NEWSBRIEFS (06/17/01)

NEWSBRIEFS

Kyiv seeks to cooperate with IMF

KYIV - Ukrainian Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh said on June 12 that his government wants to resume cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, Interfax reported. Mr. Kinakh noted that his government views the resumption of cooperation as a move intended both to obtain access to the fund's loans and to send a positive signal for investors. The new prime minister made these statements during his meeting with Luca Barbone, the World Bank's director for Belarus and Ukraine. The previous day an IMF mission arrived in Kyiv "to update [the IMF's] view of the economic situation in Ukraine and make the acquaintance of the new government," according to an official statement. Meanwhile, Mr. Barbone said the World Bank would make a decision on its $750 million loan in September if the government resolves problems in reforming the country's largest bank, Ukraina. The loan, if approved, would be dispersed in three $250 million tranches. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma denies theft of Russian gas

BRATISLAVA - President Leonid Kuchma said in the capital of Slovakia on June 12 that his country has not stolen any Russian gas since Ukraine became independent in 1991, Interfax reported. Mr. Kuchma said allegations of illegal gas-siphoning are made to apply economic pressure on Ukraine. He noted that the problem of illegal gas-siphoning "is not on the agenda" of Ukrainian-Russian relations. Mr. Kuchma stressed that the two governments have signed all documents regulating gas issues between Ukraine and Russia. "If Russian President Vladimir Putin were here, he would say the same," President Kuchma added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Allegations of probe not confirmed

KYIV - Quoting an unidentified Ukrainian diplomat in Washington, Interfax reported on June 11 that U.S. authorities are not conducting any investigation involving President Leonid Kuchma. Last week National Deputy Hryhorii Omelchenko had alleged that Mr. Kuchma's former bodyguard Mykola Melnychenko has been given special witness status in the United States after he passed to the U.S. authorities audio recordings suggesting that no less than $1 billion has been deposited into U.S. bank accounts that either belong to or are controlled by Mr. Kuchma. The Embassy of Ukraine in Washington inquired at the Office of the U.S. Secretary of State about the alleged probe and was told that no such investigation has been opened. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Referendum groups denied registration

KYIV - The Central Election Commission on June 11 denied registration to two groups of citizens from Poltava Oblast and Ternopil who were seeking a referendum on President Leonid Kuchma's ouster, Interfax reported. The commission said the groups committed procedural and formal violations while holding their founding meetings and preparing documents for registration. The commission also said the questions those groups wanted to put forth in a referendum cannot be proposed under Ukrainian legislation. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Aleksei again criticizes papal visit

MOSCOW - Speaking in Moscow on June 11, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Aleksei II said the visit of Pope John Paul II to Ukraine later this month "will cause a new confrontation between religious confessions there," ITAR-TASS reported. Aleksei said the pontiff aims to support "Greek-Catholics and members of the Uniate Church who destroyed three Orthodox eparchies in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil at the end of the 1990s." Aleksei said that "etiquette requires an invitation from the Church to which the majority of citizens belong." In Ukraine, that is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, Aleksei noted. He said that Church has called the pope's visit "untimely" and said it should be postponed. (RFE/RL Newsline)

President names more Cabinet members

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma has appointed Leonid Kozachenko as vice prime minister in charge of agricultural reform, Serhii Kurykin as ecology minister, and Valerii Pustovoitenko as transportation minister in Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh's Cabinet, Ukrainian media reported on June 10. Prior to his appointment Mr. Kozachenko headed the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation and was also Mr. Kinakh's aide in the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. Mr. Pustovoitenko, who heads the pro-presidential National Democratic Party, served as prime minister in 1997-1999 and was subsequently replaced by Viktor Yuschenko. Mr. Kurykin is a lawmaker and an activist of the Green Party. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Central European presidents meet

KYIV - On June 8 in Verbania, Italy, President Leonid Kuchma attended a meeting of presidents from 13 Central European countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine and Yugoslavia. Interfax reported that Mr. Kuchma called on the other heads of state to take into account "the specificity of domestic situations" in newly independent states before they choose to criticize the rate of economic and democratic transformations in those states. (RFE/RL Newsline)

New ministry to look toward Europe

KYIV - The Ukrainian government said on June 8 it planned to set up a new ministry dedicated to promoting Ukraine's integration with Europe. Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh told reporters that work had already begun on deciding a structure for the new ministry, but no decisions had been made on who would head the department. "(The person) will be a professional who is known in the international political and economic arena and who knows how to work under the conditions of a demanding free market economy," Mr. Kinakh said. (Reuters)

UOC-MP believers protest pope's visit

KYIV - Some 3,000 people, including several hundred priests and nuns of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate, staged a march in Kyiv on June 7 to protest Pope John Paul II's trip to Ukraine scheduled for June 23-27, Interfax and Reuters reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada demands sacking of TV chief

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada passed a resolution on June 7 urging President Leonid Kuchma to dismiss Vadym Dolhanov, chief of the National Television Company. The resolution states that Mr. Dolhanov's performance is unsatisfactory, adding that he is responsible for failing to provide objective and adequate reporting on the activities of the Parliament and local legislative bodies. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Bush congratulates Kinakh

KYIV - Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh on June 5 met with U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Carlos Pascual, who passed along a congratulatory letter from President George W. Bush pledging to support Ukraine's market reform efforts, the Associated Press reported. Mr. Pascual said President Bush voiced hope in this letter that reforms will turn Ukraine into a flourishing country. Prime Minister Kinakh, in turn, assured Ambassador Pascual that his government "has no doubts about the necessity to deepen market and democratic reforms." At the first meeting of his Cabinet, Mr. Kinakh said cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada, structural changes in the economy, creating an attractive investment climate and proper legal environment, and freedom of speech will be among the new government's priorities, Interfax reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Opposition ready to talk with authorities

KYIV- The Ukraine Without Kuchma civic committee believes it is "possible and expedient" to hold an "open public dialogue" between the opposition and the authorities, Interfax reported on June 6. The statement was made by Volodymyr Chemerys, a leader of the committee, during his meeting that day with Viktor Musiaka, director of the parliamentary Institute of Legislation. Mr. Musiaka, who was authorized by the president to seek contacts with the opposition, said he also wants to meet with two other opposition groups, the For the Truth movement and the Forum for National Salvation. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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