FOREIGN BROADCAST INFORMATION SERVICE Daily Report— Central Eurasia FBIS-SOV-94-227 Friday 25 November 1994 This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. Daily Report Central Eurasia FBIS-SO¥-94-227 CONTENTS 25 November 1994 INTERREGIONAL AFFAIRS CIS Customs Chiefs Meet, Draft Customs Alliance Accord [Russian TV] ......cccccccssccssesssessesesesceeneenceeeeees 1 CIS Border Troops Commanders Meet on ‘Common Border’ /PRAVDA 24 Nov] ......ccccccccssssesseseeeeeeeeeees | en rr OT ED I I icc. ciscccessalencnpesanedsentnnnlivindelioedauiadivaanersenvqniautidovddbbhamenisdanevedeisiiiaiiete 2 eI NE EO UU sch cactus aedbeensiacnsrensnspstinsapinndinbaanniesnstdeinntsinesibleiseinnpeminaiecentnnneiaeicahsaciien sacebiebeiniataiiican 2 RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Yeltsin Suspends Limitation Measures on Yugoslavia /INTERFAX] .0.........:csccssscsssssesseessesesceseeeeseeeseeeseens 4 Shumeyko Says NATO Bombing Beyond ‘Reasonable Limits’ /JTAR-TASS] ...........ccccsccccsesceesseeeseeeeeeeees 4 Comments on World Model, Foreign Policy [7TAR-TAGS] .....0cccisssccosecsesccesssscsssnsseecesecsoecesescsessoenss 4 Chernomyrdin Interviewed on Results of Visit to UAE /ITAR-TASS] .......:csccsssssseessesssesseecessesscssesenseeseens 4 en OenpUn IIEE OUUIPCA IIIT ssc cnriuniesaltiselbbiecpsncdiinaaeesensasibannhievsovinesantiemeunsasanabbahenivenien 5 Signs Russia-Oman Cooperation Agreement /ITAR-TASS] .......:.:sccsscsssssssssessessssescessscesecseseeseeeeseeees 5 Returns to Moscow After Ending Gulf Tour /ITAR-TASS] ..........sccccsccsscssssssssssessssscssssssseessecseeseneeeees 6 Moscow, UAE May Jointly Develop New Fighter Plame [NTV] ou..........ccccsccsscssssecsceseseesecsesceeceeseeeeeeeeeeeens 6 Karasin on ‘Chain Reaction’ in Wake of NATO Air Strikes /ITAR-TASS] ........:.ccccssscsecsesseessceseeseseeeeeeees 6 Recall of Russian Peacekeepers Said Possible INTERFAX] ................ccccsccossscsscosssecssessccssceesssssccessesessenss 6 Kozyrev Holds News Conference on Bosnia /ITAR-TASS] ............:cccccssssssssssscssssssccssccsscssssccssscssccsscessesseess 6 Churkin on Possible Puliout From Yugoslavia /KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA 24 Nov] .......:cc.s0seessee 7 Russia Not Satisfied With ‘Semi-Nuclear’ Status for Ukraine /INTERFAX] ........:cc:ccccssccssseeesceeesessceeeeeess 7 Report on Ambassador Pickering’s Visit to Duma [IZVESTIYA 25 Nov] .......:csccsssssscescseccsssesseessesseseeeeees 8 Kozyrev on Republican Congressional Elections Win [INTERFAX] .........:ccsssssssssccssssessecesceeeseseceeesesatenee 8 U.S. Congress Changes Not Mandate for ‘Foolhardiness’ /TRUD 24 Nov] ........:ccscsssscessseeseeesssesereeseeeesees 9 SEO TOOTS TUPUNOT THORN TE CC BEIT IIE MD ccc ntecietstensecersenreticnasseesnisovenennsssccnsenninaahonescunsnassnens 9 UN Representative Lavrov Interviewed /ROSSIYSKIYE VESTI 23 Nov] ........:cssscssscsssssessssssseseceesceesseees 10 CIS Kurd Urges Mediation Between Turkey, Kurds [INTERFAX] .......:..:c.sscsssssssccssssessesseseseseesseeeeeeseeeeee 11 Minister, Iranian Ambassador Discuss Cooperation [IRNA] ........:.ss:sssssssecsessesseseeseeseeeeeseesessesseseeeenseesenees 12 Duma Chairman Rybkin Receives Chinese Parliamentarians /ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA 23 Nov] .......... 