[Ohio UZO News] Yushchenko and Rice; Reuters; AP; EDM (2); WP

[Deychak, Orest]

Reuters


Rice says NATO must leave door open to Ukraine


Wed Jan 23, 2008 

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday indicated Washington's support for Ukraine's bid to join NATO, said a U.S. official, in a move likely to anger Russia.

Ukraine's Western-leaning leadership this month wrote to NATO asking it to accept the country into the Membership Action Plan, a step toward accession.

In a meeting with Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Rice discussed internal developments in Ukraine as well as their bid to join the military alliance, said the official traveling with Rice.

"The secretary reiterated the U.S. view that NATO should leave the door open to those European, democratic states who meet membership requirements," said the official after Rice's meeting with Yushchenko.

Russia views with deep misgivings NATO's military expansion towards Russia's borders and said this week that former Soviet republic Ukraine's membership bid would have serious implications for relations between neighbors.

In hard-hitting comments on Wednesday, Russian's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there was no security justification for enlargement of NATO, and that the expansion plan was a throwback to the Cold War.

The U.S. official said Rice also talked about Ukraine's negotiations for entry into the World Trade Organization.

Ukraine has relied on Washington for support in its entry bid into the WTO. Their accession bid is expected to be endorsed next month unless there are any last minute technical objections to it.

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Ukraine's Tymoshenko calls for hiking fee for transit of gas from Russia to Europe 

23 January 2008

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said Wednesday that Kiev should charge Russia more for transit of the gas it sends to Europe via Ukraine, a statement likely to aggravate already uneasy relations with Moscow. 

Late last year, Ukraine agreed to a 40 percent increase in the price for gas imported from Russia, and now pays US$179.50 (euro123.16) per thousand cubic meters. 

Most of the gas Ukraine uses is imported from the energy-rich Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. The gas is imported through a Swiss-based trading company, RosUkrEnergo, half of which is owned by Russia's state-owned monopoly Gazprom and half by two Ukrainian businessmen. 

Tymoshenko argued that since Ukraine is now paying more for gas, it should also earn more for shipping it to Europe. 

"The time has come for Ukraine and Russia to have a discussion regarding the cost of transiting Russian gas through Ukrainian territory to Europe," Tymoshenko said after a Cabinet meeting, according to her office. 

Ukraine currently charges US$1.70 per 1,000 cubic meters for every 100 kilometers (62 miles), the same transit price for gas shipped across Russian territory. 

Tymoshenko suggested the new price should be set based on what other countries are paying. 

Her comments were in sharp contrast with the stated position of President Viktor Yushchenko, who has said that raising the transit fee would only result in a higher gas bill for Ukraine. 

Russia and Ukraine have clashed over gas prices in the past. Moscow temporarily cut off gas supplies to Ukraine two years ago in a move widely seen as punishment for Kiev's pro-Western policies. The shutdown affected supplies in Western Europe. 

Eurasia Daily Monitor

http://www.jamestown.org/edm/

 

January 22, 2008 -- Volume 5, Issue 12


YUSHCHENKO STRIVES TO DOMINATE TYMOSHENKO GOVERNMENT
 
The political honeymoon between Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko appears to be over. Yushchenko has thwarted Tymoshenko's planned visit to Moscow, torpedoed planned appointments to her government, disagreed with her privatization plan, and come up with a package of bills aimed at diminishing the role of the prime minister and the Cabinet.
 
Yushchenko was weakened by the constitutional reform of December 2004, which made the prime minister and parliament considerably stronger vis-à-vis the president than under his predecessor, Leonid Kuchma. Reversing the changes is out of the question, as Yushchenko has never had the required two-thirds majority in parliament. However, Yushchenko has never concealed that he would like to make the presidency stronger, if not by reversing the amendments then by other means, such as exercising control over the prime minister or adopting laws diminishing the Cabinet's powers.
 
Yushchenko's tug-of-war with Tymoshenko's predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, ended with the September 2007 snap parliamentary election. Yushchenko had been unable to boost his powers at the expense of the prime minister because Yanukovych held the majority in parliament. Now the situation is different, as Yushchenko's Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense bloc (NUNS) is part of the parliamentary majority, so Yushchenko can directly influence decision-making in parliament.
 
