NEWSBRIEFS

Financial Times interviews Yushchenko

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko said in a recent interview published on January 13 in the Financial Times that Ukraine will not change the ownership of its gas-transport system in a bid to settle the dispute over Russian gas supplies, Ukrainian news agencies reported on January 17, quoting a transcript of the interview that was disseminated by the presidential press service. "Our gas-transport system belongs to Ukraine, and Ukraine will not consider changing this status," Mr. Yushchenko said. President Yushchenko also said in the interview that the constitutional reform adopted in December 2004 was illegal, violated "procedural norms," and should have been submitted to a national referendum. "In view of this logic, I'm going to make several steps," Mr. Yushchenko said, according to the transcript of the interview from his press service. "I think it's not the right time now to do anything, since it could destabilize the situation before the [parliamentary] elections. But the Constitution should unambiguously be defended with the participation of the people, in a referendum, by mobilizing democratic forces." The president did not reveal when such a referendum might be held. He already signaled last week that he will seek a referendum on the constitutional reform that limited presidential powers in favor of the Parliament and the Cabinet. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Dispute over Crimean lighthouse

KYIV - Ukrainian Defense Minister Anatolii Hrytsenko told the Kyiv-based Kommersant-Ukrayina on January 17 that the ongoing dispute between Kyiv and Moscow over a lighthouse in Crimea will not lead to a military confrontation between the two sides. "Let's not frighten people on both sides of the border," Mr. Hrytsenko said. "If servicemen in Crimea, as you say, begin to shoot, this will be a sentence for Ukraine, Russia and Europe as a whole. I categorically rule out such a scenario of events ordered from Kyiv or Moscow." The dispute erupted on January 13 when a group of Ukrainian officials barred Russian personnel from entering the lighthouse in Yalta. Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk said the Crimean lighthouses belong to Ukraine and that there are no legal grounds for Russia to claim them. Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Anatolii Kinakh reiterated on January 16 that in accordance with bilateral agreements of 1993 and 1997, Russia recognized Ukraine's ownership right to all Soviet-era facilities used by the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea. Meanwhile, Russian Navy commander Admiral Vladimir Masorin said the Yalta lighthouse must be returned to the Black Sea Fleet. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko predicts referendum

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko said in an interview with four Ukrainian television channels on January 13 that he will seek a referendum on the constitutional amendments of 2004 that limited presidential powers in favor of the Parliament and the Cabinet, the OBKOM website (http://ru.obkom.net.ua) reported. "There will be a special announcement [regarding the referendum]," Mr. Yushchenko said. "I think it is obvious for every citizen that the topic of the changes to the Constitution, its legal aspect and the search for legal ways to overcome this problem is on the national agenda. Ukraine will have a difficult future with such amendments and procedures." President Yushchenko stressed that the constitutional reform was adopted without sufficient public discussion. "I think 95 percent [of Ukrainians] will tell you that they don't have any information [about the constitutional reform]," Mr. Yushchenko asserted. "They don't know that these changes were not proposed for public discussion, that they were not discussed in the Parliament. Everything was done on the sly." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Cancer institute to be established

KYIV - An agreement was signed on January 13 between the Ukrainian Health Ministry and two French organizations, the National Institute for Combating Cancer and the International Fund for Medical Cooperation. The agreement was signed by Ukrainian Health Minister Yurii Poliachenko and the fund's president, Christian Carrera. In accordance with the agreement, a National Cancer Institute will be established in Ukraine. (Ukrinform)

Lytvyn: Rada vote could be canceled

KYIV - Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn said on January 16 that he believes canceling the resolution on the government's dismissal is possible, but a dialogue with the president and the acting prime minister about the situation in Ukraine is needed. According to Mr. Lytvyn, the dialogue and settlement of all challenging issues is possible, if the government is cleaned up of odious figures, "who know nothing except of talking." Mr. Lytvyn also spoke about the complicated psychological climate in Ukraine, noting that, after the presidential elections, "instead of uniting people, they have quarreled." Mr. Lytvyn stressed the need for normal cooperation with the president and the government, noting that this is possible only if the cooperation is based on principled positions. On January 10 the Verkhovna Rada had voted to dismiss the government. However, President Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yekhanurov said the decision is not constitutional. The reason for the dismissal was the agreement between the Naftohaz Ukrainy and Russia's Gazprom on gas supplies to Ukraine and its transit to Western Europe. Some political forces, particularly Yulia Tymoshenko, view the agreement as a betrayal of national interests. (Ukrinform)

