NEWSBRIEFS

Kuchma meets with Schroeder

LEIPZIG, Germany - Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma flew to Leipzig on July 11 to meet with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder for discussions about post- Chornobyl power production in Ukraine and other bilateral issues, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Germany is playing a key role in an upcoming decision by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development about a $1.5 billion loan to Kyiv to complete the construction of nuclear power stations at Rivne and Khmelnytskyi, ITAR-TASS reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Inflation rises in Ukraine

KYIV - The Ministry of the Economy told Interfax on July 10 that inflation in Ukraine will total 25 to 29 percent in 2000, up from 19.2 percent in 1999 and 20 percent in 1998. The government had predicted that inflation this year would not exceed 19 percent. In response, Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko said the situation should not be over-dramatized and stressed that the government has inflation completely under control. Inflation rose 3.7 percent in June alone, but Mr. Yuschenko said he is convinced it will fall significantly in July and succeeding months. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Majority can afford only food

KYIV - A poll conducted by the GfK USM polling agency in May among 1,000 people between the ages of 15 and 59 showed that 20 percent of respondents do not have enough money to buy foodstuffs and are forced to live permanently on credit, Interfax reported on June 27. Fifty-six percent said they can buy only food, while 22 percent admitted that they are able to buy food and clothes. Only 2 percent said they can afford other consumer goods "without any problems." (RFE/RL Poland, Belarus and Ukraine Report)

President urges Parliament action

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma met with national deputies on July 10 to urge them to pass key legislation, including the tax and budget codes, before adjourning this week for the summer recess, Interfax reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Storms force reactor's shutdown

KYIV - Heavy rainstorms forced Ukrainian authorities to shut down Chornobyl's only functioning reactor on July 10, according to Reuters. As a result of heavy flooding across Ukraine, two people have been killed and 10 injured, while damage to property exceeds 340 million hrv ($62.7 million), the Associated Press reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Communists protest land privatization

KYIV - Despite Communist opposition, the Verkhovna Rada voted 229 to 32 to pass in the first reading a bill that opens the way to private ownership of land, Reuters reported on July 6. Fist fights broke out after the vote, and the following day dozens of Communist and leftist legislators walked out of the Parliament, demanding a strict probe into whether some deputies whose votes were counted had been present, as the law requires. Meanwhile, some 4,000 pensioners in Dnipropetrovsk marched to protest an International Monetary Fund plan that would double their utility bills, the DPA press service reported on July 7. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv seeks talks on division of Soviet assets

KYIV - Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk urged the Parliament to consult with the Russian State Duma on the ultimate distribution of the assets and liabilities of the former Soviet Union, ITAR-TASS reported on July 6. The so-called "zero option," Mr. Tarasyuk said, does not apply because Ukraine did not ratify the original post-Soviet accord. He added that in 1999 Kyiv had secured Moscow's agreement to discuss specific properties in 36 countries and to discuss the status of 10 of those properties. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine increases military exports

KYIV - Ukraine is to provide engines and transmissions for Pakistan's new Al-Khalid tank, Interfax reported on July 7. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Swiss to return Lazarenko funds

KYIV - Ukraine's Procurator General Mykhailo Potebenko told ITAR-TASS on July 7 that the money former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko had kept in Swiss accounts would be returned to Kyiv. Meanwhile, Ukrainian prosecutors expressed hope that the United States will extradite Mr. Lazarenko, already convicted in Switzerland of money-laundering, to Ukraine to face additional charges. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Anti-Russian labels appear in Lviv

LVIV - Labels bearing a skull and reading "Moscow poison, Russified, beware" appeared on shops, movie houses and other public places in Lviv last week, ITAR-TASS reported on July 7. The labels appear to have been placed by de-Russification teams who seek to block the use of the Russian language in public life there. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Hague funds to help close Chornobyl

BERLIN - At a donors' conference in Berlin on July 5-6, G-7 countries, European Union states and other countries discussed ways to help Kyiv close the reactor blocks at Chornobyl, ITAR-TASS reported. The Dutch representative to the meeting announced that The Hague will contribute $2.84 million toward closing the site of the world's worst nuclear power plant disaster. (RFE/RL Newsline)

EU to Ukraine: don't expect to join soon

PRAGUE - A spokesman for European Union Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said on July 4 that the European Union will complete its current round of expansion talks before considering inviting others, including Ukraine, to start such negotiations, Reuters reported. "It's not realistic as things stand today to speak about the accession of other countries," he added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tyhypko resigns ministerial post