He has come up with a package of bills aimed at boosting his authority. One of the bills is meant to amend the law on the Cabinet of Ministers that was passed in January 2007 and further diluted presidential powers. If parliament passes the amendments, the president will be authorized to disagree with the parliamentary majority's choice for prime minister; parliament will not be allowed to dismiss the ministers of foreign affairs and defense - the only two Cabinet ministers whom the president appoints; the Cabinet will have to obey decisions made by the National Security and Defense Council - a body chaired by the president; and regional governors - who are appointed by the president - will have the right to veto the Cabinet's appointments to the regional offices of Cabinet ministries.
 
Yushchenko wants the Interior Troops, which have so far been subordinated to the interior minister, to be renamed "National Guard" and be subordinated to the president. He also believes that the president, rather than the Cabinet, should appoint the chief of the special communications and information protection service.
 
He has made it clear that NUNS will not back several key appointments to the cabinet, which Tymoshenko wanted to make on January 18, until the bills aimed at increasing presidential power are passed. Segodnya and Ukrayinska pravda reported that Yushchenko also rejected Tymoshenko's choice for chairman of the Anti-Monopoly Committee, Davyd Zhvania. According to the newspapers, Yushchenko believes that  although he formally represents NUNS, Zhvania is in fact in Tymoshenko's team.
 
Yushchenko has taken additional steps to clip Tymoshenko's wings. After returning to the post of prime minister this past December, Tymoshenko declared her intentions to remove the RosUkrEnergo intermediary company from the natural gas trade between Ukraine and Russia and to charge more for Russian gas transit to Europe. Tymoshenko insisted that Ukraine would benefit from buying gas directly from Gazprom rather than RosUkrEnergo and from simultaneously raising transit fees for Russian gas. Yushchenko disagreed, arguing that Ukraine buys gas at a lower price than its neighbors under the current scheme, and that charging more for gas transit would complicate relations with Gazprom.
 
Tymoshenko planned to go to Moscow to discuss gas issues with Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov and Gazprom on January 23. Yushchenko's secretariat, however, said that it would be better for Tymoshenko to go to Moscow together with Yushchenko on February 12, when the Yushchenko-Putin commission gathers. Interviewed on TV on January 20, Yushchenko warned the Tymoshenko cabinet against revising the existing scheme of gas trade and gas transit fees.
 
Most recently, Yushchenko asked Tymoshenko to drop her privatization plan for 2008. Meeting Tymoshenko on January 21, Yushchenko said that the plan had been prepared too hastily, and that a law to make privatization more transparent should be passed first. Tymoshenko planned to use privatization proceedings to compensate Ukrainians for the savings lost in the defunct Soviet savings bank (see EDM, January 15). A successful compensation campaign should boost Tymoshenko's popularity among the poor, improving her chances to win the next presidential election.
 
Speaking in her native Dnipropetrovsk on January 14, Tymoshenko made a statement that was widely interpreted as a warning to Yushchenko. She said that she is happy to carry on as prime minister, but she may consider running for president "if the Cabinet is limited by certain restrictions, if they start putting forward certain conditions." Yushchenko on several earlier occasions denied the rumors saying that he had agreed to Tymoshenko's premiership in return for her promise to not run against him in the next presidential election.
 
(Itar-Tass, January 14; Ukrayinska pravda, January 17; Segodnya, 1+1 TV, January 18; Zerkalo nedeli, January 19; Inter TV, January 20; Ukrainsky novyny, January 21)
 

--Pavel Korduban

 

EURASIA DAILY MONITOR
Volume 5 , Issue 11 (January 21, 2008)

TYMOSHENKO AND YUSHCHENKO CLASH OVER BATTLING CORRUPTION

By Taras Kuzio

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has made combating corruption and strengthening the rule of law central elements in her government's policy. She is apparently starting at the highest levels of the government.

The issue of the lack of action against corruption led to a physical showdown on January 18 in the presidential secretariat. Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko struck Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky over his alleged involvement in corrupt land schemes. Lutsenko said afterward, "I have no regrets for this incident and believe that it was a manly hit that should be undertaken by everybody who wants to live in an honest state."

On December 7, 2007, Lutsenko and Tymoshenko bloc (BYuT) deputy Svyatoslav Oliynyk introduced a parliamentary resolution to remove General Prosecutor Oleksandr Medvedko. The Rada was set to debate the resolution on January 18, but that was postponed when Medvedko conveniently checked into a clinic earlier in the week.