Lytvyn suggests reshuffling Cabinet

KYIV - Speaking to journalists in Kyiv on January 16, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn suggested the government's partial reshufflement as the optimal way to solve the problem of the Cabinet's dismissal. Such a partial reshufflement would allow the Parliament to either revoke its resolution on sacking the government or adopt another version of that resolution. Mr. Lytvyn noted that the Rada may not nullify the resolution because it has not been challenged and, therefore, remains valid. In this connection the chairman urged a Verkhovna Rada dialogue with the government to decide what steps the Parliament and the government should take to normalize the situation. Mr. Lytvyn pointed to another likely variant to resolve the dispute: the president's move to nominate a new prime minister. The Parliament, Mr. Lytvyn contended, will surely support the nominee, otherwise, both parties will stick to their ground and will pretend that nothing has happened, hardly a constructive stand. (Ukrinform)

Rada vice-chair on president's demand

KYIV - The first vice chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Communist Party member Adam Martyniuk, delivered a rather harshly worded statement on January 16 when he told a press conference in Kyiv that the Verkhovna Rada will not consider President Viktor Yushchenko's letter, which demands that the Parliament revoke its January 10 resolution on sacking the government. According to Mr. Martyniuk, the president's letter was a demand, rather than a request, though the president is not entitled to make any demands of the Verkhovna Rada. Mr. Martyniuk also said the tenor of the president's letter was inadmissible, though the text was conveyed to every deputy for familiarization. The president and the government insist that the Parliament's January 10 resolution was unconstitutional. Opposition factions and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc collected 260 votes in support of sending the government packing. The Constitutional Court is entitled to solve the dispute, but its new judges have not been appointed or sworn in. Speaking at the news conference, Mr. Martyniuk voiced his assumption that the Parliament will succeed in appointing its quota of four Constitutional Court judges this week. He also accused the pro-authority factions of having frustrated the Parliament's January 12 attempt (the third in a row) to elect Constitutional Court judges. (Ukrinform)

Rada prolongs session for one week

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada on January 13 decided to prolong its current session for one more week, until January 20, the UNIAN news service reported. The motion was backed by 241 deputies; pro-government factions did not participate in the vote. The previous day pro-government deputies blocked the Verkhovna Rada rostrum in a successful bid to prevent opposition groups from tabling a vote on the dismissal of Justice Minister Serhii Holovatyi. It is not clear from media reports why the Ukrainian Parliament wanted to sack Mr. Holovatyi one more time, two days after its vote to dismiss the entire Cabinet of Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov. Mr. Holovatyi said after the January 10 sacking of the government that the move was unconstitutional and contravened parliamentary procedures. President Viktor Yushchenko instructed Mr. Yekhanurov to continue performing his duties until the parliamentary elections in March and called on the Verkhovna Rada to annul the dismissal vote. (RFE/RL Newsline)

More than 7,000 to vie for Rada seats

KYIV - Ukraine's Central Election Commission on January 12 considered complaints from some political forces regarding the registration of their candidates for the March 26 parliamentary elections, the UNIAN news service reported. As of January 12 the commission had registered 7,650 candidates from 44 political parties and blocs. This year's elections are the first in independent Ukraine to be held under a fully proportional, party-list system. Under the constitutional reform that took effect on January 1, the new Parliament will have a decisive say in forming the government. Its term is extended to five years from the current four. Sociological surveys indicate that six or seven Ukrainian parties and blocs may overcome the 3 percent vote threshold that qualifies a party for parliamentary representation. (RFE/RL Newsline)

No Ukrainians in RosUkrEnergo

KYIV - Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov said on January 12 that the Swiss-based RosUkrEnergo company has no Ukrainian owners, UNIAN reported. Mr. Yekhanurov said the component "Ukr" in the company's name indicates that the company originally planned to have Ukrainian stockholders. He stressed that Russia did not leave Ukraine any other option for a gas supplier in 2006 apart from RosUkrEnergo. On January 4 Gazprom and Naftohaz Ukrayiny, Ukraine's oil and gas transport company, signed a controversial gas deal that made RosUkrEnergo the monopolist of gas supplies to Ukraine. RosUkrEnergo was described in the media as a company owned by Gazprom and unidentified "Ukrainian investors." Meanwhile, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's first vice prime minister and head of the Gazprom board of directors, said on January 12 that the "optimal option" for Gazprom would be to have Naftohaz Ukrayiny as a partner in RosUkrEnergo. Mr. Medvedev confirmed earlier reports that Gazprom owns a 50-percent stake in RosUkrEnergo. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Gazprom wants Ukrainian partner

MOSCOW - Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's first deputy prime minister and Gazprom's chairman of the board, said in Moscow on January 12 that he hopes the Ukrainian state energy company Naftohaz Ukrayiny will become a partner in RosUkrEnergo, the shadowy Swiss-based company set up by Gazprom as an intermediary, RIA-Novosti reported. Moscow has made similar suggestions to Kyiv in the past. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Gazprom hints at higher prices

