NEWSBRIEFS (05/26/02)

NEWSBRIEFS

Kuchma to accept Yushchenko as PM?

KYIV - Oleksander Zadorozhnyi, the permanent presidential representative in the Verkhovna Rada, told journalists on May 22 that President Leonid Kuchma does not rule out the formation of a Cabinet of Ministers headed by Our Ukraine leader and former Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko, provided that Mr. Yushchenko's bloc backs the candidacy of United Ukraine leader Volodymyr Lytvyn for Parliament chairman, UNIAN reported. According to Mr. Zadorozhnyi, such an agreement was reached during President Kuchma's meeting with Messrs. Lytvyn and Yushchenko the previous day. Mr. Zadorozhnyi noted, however, that Mr. Yushchenko had issued an "ultimatum" on May 22, demanding that the president dismiss the government of Anatolii Kinakh before the election of parliamentary leadership. Mr. Zadorozhnyi added that this demand "destabilizes the situation in the state" and cannot be endorsed by Mr. Kuchma. Meanwhile, Our Ukraine lawmaker Mykola Tomenko said Our Ukraine will sign an accord on joint actions in the Verkhovna Rada with United Ukraine only after President Kuchma issues two decrees - one dismissing the Kinakh Cabinet and the other proposing Mr. Yushchenko as a new prime minister for parliamentary approval. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Opposition blocs dislike possible alliance

KYIV - Socialist Party leader Oleksander Moroz appealed on May 22 to Our Ukraine lawmakers not to form a parliamentary coalition with United Ukraine, UNIAN reported. Mr. Moroz said the people voted for Our Ukraine as an alternative to the government. "I'd like all of you [from Our Ukraine] to avoid reasons for regretting after some time that we are living in the times of betrayal and a mercenary approach," Mr. Moroz said. Former Vice Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said her parliamentary bloc will not support any joint proposals from Our Ukraine and United Ukraine for the distribution of parliamentary posts. Ms. Tymoshenko noted that there are still chances to form a parliamentary coalition between her bloc, Our Ukraine, the Communist Party, and the Socialist Party. (RFE/RL Newsline)

World Bank considers new loan

KYIV - World Bank Vice-President Johannes Linn concluded two-day talks with government officials on May 21 by praising Ukraine for progress in reforms and exceptional growth despite two years of global economic turmoil, the Associated Press reported. Mr. Linn predicted that Ukraine's economy will grow by 4 to 6 percent in 2002. He noted that Ukraine has made "remarkable progress" in eliminating pension and public-sector wage arrears, initiating land reform, improving the business environment, making privatization more transparent and implementing targeted social assistance. However, he called for more vigorous tax collection, reduced tax exemptions, restructuring of the State Savings Bank, continued energy-sector reforms and more efficient government administration. Mr. Linn said this fall he will most likely propose that the bank's board of directors release a $250 million loan to Ukraine in one installment instead of dividing it into separate tranches as was done previously. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma meets with EC president

BRUSSELS - President Leonid Kuchma flew to Brussels on May 15 for an unofficial meeting with European Commission President Roman Prodi, the UNIAN news service reported. Mr. Prodi told journalists after the meeting that "specific steps" in mutual cooperation will be reviewed at an European Union-Ukraine summit in Copenhagen in July. He added that he and President Kuchma had discussed the possibility of the EU granting Ukraine the "status of neighbor." The introduction of such status with regard to Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova was endorsed by the EU foreign ministers last month. Mr. Kuchma commented that Kyiv will not push for its membership in the European Union as long as Ukraine has not achieved "European standards." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Germany grateful for return of archive

BERLIN - German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer thanked Ukraine on May 15 for returning one of German music's most valuable treasures - an archive of music by Johann Sebastian Bach and his children that was lost during World War II, the Associated Press reported. Last November Kyiv returned the collection of about 5,000 documents - including signatures and scores by Bach and his children - to Berlin, where it was originally housed as part of the Berlin Sing Academy. Mr. Fischer praised the Ukrainian government for taking a leading role in the "sensitive and difficult process of restoring misplaced cultural artifacts," and expressed confidence that other German treasures still in Ukraine will also be returned soon. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma apologizes for cemetery row

