idea should better use their own backyards for this purpose, Mr. Lytvyn remarked. On December 5, 2005, President Viktor Yushchenko, speaking at a press conference in Crimea, said that proposals about the construction of storage facilities in the Chornobyl zone for other nations' radioactive wastes should be first discussed at a referendum. Such proposals may be accepted with the people's consent if these prove economically profitable and environmentally safe. Nevertheless, the president's utterances were interpreted by some publications as definitively assertive. On December 15, 2005, the president reaffirmed that no fissile fuel wastes from other nations will be buried in the Chornobyl zone. According to the president, Ukraine's pressing problem is construction of a storage for keeping Ukrainian nukes' fissile wastes, which must be solved by 2010. This is necessary because Ukraine has no complete cycle of manufacture, use of fissile fuels and disposal of fissile fuel wastes, Mr. Yushchenko explained. That is why, the president said, it would be logical to consider this facility for storing not only the Chornobyl nuclear power plant's wastes, but also those from Ukraine's other nuclear power plants. (Ukrinform)

CEC updates its website

KYIV - The Central Election Commission on December 20, 2005, launched a new chapter devoted to the 2006 parliamentary elections on its official website (http://www.cvk.gov.ua). The chapter includes, among other data, election lists of the Communist Party and the Party of Regions as well as an election campaign schedule. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Border police foil trafficking attempt

KYIV - According to information released on December 19, 2005, by the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service, Ukrainian border guards have foiled yet another attempt to illegally transport Ukrainian children abroad. The incident occurred at the Chervona Mohyla checkpoint near the Ukrainian-Russian frontier in the Luhansk region. A 7-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl on board the Kharkiv-Baku train were accompanied by a Russian woman, who claimed to be their mother. In the process of questioning by the border guards, the children confused each other's names and had difficulty giving their "mother's" name. The border guards also found that the girl's birth certificate contained the parents' names, with the mother's name quite different from the Russian woman's. With a view toward clarifying the situation, the border guards detained the woman together with the children and turned them over to railroad police at the Chervona Mohyla railroad terminal. (Ukrinform)

OSCE trains discharged military

KHMELNYTSKYI - Sixty Ukrainian military officers graduated on December 15, 2005, in the city of Khmelnytskyi after completing courses of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which are designed to help them develop new professional skills. "As part of the ongoing reform of the country's armed forces, some 40,000 persons have been discharged this year alone," said Ambassador James Schumaker, the OSCE project coordinator in Ukraine. "Those officers who take our courses are eligible for employment assistance, both during their 500 hours of classroom time and after graduation." The retraining of discharged or soon-to-be-discharged military officers is being provided at the request of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, and is part of a joint project between the OSCE Project Coordinator's Office and the Defense Ministry titled "Assisting in Social Adaptation of Discharged Military Personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine." Mr. Schumaker noted that "more than 400 officers have undergone retraining this year, and about 80 percent of the graduates were able to find employment within three months." The retraining takes place in regions containing high numbers of disbanded military garrisons, such as Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Odesa, Sevastopol, Uzhhorod, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr and Kyiv. In 2006 such retraining is to be extended to other regions of Ukraine. (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe)

Kuchma tax evasion case sent to STA

KYIV - Police have sent the criminal case alleging tax evasion by the Ukraina fund headed by former President Leonid Kuchma to the State Tax Administration (STA), the tax administration administration's chairman, Oleksander Kireyev, said in an interview with Channel 5 TV on December 15, 2005. He said it is still too early to talk about the outcome of the investigation of the case because it has only just started. The fund was launched on April 4, 2004, to support talented children. However, police suspect that the source of the revenues into the fund is illegal. Internal Affairs Minister Yurii Lutsenko told journalists that he suspects the money came from the accounts of offshore companies. (Ukrinform)

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 1, 2006, No. 1, Vol. LXXIV

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