No. 87, 07 May 1993

RUSSIA



YELTSIN ON HIS MANDATE FOLLOWING REFERENDUM. Russian President
Boris Yeltsin went on TV on 6 May to set out his plans following
the April referendum. He said that the vote had given him a mandate
to call new parliamentary elections no later than autumn, to
remove officials who oppose economic reform, and to go ahead
with the adoption of a new constitution. He said he was drafting
a new electoral law for a bicameral parliament to replace the
Congress of People's Deputies. Yeltsin appears to be prepared
to disregard the fact that according to the law the referendum
question proposing early parliamentary elections was not approved,
saying that "the will of the . . . majority of the electorate
is higher than the will of the parliament or the Congress of
People's Deputies." Yeltsin also said he had lost confidence
in Vice President Aleksandr Rutskoi and criticised as illegal
parliamentary chairman Ruslan Khasbulatov's convening of a session
of the parliamentary constitutional commission on 6 May. Yeltsin
nominally chairs the commission but has recently neglected it
to prepare his own draft constitution. -Wendy Slater

YELTSIN, CHURKIN ON BOSNIA. Yeltsin issued a statement on the
crisis in Bosnia on 6-May saying "Russia will extend firm support
to all those who will honestly follow the path of peace on the
basis of the Vance-Owen plan, but will not back anyone who would
seek to avoid it." Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister Vitalii
Churkin traveled to Belgrade on 6 May and held talks with rump
Yugoslav President Dobrica Cosic. Speaking to reporters following
the talks, Churkin said the results of the 15-16 May referendum
on the Vance-Owen plan will be of "extreme importance," and he
urged a "yes" vote by Bosnian Serbs. Churkin was scheduled to
continue meetings on 7 May with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic
and Bosnian Serb leaders, ITAR-TASS reported. -Suzanne Crow

SKOKOV'S STATUS. Russian television and radio carried numerous
reports on 6 May quoting the Russian Information Agency as saying
Boris Yeltsin fired Security Council Secretary Yurii Skokov.
According to reports, Yeltsin's decision was based on Skokov's
disagreement with Yeltsin's appeal to the citizens of Russia
on 20 March and his plan to introduce presidential rule. The
Russian president's staff has not confirmed these reports. -Suzanne
Crow

PARLIAMENT DEBATES 1 MAY DEMONSTRATIONS. On 6 May a joint sitting
of the chambers of the parliament debated the violent 1 May demonstrations
in Moscow, ITAR-TASS reported. The sitting also discussed demonstrations
planned for 9 May. Interior Minister Viktor Erin warned deputies
that at these demonstrations the authorities would use more force
than they had on 1 May if groups banned from demonstrating defied
the ban. Speaking on Russian TV on 4 May, parliamentary speaker
Ruslan Khasbulatov linked the violence to the split in society
which he said had been deepened by the 25 April referendum. The
parliamentary debate concluded that the Moscow city authorities
had not taken sufficient measures to ensure that the march had
been peaceful. Meanwhile, at a news conference on 6-May Vasilii
Shakhnovsky, chief administrator of the Moscow City Council,
expressed his fears that provocateurs from organizations banned
from demonstrating on 9 May would infiltrate the authorized rallies.
-Wendy Slater

CONTROVERSY OVER PARLIAMENTARY REPORTING. The Union of Parliamentary
Journalists issued a strongly worded statement on 6 May protesting
against the previous day's ruling by Yurii Marchenkov, newly-appointed
head of the parliamentary press service, that major news agencies
ITAR-TASS, RIA, and Interfax would no longer be allowed to cover
meetings of the parliamentary presidium. Marchenkov claimed that
the agencies "interpret issues discussed at the presidium in
their own way." However, he told RFE/RL's Moscow correspondent
on 6 May that the agencies were banned from covering the sessions
"for technical reasons." The journalists' union accused parliamentary
speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov of being connected to the ban and
called on correspondents to boycott information prepared by the
parliamentary press service as "unreliable" if the ban were not
lifted. -Wendy Slater

GROMOV ON AFGHAN VETS IN ARMED FORCES. Addressing a gathering,
Deputy Defense Minister Boris Gromov, who led the withdrawal
from Afghanistan, gave a report on the current situation of Afghan
vets, according to an account published in Krasnaya zvezda on
6-May. Gromov noted that 620,000 troops performed military service
in Afghanistan, of whom approximately 260,000 now live in Russia.
Of these, some 30,000 are still serving in the Russian armed
forces, including 200-generals. Gromov stated that amongst the
Afghan vets there are now almost 15,000 senior officers and 8,000
junior officers. Calling these troops the "backbone of the army"
Gromov noted that training should be based on their combat experience.
-John Lepingwell