While Tymoshenko has backed the call for Medvedko's replacement, President Viktor Yushchenko has passed responsibility for the decision to parliament. According to the constitution, the president puts forward a candidate for general prosecutor while parliament has the right to demand a performance report and to follow this with a vote of no confidence.

The draft motion collected 180 signatures out of the 227 members of the pro-democratic orange coalition, consisting of BYuT and Our Ukraine-Peoples' Self Defense (NUNS). While all BYuT deputies signed the resolution, NUNS - specifically its pro-grand coalition wing, loyal to the president - is divided.

Medvedko's job is politically linked to that of Raisa Bohatyryova, the former Party of Regions parliamentary faction leader appointed secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) on December 24. Both Medvedko and Bohatyryova are from Donetsk, the Party of Region's stronghold. Stepan Havrysh, legal adviser to the 2004 Yanukovych election campaign, was also appointed deputy head of the NSDC on January 18.

Having the trio in high posts reassures the Party of Regions that they have protection from the Tymoshenko government. Their appointments also conclude the deal cut between Yushchenko and the Party of Regions to end the spring 2007 political crisis. The grand coalition between Yushchenko and the Party of Regions that existed in early 2007 has de facto been recreated outside parliament.

Medvedko became general prosecutor in November 2005 and has remained in that position except for a brief period in April 2007. That month he was replaced by Sviatoslav Piskun, who had served as general prosecutor from December 2004 through October 2005, as well as earlier under President Leonid Kuchma in July 2002-October 2003.

Herein lies the dilemma. Yushchenko claims to support a break with the Kuchma era and a battle against corruption, but his choice of general prosecutors has been inconsistent with this statement. Maintaining Piskun in place for the first ten months of his presidency reassured the Kuchma-era elites of their immunity from prosecution, which had been negotiated during the Orange Revolution's roundtables in late 2004.

The anti-Medvedko resolution is highly critical of his record as general prosecutor. It calls for a vote of no confidence because of Medvedko's failure to resolve any of Ukraine's sensational crimes, such as the murder of journalist Georgy Gongadze in 2000, Yushchenko's poisoning during the 2004 presidential election, and high-level involvement in election fraud that same year.

Under Yushchenko, no general prosecutor has done much to advance the rule of law or to combat high-level corruption and abuse of office among Ukraine's elites. As Zerkalo nedeli (December 15-21, 2007) wrote, "Fortunately, groundless political repressions are no longer an element of public policy. Unfortunately, deserved punishments are not, either."

Other parties have poor records as well. Two senior Socialists, (former interior and transport ministers Vasyl Tsushko and Mykola Rudkovsky), from the previous government of Party of Regions prime minister Viktor Yanukovych, are under investigation, but, based on past experience, they are unlikely to be prosecuted. As a recent Atlantic Council of the United States report pointed out, the Party of Regions has never expressed much interest in battling corruption. Ukrainians give very low marks to the second Yanukovych government (2006-2007) for failing to battle corruption.

Although most political parties claim they are in favor of combating corruption, especially at election time, Ukrainians remain skeptical. The 2007 Transparency International survey found that the majority of Ukrainians believe that the judiciary is the most corrupt institution in Ukraine, followed by political parties, parliament, and the Interior Ministry. When asked if there would be a breakthrough in overcoming corruption over the next three years, 44% of Ukrainians said "No," while 38% said corruption would increase. Only 18% of Ukrainians believed that corruption would decline by the end of Yushchenko's first term in office in 2010.

Some 70% of Ukrainians do not believe that the authorities are effective in their struggle against corruption. Another 22% saw no results from the campaign, while only 8% believed any campaign was effective.

Ukrainians are particularly disappointed with the president who, they believe, has continued Kuchma's virtual campaign against corruption. The Atlantic Council wrote, "While there are many reasons for the persistence of corruption in Ukraine, polling suggests that public disappointment is particularly strong in the case of President Yushchenko, as many voters believe he is one of the few top politicians who is not tainted by corruption. Yet, Ukrainians believe he has done too little to fight it." Only 21% of Ukrainians believe the president has shown the political will to combat corruption.

NUNS deputy and deputy head of the parliamentary Committee on Law Enforcement Volodymyr Stretovych said, "He [Yushchenko] has outlined a campaign against corruption that he repeated many times. But without cardinal cadre changes in the procuracy, nothing will change. In the current situation the procuracy is corrupt from bottom to top, from the raion to the general prosecutor."