MOSCOW - Gazprom chief executive Aleksei Miller told RTR state television on January 15 that his firm is participating directly in the RosUkrEnergo joint venture with Ukraine that sells Russian natural gas, ITAR-TASS reported. "The joint venture between Russia and Ukraine should be absolutely transparent. Gazprombank, a 100 percent subsidiary of Gazprom, represents Russia in the joint venture, and its activities are absolutely clear and transparent. Meanwhile, a foreign bank represents Ukraine. Russia has said many times that it would be better to make Gazprom and Naftohaz Ukrayiny the co-founders of the joint venture," Mr. Miller said. He argued that Russian gas prices for Ukraine may vary depending on market conditions and petroleum product prices. "The current gas price for [what] Ukraine [gets in Russian gas] is $230 per 1,000 cubic meters. Bearing in mind the shift to market terms, gas prices for Ukraine may increase or go down. This is the market. The gas price is linked to prices for petroleum products and crude oil. So, Russian gas prices on the Ukrainian market may fluctuate," he said. Mr. Miller stressed that "the European market is the sole determinant of gas prices." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Putin wants renewal of nuclear ties

ASTANA - Russian President Vladimir Putin said in Astana, Kazakhstan, on January 12 after meeting with his Ukrainian and Kazakh counterparts that he wants to restore the kind of nuclear energy ties between the three states that existed under the USSR but based on market lines, The Moscow Times reported. He called the prospects for nuclear cooperation with Ukraine "nothing but promising." Sergei Kirienko, who heads the Federal Atomic Energy Agency, or RosAtom, said that he wants to "rebuild the Minsredmash complex," meaning the former Soviet ministry that dealt with nuclear power. He will present a plan for cooperation between Kazakhstan and RosAtom at the St. Petersburg summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on January 25 and then go to Kyiv for talks on cooperation with Ukraine. Russia inherited about 80 percent of the nuclear industry of the Soviet Union but has only about half of the uranium ore it needs to make fuel to power it. RosAtom wants to buy uranium from Kazakhstan, which seeks Russian money to finance new nuclear power stations. (RFE/RL Newsline)

President wants retraction of vote

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko said at a government meeting on January 12 that he has requested that the Verkhovna Rada cancel its January 10 decision to sack Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov's Cabinet, the UNIAN news service reported. "I have written an appeal to the Verkhovna Rada with the request that it cancel [its] unconstitutional decision to dismiss the government," Mr. Yushchenko said. He added that he considers the current Cabinet to be a full-fledged government, adding that Mr. Yekhanurov does not need to use the adjective "acting" before his official title. (RFE/RL Newsline)

...withdraws from pact with rival

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko also informed the Cabinet of Ministers on January 12 that he has withdrawn his signature under the memorandum he signed with his former presidential rival, Party of the Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych, to enlist Mr. Yanukovych's support for the approval of Yurii Yekhanurov as prime minister in September, UNIAN reported. President Yushchenko explained that the Party of the Regions violated the memorandum by voting on January 10 to dismiss Mr. Yekhanurov. Mr. Yushchenko obligated himself in the 10-point memorandum to restrain from using "repression against the opposition" and to draft a bill on amnesty for those guilty of election fraud in the 2004 presidential election. (RFE/RL Newsline)

New UOC-KP bishop for Poltava

KYIV - Archimandrite Mykhail (Bondarchuk) was ordained bishop of Poltava and Kremenchuk for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate on January 1 in St. Volodymyr Cathedral in Kyiv. Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko), head of the UOC-KP, was the principal celebrant. According to uaorthodox.org, the new bishop is the 41st hierarch of the UOC-KP. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Kryvorizhstal is renamed

KYIV - The company Mittal Steel has announced that the Kryvorizhstal mill has been officially renamed the Mittal Steel Krivoi Rog. A decision to this effect was made at a general meeting of the company's stockholders. The general meeting also appointed the company's CEO and elected its board of directors, headed by Narendra Chaudhari, who has 40 years' experience in managerial work. He has been with Mittal Steel since 1993. He was once executive director of Mittal Steel Galati (Romania) and Mittal Steel Temirtau (Kazakhstan). The general meeting elected the company's new supervisory panel, composed of Malai Mukherjee, Vijai Bhatnagar, Gregor Munstermann, Simon Ivans, Sherde de Vrise. Kryvorizhstal is Ukraine's biggest steel works, accounting for around 20 percent of Ukraine's metal market. Its facilities annually produce over 6 million tons of rolled metal, about 7 million tons of steel and over 7.8 million tons of cast iron. Mittal Steel is the world's biggest manufacturer of steel and runs steel mills in 14 countries. It supplies its metal to major automakers, engineering industry enterprises and construction businesses. (Ukrinform)

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 22, 2006, No. 4, Vol. LXXIV

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