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA



AZERBAIJAN ACCEPTS KARABAKH PEACE PLAN, ARMENIA HAS RESERVATIONS.
Speaking at a news conference in Baku on 6 May, Azerbaijani Prime
Minister-designate Panakh Guseinov stated that Azerbaijan accepts
the terms of the US/Russian/Turkish peace plan for Nagorno-Karabakh,
Western agencies reported. In Erevan, Armenia's First Deputy
Foreign Minister Gerard Libaridian described his government's
reaction to the plan as "positive," but added that Armenia could
not accept the plan unconditionally as the parliament of the
self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic had asked for clarification
of several points. It expressed concern that the plan required
a full withdrawal of Armenian forces from the region of Kelbadzhar
which they occupied in late March, but made no provision for
the deployment of observers to preclude a resumption of hostilities
by Azerbaijan. -Liz Fuller

GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT NOMINATES NEW DEFENSE MINISTER. At a session
of the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi on 6 May, deputies voted
to approve parliament Chairman Eduard Shevardnadze's proposed
candidate for minister of defense, 27-year old General Giorgi
Karkarashvili, the Georgian Information Agency reported. Karkarashvili
replaces Tengiz Kitovani, who has repeatedly been suspected of
conspiring to overthrow Shevardnadze. Shevardnadze also announced
the abolition of the Council for National Security and Defense,
of which Kitovani and his arch-rival, Mkhedrioni militia leader
Dzhaba Ioseliani, were both members. Kitovani reportedly refused
Shevardnadze's offer to allow him to retain his post as deputy
prime minister responsible for military affairs. -Liz Fuller


KYRGYZSTAN TO INTRODUCE OWN CURRENCY ON 10 MAY. Kyrgyzstan's
legislature, having voted to take the country out of the ruble
zone and introduce a national currency, announced that the exchange
of rubles for the new currency, the som, is to begin on 10-May
and be completed by 14 May, ITAR-TASS reported on 6 May. After
that date the ruble will no longer be legal tender in Kyrgyzstan.
The exchange rate is set at one som for 200 rubles. The Supreme
Soviet agreed to the currency change as a result of arguments
by President Askar Akaev and government officials, who cited
pressure from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank,
both of which have promised Kyrgyzstan large doses of financial
assistance if the country agreed to leave the ruble zone. Several
industrialized states, including the US, West European countries,
and Japan, have also offered aid to what is widely perceived
as the most democratically-oriented state in Central Asia. -Bess
Brown

KYRGYZSTAN'S CONSTITUTION HAS GONE INTO EFFECT. A correspondent
of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service in Bishkek reported on 6 May that
despite accounts on the adoption of Kyrgyzstan's new constitution
that said the document would not go into effect until 1995 as
part of a compromise between President Askar Akaev and the Supreme
Soviet, the compromise actually involved the terms of office
of the country's top leaders, not the timing of the constitution's
implementation. The constitution went into effect on 5 May. According
to a statement by Akaev, the terms of office of himself, the
current vice-president, and Supreme Soviet chairman will end
in 1995. -Bess Brown

OPPOSITION LEADERS ALLOWED TO VISIT INJURED BIRLIK OFFICIAL.
Mamura Usmanova, head of Tomaris, a women's group close to the
Uzbek opposition movement Birlik, told the RFE/RL Uzbek Service
on 6 May that she and other Birlik and Erk Democratic Party leaders
had been permitted to visit Birlik Co-Chairman Shokhrat Ismatullaev
in a Tashkent hospital where he is being treated for injuries
sustained in an attack on a Tashkent street. Usmanova said that
Ismatullaev had sustained three skull fractures in the attack,
which closely resembles an assault on Birlik's other co-chairman
in 1992. Members of the Uzbek opposition are convinced that the
attacks were orchestrated by the government, which has been harassing
the democratic-oriented opposition since mid-1992. While Birlik
was banned for three months earlier in 1993, no further legal
steps have been taken against the organization to date, although
several members were placed under house arrest at the end of
April to prevent them attending a conference in Kazakhstan. -Bess
Brown

