NEWSBRIEFS (02/14/99)

NEWSBRIEFS

Nuclear officials appeal for funds

KYIV - Twenty-eight Ukrainian nuclear energy officials have warned of a deepening crisis in their struggling industry and appealed to the government for more money, the Associated Press reported on February 8. A letter signed by nuclear plant directors, scientists and energy executives says the failure of consumers to pay their bills has left nuclear plants unable to pay wages or upgrade aging equipment. Nuclear officials also said that existing energy facilities in the country are inadequate and that many nuclear plants are operating in dangerous conditions. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Deputy questions relationship with IMF

KYIV - Adam Martyniuk, the first vice-chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, said on February 8 that the legislature will debate Kyiv's relationship with the International Monetary Fund, Reuters reported. Mr. Martyniuk, who leads a Communist bloc in the Parliament, said "even a portion of the executive branch [is] starting to understand that it is time to reject the dictates of the IMF and the World Bank." He said the government is not implementing its own program, but "the parameters of the IMF memorandum." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Clinton notes progress in relations

KYIV - U.S. President Bill Clinton sent a letter to President Leonid Kuchma on February 6 in which he notes the significant progress made in the development of the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States. Mr. Clinton wrote that he hopes for further steps that will favor Ukraine's integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions and increase Ukraine's attractiveness for Western investors and entrepreneurs. He also stressed the importance of agreements concluded in 1998, such as those on peaceful use of nuclear energy, Ukraine's entry into the system of missile technology control and joint work in the commercial use of space. (Eastern Economist)

Lazarenko may yet face immunity fight

KYIV - "The Procurator General's Office will insist on the removal of Pavlo Lazarenko's immunity, since it has sufficient evidence to charge him," said Procurator General Oleksander Potebenko on February 5. That same day the Verkhovna Rada decided it will consider the issue of removing National Deputy Lazarenko's immunity on February 17. (Eastern Economist)

Rada rejects privatization bill

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma sharply criticized the Parliament on February 5 after it voted overwhelmingly to reject a privatization plan, the Associated Press reported. Despite that rejection, Mr. Kuchma had earlier decreed the legislation, which is due to take effect on February 16. The legislature voted 227-48 against the plan, which would privatize 455 large and medium-sized enterprises and some 5,500 smaller firms. Many national deputies are against the use of domestic state bonds as privatization payments, and others want the Verkhovna Rada, rather than the government, to handle the privatization of strategic companies. President Kuchma said, "everything proposed by the president or Cabinet is adamantly opposed." He underlined that the Parliament does not understand the urgency in "giving economic laws top priority." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tarasyuk praises EU, NATO enlargement

LONDON - Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk said in London on February 2 that the expansion of NATO and the European Union to embrace Eastern European countries - including Ukraine - would create a "double bulwark" of democracy and freedom in Europe, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. Mr. Tarasyuk, on a three-day visit to Britain, made his comments at the Royal Institute of International Affairs. He said Kyiv's long-term goal is to attain EU membership and that enlargement of the union is a positive process toward creating a "common European home." Minister Tarasyuk also said NATO will continue to play a pivotal role in maintaining security and stability in Europe and that Kyiv regards the alliance's enlargement as an expansion of democracy and stability in Europe. He said there is popular support in Ukraine for closer ties with the West. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tarasyuk criticizes Moscow re: NATO

MUNICH - Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk of Ukraine on February 7 again endorsed NATO expansion and argued that Moscow should not speak for Soviet successor states on matters related to the alliance, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. Speaking at a security conference in Munich, Mr. Tarasyuk made his comments after Russian Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Yevgenii Gusarov criticized NATO enlargement. Mr. Tarasyuk said Kyiv rejects Moscow's attempt to draw a "red line" around the former Soviet Union by speaking for the successor states. Mr. Gusarov said later that Russia has no veto over the opinions of other countries. Mr. Tarasyuk said the alliance is an "essential instrument" for maintaining peace and stability, and added that closer political and military ties between Kyiv and Brussels will not damage Russian-Ukrainian relations. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Germany seeks Chornobyl's shutdown

BONN - Germany's Foreign Affairs Minister Joschka Fischer urged Ukraine on February 6 to close down the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, ITAR-TASS reported. Mr. Fischer made his plea at a ceremony in Bonn creating the German-Ukrainian Forum, which was also attended by his Ukrainian counterpart, Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk. Mr. Fischer said Germany will assist Kyiv in integrating into Western European structures. The previous day in Kyiv, Chornobyl officials said the last operational reactor at the plant will remain idle at least until March 2, due to a delay in repairs. Ukrainian energy officials are holding talks in Kyiv with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development about financing construction of two new reactors at the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne plants so that it can permanently close down the Chornobyl plant. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Flu epidemic shuts Kyiv schools

