NEWSBRIEFS (06/11/06)

NEWSBRIEFS

Orange allies still differ

KYIV - National Deputy Anatolii Matviyenko of Our Ukraine told journalists in Kyiv on June 7 that Our Ukraine has not agreed to the demand of the Socialist Party of Ukraine (SPU) that its leader, Oleksander Moroz, should become chairman of the Verkhovna Rada in a future coalition of both parties with the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (YTB), UNIAN reported. "Our Ukraine should be represented in a democratic coalition in the two leading posts - those of prime minister and Verkhovna Rada head," Mr. Matviyenko added. The YTB and the SPU have formerly announced that in a potential coalition with Our Ukraine, the YTB should be offered the post of prime minister and the SPU that of Rada chairman. Asked by journalists whether this disagreement over the two top posts may wreck the process of coalition-building, Mr. Matviyenko said, "Nothing can disrupt this process because it will be continued in one format or another." Leaders of the YTB, Our Ukraine and the SPU held a meeting with President Viktor Yushchenko late on June 6. "They have agreed on main principles [of the coalition] and practically eliminated [their] list of disagreements," Oleh Rybachuk, head of the Presidential Secretariat, commented on the meeting. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Turchynov comments on coalition

KYIV - Oleksander Turchynov of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (YTB) on June 5 urged the bloc's negotiation partners, Our Ukraine and the Socialist Party of Ukraine (SPU), to immediately sign a coalition accord and form a new Cabinet, the Ukrayinska Pravda website reported. Mr. Turchynov told journalists that Our Ukraine and the SPU do not oppose the idea of Ms. Tymoshenko heading the government. "There has been no opposition [to this idea] but, fearing Tymoshenko in the post of prime minister, [they] are looking for mechanisms to paralyze the work of the Cabinet of Ministers, and this is what we will never agree with," Mr. Turchynov added. He noted that there are "15 to 17 diverging positions" in the coalition talks, but added that a meeting of the three forces with the president could contribute to resolving major disagreements. He predicted that if the three forces signed a coalition accord by the planned resumption of the parliamentary session on June 7, a parliamentary recess would be prolonged for "working out other important issues." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Language policy unchanged

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko said at a news conference in Kyiv on June 6 that the recent decisions of regional legislators to grant Russian the status of "regional language" in several eastern and southern regions are a "gross violation" of the Constitution of Ukraine, Ukrainian media reported. "The state language of the country is Ukrainian. ... Article 10 of the Ukrainian Constitution defines a common status of the state language, which is Ukrainian. And no regional or city council has the authority to change the status of any language," Mr. Yushchenko said. He added that the Constitutional Court, once it resumes its functioning, will immediately examine this issue. The Constitutional Court is currently non-operational, because opposition parties in the Verkhovna Rada are refusing to swear in several judges for the court. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Crimea adopts anti-NATO stance

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko commented on June 6 on the decision of the Crimean autonomous legislature earlier the same day declaring Crimea a territory without NATO, Ukrainian media reported. "This is a political decision that will not change the principles that regulate relations between Ukraine and NATO. ... We have a plan of cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance - I stress, just as Russia and other CIS countries do - which is based on several principles in the framework of an Action Plan. The Action Plan includes operational and tactical exercises," Mr. Yushchenko said. The resolution to declare Crimea a "NATO-free zone" was supported by 61 lawmakers in the 100-seat Supreme Council of Crimea. The visit of a U.S. naval cargo ship to the Crimean port of Feodosiya last month has sparked continuing anti-NATO protests on the peninsula. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Russia warns Ukraine re: NATO

MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the State Duma on June 7 that possible NATO membership for Ukraine or Georgia would lead to a shift in the global geopolitical balance, RIA Novosti reported. "We are trying to foresee the consequences of [membership], primarily from the viewpoint of Russia's national security and economic interests and relations with these countries," he added. For its part, the Duma sent a letter to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in a similar vein. "With due respect for Ukraine's sovereignty, the deputies of the State Duma cannot but confirm their extremely negative attitude towards such plans and believe that Ukraine's joining NATO contradicts the agreement on friendship, cooperation and partnership between Russia and Ukraine dating from 1997 that [outlines] the strategic nature of Russian-Ukrainian relations," the statement said. It also noted that "close interregional relations unite [Russia] with the Autonomous Republic of Crimea." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Socialists seek Hrytsenko's dismissal

KYIV - The Socialist Party of Ukraine has requested that President Viktor Yushchenko dismiss Defense Minister Anatolii Hrytsenko over what they consider the unauthorized visit of a U.S. naval cargo ship in the Crimean port of Feodosiya last month, Interfax-Ukraine reported on June 5. The SPU also wants the president to determine the responsibility of other officials involved in the Feodosiya incident. "[Senior officials] have overstepped the legal framework, discredited state institutions, and become an additional source of tension in the region," the SPU said in a statement, adding that the ensuing anti-NATO protests in Crimea were provoked by "violations of the law on the presence of foreign troop in Ukraine." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Putin comments on NATO expansion