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE



BELGRADE CUTS ASSISTANCE TO BOSNIAN SERBS. In response to the
Bosnian Serb assembly's failure to endorse the Vance-Owen peace
plan and decision to hold a referendum on 15-16 May, the government
of Serbia announced on 6 May that it will cut all aid to Bosnia's
Serbs except humanitarian relief. The government statement explains
that "reasons no longer exist for further assistance in money,
fuel, and raw materials." The statement also describes the Bosnian
Serb decision to hold the referendum as "irresponsible, because
it is not the people who participated in the many months of negotiations,"
and because the people should not be put in the position of having
to shield the leadership from critical decisions. The statement
went on to blame the Bosnian Serb leadership for "the asphyxiation"
of Serbia's economy brought about by international sanctions.
On the other hand, Vojislav Seselj, head of the Radical Party,
told reporters that he is satisfied with the Bosnian Serb decision,
and announced he will continue to provide assistance for them
and to send volunteers to Bosnia. Belgrade media carried the
reports on 6 and 7 May. -Milan Andrejevich

OTHER REACTIONS IN SERBIA. The Bosnian Serb actions were received
with bitter disappointment in Serbia. It was widely believed
that the Bosnian Serbs would understand why the war must end,
since all political parties in Serbia-Montenegro, apart from
the Serbian Radical Party, were in agreement about the need to
establish peace. Democratic Party head Dragoljub Micunovic, said
he thinks the UN will ignore the decision and send troops to
Bosnia. Serb resistance, he said, would bring a continuation
of the war and a catastrophe. Micunovic said he thinks the talk
about a referendum is nonsense, because "never before has an
entire nation decided questions of war and peace." He reiterated
what most critics have said, that "Serbia will now become hostages
of the Bosnian Serbs." Vuk Draskovic, head of the Serbian Renewal
Movement, says the only way out of the situation is for the international
community not to recognize the legitimacy of the so-called Bosnian
Serb assembly and treat Radovan Karadzic's signature on the Vance-Owen
plan as legal. Draskovic said that nothing could now save the
Bosnian Serbs: military intervention can be avoided only if the
"main culprits of this war-Dobrica Cosic and Slobodan Milosevic-resign."
"What was created over the past six years," he emphasized, "could
not have been annulled in six days." A poll published in Politika
on 7 May shows that 61.7% of the population in Serbia proper
feels the Bosnian Serbs should have ratified the peace plan.
Some 40% favor-and 33% oppose-foreign military intervention.
-Milan Andrejevich

REACTIONS IN MONTENEGRO. President Momir Bulatovic told Radio
Montenegro on 6 May that the Bosnian Serb assembly's decision
came "as a double shock" to him, first, because of the manner
in which the decision was made, and second, because of the decision
itself. Bulatovic said that, after more than 12 hours of debate,
assembly deputies admitted that they had never been given access
to three of the four documents of the Vance-Owen plan and that
they had learned about their content only from the media. Bulatovic
said that "such a degree of irresponsibility on the part of both
the leadership and the deputies cannot be found anywhere in the
world today." Bulatovic also described the referendum as "complete
nonsense," saying that the assembly "had no right to abrogate
its responsibility by letting the people decide." Political parties
are also condemning the decision. Svetozar Marovic, a leader
of the ruling Democratic Socialist Party, slammed the Bosnian
Serbs for failing to accept the decisions of "those republics
[i.e., Serbia and Montenegro] that are suffering with them."
Slavko Perovic, head of the opposition Liberal Party has suggested
that the republic close its border with Bosnia-Herzegovina. -Milan
Andrejevich

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE BOSNIAN CRISIS. Reuters on
6 May reported President Bill Clinton's remarks to a conference
of the Export-Import Bank in Washington. He described the Bosnian
Serb parliament's call for a referendum as "a delaying tactic,"
and noted that "the Serbs' actions over the past year violate
the principle that internationally recognized borders must not
be violated or altered by aggression from without. Their actions
threaten to widen the conflict and foster instability in other
parts of Europe in ways that could be exceedingly damaging. And
their savage and cynical ethnic cleansing offends the world's
conscience." The president called "for the international community
to unite and to act quickly and decisively." Meanwhile at the
UN, the Security Council voted 15-0 to make Sarajevo, Tuzla,
Zepa, Gorazde, and Bihac safe areas, requiring the Serb besiegers
to pull back so that they do not threaten the towns or their
populations, and to allow free access for humanitarian relief.
Srebrenica was similarly established as a safe area in April.
The Croatian news agency Hina reports on 7 May, however, that
Serb forces the previous day broke through the defenses of Zepa
and are advancing, and that Serbian artillery shelled Bihac,
killing 11. -Patrick Moore

