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UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT ACCUSED OF ORDERING SPYING ON FOREIGN ELECTION OBSERVERS. Lawmaker Valeriy Asadchev, head of Viktor Yushchenko's campaign headquarters in Poltava, said on 13 September that he has obtained a document from the Poltava Oblast State Administration ordering that foreign observers of the presidential elections to be placed under surveillance, UNIAN reported. The document reportedly tells regional authorities to collect information on visits and meetings of foreign election monitors in the regions as well as on their comments and assessments of the election campaign. According to Asadchev, the instruction refers to the entire executive structure in the country and originates from relevant decisions made within the Cabinet of Ministers in July and August. "The election headquarters of Prime Minister [Viktor Yanukovych] is in the Cabinet of Ministers, which is against the law," Asadchev said. JM

OUR UKRAINE LEADER REPORTEDLY RECOVERS AFTER 'ACUTE POISONING.' Our Ukraine head and presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko will resume touring Ukrainian regions later this week, UNIAN reported on 13 September, quoting Yushchenko's spokeswoman Iryna Herashchenko. According to Herashchenko, Yushchenko recently fell ill because of what doctors said was "acute poisoning." Herashchenko added that Yushchenko is now in a good physical shape and ready to continue his election campaign trips. JM

ROMANIA, UKRAINE CONTINUE FEUDING OVER DANUBE CANAL PROJECT... Romanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Catalin Ionita on 13 September again called on Ukraine to respect its international commitments and supply relevant information on the construction of a controversial deep-water shipping canal in the Danube Delta, Mediafax reported. Ionita added that a field trip Ukraine organized for diplomats and journalists to visit the canal cannot replace an environmental-impact study on the issue. Ionita's comments came following statements made the same day in Bucharest by Ukrainian Ambassador to Romania Teofil Bauer, who argued that Ukraine is no less interested than Romania in preserving the Danube Delta's ecological diversity. Bauer said he participated in the recent field trip, and claimed that most of the ambassadors and journalists on the trip agreed that "there were no serious reasons to worry about possible negative effects the canal would have on the Ukrainian section [of the delta], let alone cross-border impact." The greater part of the delta lies in Romania. The EU and the United States have both asked Ukraine to halt construction until a more comprehensive environmental-impact assessment can be completed (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 and 31 August 2004). ZsM

...AS VISITING NORWEGIAN PREMIER CALLS ON UKRAINE TO HALT CONSTRUCTION. After discussions with his Romanian counterpart Adrian Nastase on 13 September in Bucharest, Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik said the construction of the deep-water canal should be halted until an extensive environmental-impact study can be conducted, Mediafax reported. He said that Norway "fully understands" Romania's concern over the issue. Bondevik and Nastase also discussed bilateral relations and cooperation within NATO. Bondevik said Romania is considered an important military partner, and that beginning in 2005 the Norwegian Embassy in Bucharest will have a permanent military attache. ZsM