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin told reporters in Novo-Ogaryovo on June 2 that Russia does not understand the reasons for further NATO eastward enlargement, domestic and foreign news agencies reported. "When the military structure of NATO comes close to our borders, we react [and ask why this is necessary]. ... It's no longer a world of two systems." Mr. Putin also advised the Atlantic alliance to improve its "credibility" rather than expand its weapons programs. Referring to Ukraine, he argued that those who support the changes under way there should support them with their own money and not expect Russia to subsidize them with cheap energy supplies. He told a German journalist: "Why should German consumers pay $250 per 1,000 cubic meters [of gas] and Ukrainians $50? If you want to present such a gift to Ukraine, pay for it [yourselves]." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv denounces demonstrations

KYIV - Ukraine's Foreign and Defense ministries have said in a joint statement that the continuing blockade of the cargo brought by the U.S. ship USS Advantage to Feodosiya is a politically motivated action and testifies to "destructive moves under pseudo-patriotic mottoes," Ukrinform reported on June 2. "The cargo is aimed not at the construction of a mythical 'NATO base' in Crimea, but at the accommodation of participants in the [Sea Breeze 2006] exercises, first of all Ukrainian officers and soldiers. There were no foreign troops on board [as some provocative reports say]," the statement reads. Noting that the USS Advantage is a commercial vessel, both ministries stressed that its docking in Feodosiya did not require any parliamentary authorization, as is the case with the deployment of foreign troops on Ukrainian territory. The organizers of anti-NATO protests in Crimea - the Communist Party of Ukraine, the Party of the Regions, the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine and the Social Democratic Party (United) - have demanded the resignation of the defense and foreign ministers over the Feodosiya incident. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Anti-NATO protests continue

PARTENIT, Ukraine - Activists of Ukrainian pro-Russian parties - the Communist Party, the People's Opposition Bloc and Ukrainian Cossacks - on June 2 prevented a group of U.S. reservists from reaching a Ukrainian Defense Ministry sanatorium in the village of Partenit in Crimea, Interfax reported. The Americans, who arrived the previous day in Symferopol by plane and after encountering a road blockage on their way to Partenit, reportedly had to be housed at a different sanatorium in Alushta. Anti-NATO protests in Crimea began last week, after the U.S. naval cargo ship Advantage brought construction materials and equipment to the port of Feodosiya in order to upgrade a training range near the town of Staryi Krym. Anti-NATO protesters are continuing to block the Feodosiya port to prevent the cargo from being transferred to the training range, which is also reportedly being picketed. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukrainian studies in Peremyshl

KYIV - The State High Professional School in the town of Peremyshl (Przemysl), Poland, has started enrolling students who will major in the new discipline of Ukrainian studies, it was reported on June 1. The new department's classes will start on October 1, 2006. The new discipline's introduction is viewed as an early step toward converting the school into the State East European High School. Those who will major in Ukrainian studies will be entitled to translator and/or journalist certificates. The school is located in eastern Poland, adjacent to Ukraine's territory. (Ukrinform)

Consumer gas prices to double

KYIV - Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers has decided to increase the gas price for individual consumers to 414 hrv ($82) per 1,000 cubic meters as of July 1, up from an average of 220 hrv at present, the Ukrayinska Pravda website reported, quoting Energy Minister Ivan Plachkov. "The decision in principle has been made, while the differentiation of tariffs is yet to be discussed by us," Mr. Plachkov added. This year the government already raised gas tariffs for the population and corporate consumers by 25 percent as of May. A gas supply deal between the Ukrainian government and Russia's Gazprom in January increased the gas price for Ukraine from $50 to $95 per 1,000 cubic meters. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv tops in per capital wage

KYIV - According to the State Statistics Committee, the city of Kyiv continues to lead the country in terms of salaries paid. In April the average per capita wage in the Ukrainian capital amounted to 1,687.50 hrv (about $335 U.S.) per month. Average wages grew from March to April in nine regions and in Crimea. In four regions average wages exceeded 1,000 hrv per month. Per capital wages in the Ternopil region were reported as Ukraine's lowest, averaging 682.30 hrv per month. (Ukrinform)

Crimean Rada approves Cabinet

SYMFEROPOL - The Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea on June 2 appointed Viktor Plakida as prime minister of the autonomous government on the peninsula, UNIAN reported. The Crimean legislature also approved a Cabinet, which comprises three first vice prime ministers, three vice prime ministers and 11 ministers. The 100-seat Supreme Council is headed by Anatolii Hrytsenko, leader of the For Yanukovych bloc, which has 44 deputies. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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