SERBIAN GENERALS SACKED. Borba and Politika reported on 5 May
that the head of the Federal Yugoslav Army's intelligence service
and the deputy commander of the armed forces have been "unexpectedly
retired." Officials provided no explanations for the actions
except to say that they were carried out on 30 April by a federal
presidential decree "in line with the army's needs." Air Force
Maj. Gen. Nedeljko Boskovic, the chief of intelligence, had been
called back from early retirement in May 1992 after heading KOS,
the counterintelligence service. He succeeded Gen. Aleksandar
Vasiljevic, who was dismissed during a major shakeup of the former
Yugoslav Army shortly after the creation of the rump Yugoslavia.
Boskovic is said to be close to Vojislav Seselj, head of the
nationalist Serbian Radical Party. Politika suggests that these
supposed ties "apparently led to a serious reconsideration of
the existence of an extremist wing in the military" by the ruling
Socialists. The deputy commander of the armed forces, Lt. Col.
Gen. Ljubomir Domazetovic, was close to former Yugoslav Prime
Minister Milan Panic and supported his ideas to modernize the
army. Domazetovic, according to rumors, also was working behind
the scenes in hopes of becoming commander of the Army. He has
been replaced by Gen. Dragoljub Simonovic. Boskovic's replacement
was not identified by the press. -Milan Andrejevich

ROMANIAN CONCERN. On 6 May Radio Bucharest broadcast a government
statement deploring the rejection of the Vance-Owen peace plan
by the Bosnian Serbs. In a separate statement, Traian Chebeleu,
a spokesman for President Ion Iliescu, expressed fears that the
rejection of the international peace plan could lead to an escalation
of war in Bosnia and a spillover in the Balkan region. Chebeleu
announced that Iliescu will visit Croatia and Slovenia next week
with a stopover in Belgrade for talks with Slobodan Milosevic
and Dobrica Cosic. On several occasions Romania has offered to
mediate in the crisis. In a separate development, port authorities
in Galati said that Ukrainian ships detained there on suspicion
of violating UN sanctions are threatening to block that Danube
port. Fourteen Ukrainian tugboats pulling 75 barges loaded with
iron ore have been detained in Galati since 13 March. Their captains
refuse to sail back to the Ukraine despite the fact that the
ships lack UN approval to sail upstream to Serbia. -Dan Ionescu


FIVE ARRESTED IN PLOT TO KILL HAVEL. Czech Interior Minister
Jan Ruml revealed that five foreigners had been arrested after
police uncovered a possible plot to assassinate President Vaclav
Havel, Czech TV reported on 6 May. According to agency reports,
at least two more potential assassins are at large. The five
were reportedly detained in their cars, which were packed with
weapons. Czech TV said the suspects are believed responsible
for a number of "acts of violence, blackmail, and murder." While
the identities of the detained were not released, Czech TV speculated
that the possible plot was connected with Havel's remarks on
the Serb aggression in Bosnia. Several Czech dailies received
anonymous letters on 4 May that warned that a Montenegrin radical
group plans to assassinate the president and called on security
agencies to prevent it. While Havel refused comment, his spokesman
said that there is no final evidence yet that such a connection
exists, nor convincing proof that the arrested really had the
intention to kill Havel. -Jan Obrman

KLAUS OPPOSED TO "ONE-SIDED" CRITICISM OF SERBS. Czech Prime
Minister Vaclav Klaus declared at a press conference on 6 May
that he is opposed to the "ideologization" of the Yugoslav question,
CTK reported. He said that in his view it is a "simplification
to declare the Serb leadership to be "communist, postcommunist,
bad, and mean, while, at the same time, describing the other
post-Yugoslav governments as noncommunist, and thus civilized
and good." At the same time Klaus said that, despite his doubts,
the Czech republic will support UN sanctions against the rump
Yugoslavia. The prime minister's remarks are apparently aimed
at President Vaclav Havel, who has repeatedly demanded a more
determined approach to the solving of the Yugoslav crisis and
has publicly said that air strikes against Serb artillery positions
represent an option in the West's approach to the conflict. -Jan
Obrman

