NEWSBRIEFS (09/22/96)

NEWSBRIEFS

NATO official speaks of special status

KYIV - President of the North Atlantic Assembly Karsten Voigt said in Kyiv on September 16 that "Ukraine has a chance to establish a special partnership status with NATO." While Mr. Voigt did not define the "special" status, he said it would not jeopardize Ukrainian ties with Russia. Ukrainian officials have maintained that the country has no interest in full NATO membership, but it has participated actively in the Partnership for Peace program. (OMRI Daily Digest)

EU to offer $700 million to Ukraine

KYIV - The European Union's commissioner in charge of relations with the former Soviet Union, Hans van den Broek, was in Ukraine on September 12, Ukrainian radio and international agencies reported. Mr. Van den Broek and the head of Ukraine's National Agency for Reconstruction and Development, Roman Shpek, signed two agreements. Under the TACIS program, Ukraine is to receive some $700 million between 1996 and 1999 for various economic projects. Ukraine is to receive an additional $50 million for restructuring its energy sector and closing the Chornobyl nuclear power station. Mr. Van den Broek said there were currently no obstacles for ratifying a partnership and cooperation agreement between the EU and Ukraine. (OMRI Daily Digest)

JV planned with Royal Dutch/Shell

KYIV - Ukraine's Chornomornaftogaz energy company plans to set up a joint venture with Royal Dutch/Shell Group by 1997 to explore oil reserves on the Black Sea shelf, Ukraine's Oil and Gas Bulletin reported. The company's deputy president, Fyodor Uryupin, was quoted as saying that the two sides had reached an agreement in recent talks, and that the agreement should be signed by the end of the year. Shell has already secured four drilling licences for Ukrainian reserves, and officials in Kyiv said recently that Ukraine would look favorably upon Shell's proposal to drill for offshore oil. Ukrainian officials said in July that the Shell Pecten unit was considering investing up to $1 billion in natural gas pipeline and oil drilling projects. Ukraine recently granted tax relief to foreign oil exploration companies, linking the breaks to the efficiency of equipment used in Ukrainian energy projects. (Reuters)

Problem noted at Khmelnytsky N-plant

KYIV - A worn-out oil supply indicator caused operators to shut down a reactor at Ukraine's Khmelnytsky nuclear plant. No radiation was released. The oil supply indicator on a turbine generator at the plant's reactor No. 1 showed it was low on oil, triggering the automatic shutdown system in the evening of September 12, Nikita Shtohun, chief engineer at the plant's information department, said the next day. Operators later determined the oil level was normal and the gauge was faulty. After the shutdown, plant workers inspected the plant's other indicators and replaced several, Mr. Shtohun said. The reactor was restarted the next morning. The incident at the plant, located 150 miles west of Kyiv, was rated as a 0 on the International Nuclear Events Scale. (Associated Press)

Currency exchange deadline extended

KYIV - The Ukrainian government has extended the deadline for residents to exchange karbovantsi for hryvni, the new currency, to October 16. Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko said that although the exchange had gone smoothly during the planned two-week exchange period, which ended on September 16, there were some 8.7 trillion karbovantsi ($49 million) still circulating in the economy. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Commission on penal code set up

KYIV - A commission to end the death penalty and propose steps to "humanize" Ukraine's penal code has been set up by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma. The legal experts, lawmakers and administration representatives who comprise the commission will bring Ukraine's crime legislation in line with Council of Europe recommendations. Convicts currently on death row may be given a life sentence as an alternative, Ukrainian Radio reported on August 21. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Contest slated for emblem, anthem

KYIV - The Supreme Council of Ukraine decreed that Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers has until December 1 to hold a contest for the design of the state emblem and new lyrics to the national anthem of Ukraine. The newly adopted Ukrainian Constitution approved only a small emblem and the anthem's music. (Svoboda)

Joint civil defense exercises held

KYIV - More than 200 emergency workers from the United States and Eastern Europe held joint rescue drills this week outside of Lviv, as part of a NATO-organized civil defense exercise. The participants practiced earthquake emergency operations after a computer-simulated quake. They were also to derail a train and start fires for further training. Representatives from U.S., Hungarian, Polish, Slovakian and Ukrainian civil defense agencies took part in the training. (Associated Press)