The Tymoshenko government is committed to battling corruption and reforming law enforcement, including in the procuracy. Tymoshenko has stated that she will not run in the 2009 presidential elections if her government's reforms and campaign against corruption are successful; she believes they were blocked by the president in 2005 during her first government.

Yushchenko is caught between having to choose to protect the Party of Regions and further inaction against elite abuse of office or supporting the Tymoshenko government. The two are in direct contradiction.

(acus.org; transparency.org; president.gov.ua; rada.kiev.ua; Ukrayinska pravda, January 8-12; Zerkalo nedeli, December 15-21, 2007)

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Sports

Pecherov's Home Away From Home; Hard-Working Wizards Rookie: 'You Have Everything You Need' at Verizon Center 

When Oleksiy Pecherov arrived in Washington from Ukraine last summer, he didn't know much about his new city and he hadn't yet acquired many new friends, so he spent most of his time at his favorite location: Verizon Center. 

Whether morning, noon or night, the 7-foot, 234-pound Pecherov could typically be found on the practice court, in the weight room or in the players' lounge watching television, playing video games or shooting pool. 

"I thought I was here a lot," notorious gym rat Gilbert Arenas said last summer. "But Pesh lives in that place. Right off the bat I said, 'That boy wants to work.' You can always play with a guy like that." 

After coming off the bench to contribute eights points and four rebounds in the Wizards' 111-98 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night, Pecherov was asked to name the best part about living in Washington. 

His answer probably won't be found in any of the literature touting the city's rich cultural and entertainment offerings. 

"I like this arena," said Pecherov, who has a decent command of English. "When I came here this summer I spent a lot of time in the arena because I don't know nobody, so I didn't need to go nowhere. Here, it is a great situation because you have everything you need. You have gym and basketballs. You can work out and you have players' lounge with a lot of fun stuff. . . . It's awesome. It's the best place in D.C. for me." 

The long hours Pecherov spent working on his game over the summer are beginning to pay off now that the rookie is getting an opportunity to play after missing the first 34 games with a hairline fracture in his right ankle. 

Pecherov, who still experiences swelling in the ankle after practices and games, is finally getting a chance to show the skills that led the Wizards to select him with the 18th pick in the 2006 draft. 

In four games, Pecherov has clocked 35 minutes of action, connected on 7 of 16 shots and snagged 10 rebounds. 

He helped keep the Wizards in the game during the first half of Tuesday's loss at New York by making a pair of second-quarter three-pointers, and during the third quarter on Friday night Pecherov put a charge into a sellout audience at his favorite arena by hustling his way to an offensive rebound and later scoring on a reverse layup. 

Pecherov's combination of height and outside shooting touch gained the attention of NBA scouts in the first place but it has been his work ethic that has impressed Coach Eddie Jordan. 

"We see it every day," Jordan said. "He just works as hard as anyone on the team. He is a rookie and is going to have his moments. He is going to throw the ball away and make mistakes but he also has the confidence to shoot the basketball. He is very efficient at shooting the basketball." 

Pecherov's willingness to put up shots has never been questioned and he's shown no signs of being intimidated by the NBA game. Some of that can be attributed to the fact that Pecherov, who turned 22 in December, already has played four seasons of professional basketball in Ukraine and France and some of it can be attributed to the kind of confidence associated with players who think that their next shot is always going in. 

Fellow rookie Nick Young playfully dubbed Pecherov "the white hole" because once the ball gets into the lanky Ukrainian's hands, there is a good chance that a shot is about to go up. Roger Mason Jr. said teammates are drawing comparisons between Pecherov and forward Antawn Jamison, who has never been shy about taking a shot. 

"We joke about it all the time, that he's got that Antawn Jamison mentality," Mason said. "He doesn't care if he misses 30 shots. He's a shooter and if you're a shooter, that's your mentality. [Friday night,] coming off the bench, that was the attitude we needed him to have, coming off with confidence and energy. We needed that." 

Pecherov still has much to learn, and the coaching staff continues to work with him on developing post moves, becoming a better passer and honing his skills as a defender. But there is little question that he is off to a promising start. 

"Pecherov can play with Andray [Blatche] and that gives us a 6-foot-11 guy and a 7-foot guy and both of them can play on the perimeter, too," Jordan said. "And then you can have Brendan [Haywood] in there or Antawn in there and it gives us a big front line, seven-footers across the board who can score in different ways." 

 

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