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma accepted the resignation of reformist Minister of the Economy Serhii Tyhypko, who has been elected to the Verkhovna Rada, according to Reuters. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine, Poland to send unit to Kosovo

KYIV - Ukraine and Poland are to dispatch a joint 850-soldier peacekeeping unit to serve in the NATO-led KFOR force in Kosova, Reuters reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada approves privatization of telecom

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada also voted on June 22 by 255-6 to pass in its first reading a bill on the privatization of Ukraine's telecommunications giant, UkrTelekom, whose assets are valued at 4 billion hrv ($740 million U.S.). The bill calls for the government to keep a 50 percent plus one share stake and sell at least 25 percent of the company's shares. It also bans companies registered in offshore zones from taking part in the privatization of UkrTelekom. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Baltic leaders call for improved contacts

PARNU, Estonia - Estonian Prime Minister Mart Laar met here with his counterparts from Lithuania and Latvia, Andrius Kubilius and Andris Berzins, on June 15-16 for a regular meeting of the Baltic prime ministers. In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the three leaders called for the improved exchange of information and views in their bids to join NATO and the European Union, the ETA news agency reported. The prime ministers also reaffirmed cooperation in the energy sector and called for simplified border crossings. On June 15 the Estonian and Latvian prime ministers opened a new border checkpoint at Ikla. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Baltic PMs discuss Russia-related topics

PARNU - The three prime ministers of the Baltic states discussed issues related to Russia, especially that country's stance on NATO enlargement. Lithuanian Premier Andrius Kubilius criticized statements against Baltic membership in NATO that Russian President Vladimir Putin had made during his recent visit to Berlin. "Further enlargement of NATO will guarantee security and stability in Europe and will accelerate the process of creating a free, prosperous and united Europe," they said. The three prime ministers also said that Lithuania's claim against Moscow for compensation for the five decades of Soviet occupation is justified. Estonian Prime Minister Mart Laar said his political party, the Pro Patria Union, has "agreed to support the idea of beginning negotiations on compensation for damages," Reuters added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv wants Moscow to rein in critics

KYIV - Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 4 announced that it has asked the Russian authorities to stop its officials from suggesting - incorrectly - that Ukraine is helping Chechen fighters, the Associated Press reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Journalist of the year named

KYIV - Olha Herasymiuk, a journalist at Studio 1+1 TV, was named journalist of the year for 1999 and on June 1 received an award of $10,000. The award was established by the Ukrainskyi Vymir Fund, and the winner was determined by surveying 56 media organizations throughout Ukraine. According to the fund's president, Yaroslav Lesiuk, three major criteria were used for choosing the winner: professionalism, objectivity and the social importance of his/her work. (Eastern Economist)

Resident foreigners do not need visas

KYIV - The Cabinet of Ministers issued a decree amending the procedures for entry, exit and transit of foreigners traveling across Ukraine. The decree allows multiple entries and exits without visas for foreigners who are permanent residents and who worked or studied in Ukraine for at least one year. According to the new procedure, these persons may enter and leave Ukraine without visas if their passports have a stamp from an internal affairs body with a residence, work or study permit. In addition, when crossing the border, foreigners who permanently live in Ukraine or study in Ukrainian universities will have to show their passports with the stamp from internal affairs bodies, as well as their student certificate and certificate of residence in Ukraine. The same decree authorizes migration committees in Crimea, and regional and city administrations to grant refugee status to foreigners who arrive in Ukraine. (Eastern Economist)

Patriarch does not rule out papal visit

MOSCOW - Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Aleksei II celebrated the 10th anniversary of his enthronement as head of the Russian Orthodox Church on June 10. In an interview with Kommersant- Daily the same day, Patriarch Aleksei repeated his belief that a meeting with Pope John Paul II "cannot be ruled out, but must be thoroughly prepared so that it produces real results of mutual respect and concord without hypocrisy." Prime Minister Mikhail Kasianov congratulated the patriarch on his anniversary, calling him a "wise man who has devoted his life to the service of the Church and fatherland," ITAR-TASS reported. Mr. Kasianov also promised further cooperation between the government and the Russian Orthodox Church. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Russian firm buys control of refinery

KYIV - TNK-Ukraina, a Russian firm based in Tiumen, has purchased 67.41 percent of the shares in LiNOS, a Ukrainian refinery, the Associated Press reported on July 11. For more than a year Kyiv had tried to sell the plant, which has been operating at a loss. As part of the deal, which was to be signed on July 13, the Russian firm assumes responsibility for LiNOS's debts. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 16, 2000, No. 29, Vol. LXVIII

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