KYIV - All schools in Kyiv are to be closed as of February 5. The decision was made by Kyiv Mayor Oleksander Omelchenko to stop the spread of flu among schoolchildren. Classes will start after the epidemic situation in the city has lessened. The measure follows similar closures across Ukraine. (Eastern Economist)

Ukraine observation flights over Alaska

KYIV - As part of the preparations for Ukrainian participation in the Open Skies Treaty, on February 8-14 Ukrainian military officials will take part in a Ukrainian-American series of training observation flights over U.S. territory. This is the third such mission. The flights will be over Alaska, observing objects proposed by the Ukrainian side. (Eastern Economist)

Rocket demo to go ahead in U.S.

KYIV - The first in a new series of demonstration launches of a Ukrainian Zenit rocket under the Sea Launch project is scheduled to be held in California. Ukraine's PivdenMash and Pivdenne design bureau have already manufactured six Zenit rockets for this project. Ukrainian participation in the project is financed by Boeing and Chase Manhattan bank, which invested a total of $100 million (U.S.). (Eastern Economist)

Treaty delay raises contentious issues

LONDON - Russia's former minister for CIS relations, Anatolii Adamishin, now Russia's ambassador to Great Britain, called upon Russia's leaders in a February 1 interview to use the delay in ratification of the Russia-Ukraine Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership to resolve the problems that continue to plague relations between Russia and Ukraine. He called on Ukraine to indicate how serious it was about ratification in the Verkhovna Rada of the agreement on division of the Black Sea Fleet, while praising President Leonid Kuchma for his work in supporting ratification. The issue of control of the Kerch channel, which runs between Crimea and Russia's Taman region, was also mentioned as contentious. At present, Ukraine retains control and requires that Russian ships pay for passage through the channel. Mr. Adamishin argued that although "Ukraine's position is solid from the point of view of international law, if we are both talking about relations [between Ukraine and Russia] based on a strategic partnership, then access to this channel should be equally free." He went on to suggest that, before ratification of the treaty, Ukraine should clarify its position towards NATO expansion. Meanwhile, in Kyiv, the Communist leader Petro Symonenko on February 1 attacked [Russian President Boris] "Yeltsin's allies" for non-ratification of the bilateral by the upper chamber of the Russian Parliament. He said the actions of Federation Council members are directed against President Kuchma, "for whom they had previously announced their support." Mr. Symonenko added that non-ratification of the agreement bears "no relation to the mood of the Russian Communist Party," which along with its Ukrainian comrades "expended maximum effort to make sure the discussion came before the Duma in the first place." In Moscow, Duma Chairman Gennadii Seleznev came out in support of ratification, and said he hoped the delay would not cause a rift between the upper and lower chambers of the Russian Federal Assembly. (Eastern Economist)

U.S. Embassy reports increase in visas

KYIV - The Consular section of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine issued 1,700 more visas to Ukrainian citizens in 1998 than in 1997. A grand total of 21,158 were issued in 1998. A spokesperson added that the level of visa refusals dropped by 8 percent. (Eastern Economist)

Minimum wage is increased

KYIV - The government raised the monthly minimum wage from 55 hrv ($16) to 74 hrv, as stipulated by a bill approved by the Verkhovna Rada in December. The average monthly wage in Ukraine in December was 176 hrv. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Socialist leader tops presidential poll

KYIV - Some 15 percent of respondents in a recent poll chose Natalia Vitrenko, the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, as their favored presidential candidate, the Associated Press reported on February 1. President Leonid Kuchma came in second with 13 percent, followed by Oleksander Moroz of the Socialist Party and Communist Party Chairman Petro Symonenko with 10 percent each. The election is scheduled for October 31. The poll was conducted by SOCIS-Gallup. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Marchuk presidential campaign stirs

KHARKIV - The Kharkiv Oblast regional head of the Ukrainian Republican Party, Oleksander Denysenko, said on February 3 that the formation of an organization called "Our President - Yevhen Marchuk" is nearing completion in that region. Representatives of the Ukrainian Republican Party, the Democratic Party of Ukraine, the Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Social-Democratic Party (United) have joined the organization. Mr. Marchuk was head of the Ukrainian KGB during Soviet times. (Eastern Economist)

CUN demands honor for Bandera

LVIV - The Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists has called on President Leonid Kuchma to posthumously award nationalist leader Stepan Bandera the "Hero of Ukraine" award. Bandera, who fought for Ukrainian independence against Poles, Germans and Soviets throughout the 1930s and 1940s, was assassinated by KGB agents in Munich in 1958. (Eastern Economist)

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