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma has apologized for the scandal surrounding the opening of the Polish military cemetery in Lviv, Polish and Ukrainian media reported on May 17. The previous week the Lviv City Council refused to accept the Polish version for the inscription on a monument at the cemetery, and President Alexander Kwasniewski subsequently canceled his visit for the opening ceremony that was planned for May 21. "Politics is not done on the graves of soldiers," President Kuchma said in his statement. "Ukraine cannot accept somebody's attempts to politicize this issue. I apologize to Poland and to President Kwasniewski for our failure to complete the construction of the memorial and to pay tribute as scheduled. I am confident that society will find a balanced decision." Canceling his trip, Mr. Kwasniewski said the conditions for conducting the opening in a "dignified manner" do not exist. On May 16 deputies of the Lviv City Council had rejected Polish proposals regarding the main inscription at the cemetery and the reconstruction of monuments to U.S. and French soldiers who fought on the Polish side in the Polish-Bolshevik war of 1920. The Polish side proposed the inscription reading "To unknown soldiers who heroically fell for Poland in 1918-1920," while the Lviv councilors excluded the word "heroically" from the phrase. The Lviv City Council also did not agree to the installation of the monuments to U.S. and French soldiers. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Court clears suspect in journalist's murder

DONETSK - A court in Donetsk on May 17 acquitted Yurii Verediuk, a man suspected of killing television journalist Ihor Aleksandrov, and ordered a new investigation, the UNIAN news agency reported. The murder investigation and Mr. Verediuk's trial have been repeatedly criticized by Ukrainian commentators for inefficiency. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma slams poor Chornobyl funding

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma on May 16 criticized Cabinet members for allocating insufficient funds for Chornobyl-related expenses in this year's budget, the UNIAN press service reported. According to Mr. Kuchma, the 2002 budget provides for 220 million hrv ($41 million) to be spent on the maintenance of facilities of the closed Chornobyl plant, which covers only some 60 percent of actual needs. Mr. Kuchma also criticized the way international funds have been spent, saying that donor governments have claimed that Ukraine does not fulfill its obligations to fund Chornobyl problems appropriately. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Pope creates new dioceses for Ukraine

LVIV - On May 4 Pope John Paul II created two new Roman Catholic dioceses for Ukraine, nominated two new auxiliary bishops for the Lviv archdiocese, and accepted the retirement of and replaced the bishop of central Ukrainian Kamianets-Podilskyi. The pope has erected a new Roman Catholic diocese for eastern Ukraine, Kharkiv-Zaporizhia, taking territories that were previously part of the Kyiv-Zhytomyr and the Kamianets-Podilskyi dioceses. Auxiliary Bishop Stanislaw Padewski has been named bishop of the new diocese. The new diocese of Odesa-Symferopol has been created out of territory previously part of the diocese of Kamianets-Podilskyi. Msgr. Bronislaw Bernacki has been nominated bishop of the new diocese. Msgr. Marian Buczek and the Rev. Leon Maly have been nominated auxiliary bishops of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Lviv. Pope John Paul II has accepted the resignation from pastoral duties of Bishop Jan Olszanski of the Kamianets-Podilskyi diocese. He has nominated Auxiliary Bishop Leonid Maksymilian Dubrawski to fill the position. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Kuchma to control cathedral's restoration

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma promised to allocate 30 million hrv (about $5.5 million U.S.) to complete the restoration of St. Volodymyr Cathedral in Khersones, Crimea. Early in the morning of May 5, Mr. Kuchma attended Easter services in the cathedral, led by Metropolitan Volodymyr Sabodan, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate. The president will personally control the process of restoration of the second biggest Orthodox church in Ukraine to ensure that the work is finished by the end of the year. According to tradition, the church was built at the place where Prince Volodymyr the Great was baptized. The church was partially destroyed during World War II, taking the direct hit of a German missile during the second defense of Sevastopol. The first stage of the church's restoration cost 35 million hrv. During the second stage, the restoration will be finished and the walls of the cathedral will be painted. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Apostolic nuncio presents Vatican awards

KYIV - Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, apostolic nuncio in Ukraine, presented some government officials of Ukraine with Vatican state awards for their active part in the organization of the papal visit to the country in June of 2001. The ceremony was held on April 12 in the apostolic nunciature in Kyiv. According to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, among the recipients of the award were Volodymyr Lytvyn, head of the presidential administration; Anatolii Zlenko, minister of foreign affairs; Yurii Bohutskyi, minister of culture, Yurii Smirnov, minister of internal affairs; and Oleksander Omelchenko, mayor of Kyiv. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Ukraine's economy continues to grow

KYIV - Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh said on May 14 that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 4.1 percent in January-April of this year, compared to the same period in 2001, Interfax reported. The following day the government endorsed a draft plan of action, according to which the economy in 2003-2004 is to grow by 6 percent, the UNIAN news service reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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