KLAUS REJECTS LIECHTENSTEIN DEMANDS. The Czech Prime Minister
has rejected Liechtenstein's demands for the compensation of
confiscated property in Bohemia and Moravia. In an interview
published by Rude pravo on 6 May, Klaus said that he turned down
the claims last year in a letter to Liechtenstein's ruler Prince
Hans-Adam II. The Prince told reporters on 5-May that his country
still seeks compensation for some 1,600 sq km of land, confiscated
after the disintegration of the Austrian Empire. -Jan Obrman


BULGARIAN BUDGET ADOPTED ON FIRST READING. After four days of
intensive debates, the National Assembly on 6 May passed the
government's 1993 budget, BTA reports. Of the 223 deputies present,
139-voted in favor, 83 against, and one abstained. The budget
was opposed by the Union of Democratic Forces, whose group leader
Stefan Savov warned that cuts in defense and law enforcement
could have negative effects on public safety. UDF legislator
and former finance minister Ivan Kostov argued that structural
economic reforms can never be achieved by increased spending
on state enterprises. Another former finance minister, Stefan
Stoilov, said the Bulgarian Socialist Party is particularly satisfied
with the fact that the government decided to assume a significant
part of the debts of state companies. -Kjell Engelbrekt

HUNGARIAN OFFICIAL ON TREATY WITH UKRAINE. The Hungarian-Ukrainian
state treaty awaiting ratification by Hungary's parliament links
the guarantees for minority rights with all other aspects of
bilateral relations, Istvan Szent-Ivanyi, a deputy chairman of
the parliamentary foreign relations committee and a member of
the opposition Alliance of Free Democrats party, told Magyar
Hirlap on 6 May. In his view, any proposals to modify a treaty
already signed and ratified by Ukraine's parliament does not
make sense; Hungary's parliament can now only ratify or reject
the treaty. Any delay or obstruction in the ratification process
could only affect Hungary's international prestige in neighboring
countries and international organizations by creating the impression
that some deputies still entertain the "illusion of territorial
acquisitions" whereas Hungary has always made it clear that it
had no territorial claims against anyone. -Alfred Reisch

REVIEW OF HUNGARIAN-ROMANIAN TREATY. In a closed session attended
by Deputy State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ivan Baba and Hungarian
Ambassador to Romania Erno Rudas the Hungarian parliament's foreign
relations committee on May 5 discussed the state of the state
treaty with Romania, under negotiation since 1991. According
to the chairman and two deputy chairmen of the committee, the
two issues still requiring settlement are the border and minority
problems. For the ruling Hungarian Democratic Forum, the Romanian
request for a border guarantee is not justified since both countries
have signed a bilateral peace treaty as well as the 1975 Helsinki
Final Act; the opposition feels that a compromise formula should
be sought over the border issue that would result in no loss
of face for both countries. All parties agreed that Hungary must
continue its efforts to improve its relations with Romania in
all fields at the bilateral level and in international organizations,
and to pay attention to any "positive political developments"
in that country. -Alfred Reisch

NO GENERAL STRIKE IN ROMANIA. Romania's main trade union confederations
called off plans for a general strike to begin on 7 May after
reaching a last-minute agreement with the government. On the
evening of 6 May, Radio Bucharest broadcast the text of a protocol
signed by government representatives and leaders of five union
organizations: the National Confederation of Romania's Free Trade
Unions, Fratia, Alfa, Univers, and Ceres. A sixth confederation,
the National Trade Union Bloc, which includes electrical, cultural
and dock workers, refused to sign the agreement and announced
that it is continuing its strike until a solution is found to
claims related to port activities. The protocol provides for
nearly doubling the minimum wage, from 17,600 to 30,000 lei.
Government spokeswoman Doina Jalea said that the cabinet reluctantly
agreed to a deal that is expected to accelerate inflation. Besides
wage concessions, the new pact commits the government to creating
a better mechanism to link salaries to the costs of living and
to productivity in individual companies. Jalea said, however,
that the cabinet is pleased to have defused a labor conflict
that would have had a serious impact on the economy. -Dan Ionescu


