masthead



UKRAINE TO SPEND IMF LOAN 'EXCLUSIVELY' ON STABILIZING ECONOMY. Valeriy Litvytskyy, an aide to the Ukrainian president, said on 9 September that Ukraine is going to spend the $2.2 billion loan from the IMF "exclusively on structural reforms and the stabilization of the economic situation," dpa reported. Litvytskyy said the IMF credit will not be used to pay Ukraine's outstanding foreign debts, adding that Kyiv has reached agreement with private lenders on debt restructuring. JM

DENMARK TO GIVE $100 MILLION LOAN TO UKRAINE. Denmark will provide a $100 million loan under an agreement signed during Danish Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen's visit to Kyiv on 9 September, AP reported. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk said after the signing ceremony that the loan will support energysaving measures, agriculture, and ship-building in Ukraine. Petersen said Denmark will also contribute some $3 million to solve problems related to the Chornobyl nuclear accident in 1986, dpa reported. JM

UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT TO DISCUSS PROCEDURE TO OUST PRESIDENT. The Ukrainian Supreme Council, which reconvened on 1 September, has included on its agenda a draft law "On the Procedure of Impeachment of the President," Ukrainian Television reported. The draft law was proposed by the Hromada party and supported by the Socialists/Peasants caucus. "We realize perfectly well that impeaching the president is unrealistic, but this is a form of pressure on the government and the president in order to make them change their policies," Ivan Chyzh of the Socialists/Peasants caucus commented. JM

ROMANIA REJECTS UKRAINIAN CRITICISM. The Romanian government on 9 September rejected recent accusations by the Ukrainian government that Bucharest has canceled subventions to "Vilne Slovo," the only newspaper in Ukrainian published in Romania. Government spokesman Razvan Popescu said the government does not subsidize any newspapers but grants aid to the Ukrainian National Union (UNU), the newspaper's publisher, via its Department for National Minorities. He said that the Ukrainian government's accusations are due to a "misunderstanding," adding that Kyiv must direct its queries to the UNU, which bears "sole responsibility" for the difficulties encountered by "Vilne Slovo." Popescu also said he is confident that both Ukraine and Romania will "scrupulously respect" the provisions of the basic treaty concluded last year. MS

MOLDOVAN CULTURAL ORGANIZATION CRITICIZES UKRAINE. Petru Grozavu, chairman of the "Danube and the Sea" cultural organization, told journalists in Chisinau on 9 September that Ukraine is deliberately "driving a wedge" between Romanians and Moldovans, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. Grozavu said that the Odessa Oblast authorities have forbidden the teaching of Romanian in the 18 Romanian-language schools and that teachers are now forced to tell children that their language is "Moldovan." Grozavu also said Ukrainian security forces are involved in "forcing Moldovanism" on teachers. He said the newly established Pro Moldova cultural organization in Chisinau and Moldovan Party in Romania are also serving the purpose of forging a "separate Moldovanism." MS

NORDICS, BALTICS CONSIDER HUMANITARIAN AID TO RUSSIA. Murmansk Governor Yurii Yevdokimov on 9 September called on Scandinavian countries to provide humanitarian assistance to Russia's northern regions, Interfax reported. Norwegian officials indicated that they are considering sending aid to the Kola Peninsula, ITAR-TASS reported. Meanwhile, Estonian Prime Minister Mart Siimann said Tallinn has not ruled out aid to Russia but will coordinate any assistance with Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine, ETA reported. And Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Vagnorius said Vilnius is considering giving humanitarian assistance to Kaliningrad Oblast, according to ITAR-TASS. PG