POLISH STRIKE UPDATE. Solidarity unionists claimed on 6 May that
the national teachers' strike is affecting 90% of Polish schools,
while the labor ministry reports that only 12% of schools and
30% of teachers are striking. The strikers are demanding increased
funding, but refuse the employment reductions the government
views as necessary to streamline education and health care. The
government's response has been stern, even testy. Labor Minister
Jacek Kuron appealed to teachers and health care workers to negotiate
rather than strike, but stressed that the 1993 budget cannot
be revised. "No strike will force the Sejm to change the budget,"
he said. Responding to a letter from Solidarity leader Marian
Krzaklewski, Kuron argued it is not the government's fault that
relations with the union have gone sour. "Strikes by teachers
and health care workers organized to force revisions in the Polish
legal order are hardly actions oriented to the greater good,"
Kuron said. "If we fired all the teachers who are not working,"
he added, "the rest could make great money." Meanwhile, the deputy
minister responsible for restructuring in the Walbrzych region
called off a scheduled visit there, apparently to avoid creating
the impression that a strike organized there by Solidarity is
forcing the government's hand. Solidarity says 40 firms are on
strike in the Walbrzych region; the government counts only 13.
-Louisa Vinton

ESTONIA'S PRESIDENT IN POLAND. Speaking to reporters in Warsaw
on 6 May, Lennart Meri said he would toast independence with
champagne only when the last Russian soldier leaves Estonian
soil; Poles and Estonians could then toast the moment together.
During the official portion of his two-day visit, Meri discussed
regional security and economic cooperation with President Lech
Walesa, Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka, and the speakers of the
Sejm and Senate. Meri travels to Gdansk on 7 May for the final
day of his visit, PAP reports. -Louisa Vinton

ESTONIA OPPOSES NEW RUSSIAN PORT. Western media reported on 6
May that Estonian officials are concerned about Russian plans
to build a gigantic new port at Luzhskaya Guba, southwest of
St. Petersburg. The Estonians have pointed out that the site,
closer to the Estonian town of Narva than St. Petersburg, is
not well suited for a port because constant dredging would be
required. They also fear that such a port would divert business
from existing ports of the Baltic States. St. Petersburg mayor
Anatolii Sobchak has asked the EBRD to help finance the new facility.
-Dzintra Bungs

LITHUANIA-IMF AGREEMENT. On 6 May at a press conference in Vilnius,
Prime Minister Adolfas Slezevicius and head of the IMF's Baltic
department Adalbert Knobl presented the results of their week-long
talks, Radio Lithuania reports. Knobl said that Lithuania's main
problem in introducing the litas, the continuing high rate of
inflation, should be reduced by budget cuts and lower money emissions
by the Bank of Lithuania. Slezevicius noted that salary increases
would not be 40% as previously planned, but 30% for teachers,
25% for cultural workers, 20% for health workers, and 10% for
other state employees. The government and central bank prepared
a joint letter to the IMF pledging to observe the conditions
of Lithuania's 1992 economic memorandum. -Saulius Girnius

PREELECTION DEBATES IN LATVIA. RFE/RL and Radio Riga reported
on 6 May that preparations are under way for a series of debates,
organized by the RFE/RL Latvian Service, among representatives
of all political parties and groups fielding candidates in the
June parliamentary elections. The first debate will take place
in Cesis on 7 May and will be broadcast the following day by
RFE/RL and Radio Riga, which rebroadcasts one hour of RFE/RL
programming daily. The debates have received the official approval
from the Latvian Central Election Commission, which insists that
all parties receive equal time. In its nine-part series leading
up to the elections, RFE/RL will present the views of all parties
that wish to participate. -Dzintra Bungs

UKRAINIAN-RUSSIAN TALKS. Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister
Anatolii Adamishin met for talks with Ukrainian President Leonid
Kravchuk in Kiev on the first leg of a tour of CIS countries,
Ukrinform-TASS and Radio Ukraine report on 6 May. Adamishin told
reporters afterwards that for Russia relations with Ukraine were
not only a priority but "one of the most important if not the
most important." The Russian diplomat said that his main task
is to listen to what he is being told in Kiev and noted that
both sides agree that relations must be improved. Adamishin is
on a tour of the CIS countries at the request of Russian President
Boris Yeltsin. -Roman Solchanyk

UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT BANS PRICE INCREASES. The legislature adopted
a resolution blocking price increases until it hears a report
on the economy from the cabinet of ministers on 18 May, Ukrainian
TV reported on 6 May. The legislators criticized the government's
economic performance and were incensed at the proposed price
increases scheduled to go into effect on 10-May. The government
argues that the price increases are necessitated by steep increases
in the cost of energy. -Roman Solchanyk

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Ustina Markus and Charles Trumbull











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