12 Japan Postpones Repayment of Russian Debts /I/TAR-TASS] .......:.:cssscsccssessesesscssesessesenssssesessessesereseeseees 12 Delegation To Develop Trade, Economic Ties in Japan /ITAR-TASS] ......:.::ccscssssscssscesseeseseesessnserseeseseees 12 Russia Involved in Japanese Space Rocket Project [INTERFAX] .........sssessssesseeseeseerseeseeneeseeeeensesseennees 13 Soskovets Visit to Japan Previewed [IZVESTIYA 25 NOU] ...0...0...ccsescssccscscccsssccscccsesensseccsessesceassecsecsecseseses 13 DPRK Delegation Promotes Economic Relations in Far East /Moscow International] ...........ccsescsseeeees 14 OPEC Hopes Russian Exports Will Be Curbed by Severe Winter /IZVESTIYA 24 Nov] .........cccsccesceeeses 15 Gazporm Blames Ukraine for Bulgaria, Turkey Gas Shortages [INTERFAX] ..........::sccssccsseeseeseesseseeeneeees 15 Pacific Nuclear Pollution Conference Planned [IZVESTIYA 24 Nov] .......ssssssesseesseeseseee sinuitninitiinsaaibingntaiinn 16 U.S. Interest in Russian Rockets, Launching Complexes Noted /1TAR-TASS] ......:.::.scsscsssssceseeseesseseeeeeees 16 RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS Political Affairs Yeltsin Continues to Reduce Staff /ITAR-TASS] ......s.sssssesessessessssseseesesenecenesscsnencenssnssncsnesssssenseasens 17 Zhirinovskiy Ready To Form Bloc With Communists //TAR-TASS] ........:c.::ccsscsesseesseseseeeresereeeneeees 17 Rutskoy Claims To Have Widespread Support [INTERFAX] .......:-sssscsssesseeseseeseeeereeniennesseeneseneenees 17 Ecological ‘Cedar’ Movement Becomes Party /[SEGODNYA 24 Nov] .........:ssssssssseseeeesereesersenensenees 17 ‘Life-Time’ Mufti Tajuddin on Russia’s Moslems [INTERFAX] .........:::s:ssssessssssseenseneseesecsneneneceneees 17 DPR Demands Report on Social Accord Treaty /ROSSIYSKIYE VESTI 23 Nov] .........c0::0se0000++ 18 Fedorov Urges Democrats To Quit Government /[KURANTY 24 Nov] .......ccscsccsessesserseseesseeeneeterees 19 Grachev Undergoes Medical Tests, Misses Duma /I/TAR-TASS] ........:.:scssssssesessesnseeseeeesceceeeeneeensees 19 Shakhray on Early Elections, Budget Compromise [INTERFAX] ........c::csccssccseseesseeseseeeeetseneneenenes 19 Tsarev on LDPR ‘Ruse’ To Remove Rybkin /ROSSIYSKIYE VESTI 23 Nov] ........ssssssssesseseeeseees 20 FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 2 Central Eurasia ae Duma Deputies Form Social-Democratic Faction [INTERFAX] ........ccccccsscccsssesssseeesecesseeeesceceeneceenes 20 Unemployment Increases 80 Percent Since January /ITAR-TASS] ......ccccccccscssssssseessseesseeseeeseeeseeeees 20 FCS Edict Grants Investigation, Security Power /SEGODNYA 24 Nov] .u.....cccccccccsscssseesscesceeeseeeeeees 20 FCS Official on Migration, Smuggling /INTERFAX] .............csscccscccsssssssecsssesevescsssscscssssssesessossessoseses 2! Human Rights Commissioner Criticizes Edict /[SEGODNYA 24 Nov] ......cc.cccccssccescessseereeeesees 21 Prosecutor Discusses Kholodov Case, Suspects /ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA 24 Nov] ......cccscccseceseeee 21 Ministry Cancels ‘Airworthiness’ Certificates /TRUD 24 Nov] ...ccccccccccsssscssccssseessseeseesseessceseeeeseeeseee 21 CIS Experts Analyze Air Accident Causes /IZVESTIYA 23 Nov] ....ccccccccccccsssesssecsssesscecsscesseesscesseeees 22 Economic Issues Ministry on Lower Food Production, Higher Imports /INTERFAX] .......ccccccccccsssecssceeescessseceseeeeees 22 Yeltsin Signs Industrial Production Decree (INTERFAX ] ..........c.scccsssorsssscssssesssessscnscscesccssscscsescseese 23 Moscow Looks To Change Oil Balance Guidelines [INTERFAX] .....cc.ccccccsccssccssssceseessceesseeseeseeeesees 23 Parliament on Credits To West, 1995 Budget /[KOMMERSANT-DAILY 23 Nov] .....ccccccccseceeseeeeeees 23 Official on Foreign Debt, Former USSR Credits INTERFAX] .......0c.csccssocsssscsssssssssessssesesssceseeseees 24 Foreign Investments Increase in Stock Market /IZVESTIYA 23 Nov] .....c.ccccccccsssssscesseeesseesseeseceenees 24 Chubays Opposes Cancellation of Foreign Debt /ITAR-TASS] .........cscccssscsssssesssceesseccsseccessecececeesnees 24 Ministries Vie To Settle Oil Export Questions /IZVESTIYA 24 Nov] ....ccccccccccccssscsssesseeessecescessceeeeee 24 Yasin Announces End of Oil Price Regulation /INTERFAX] ......cccccsccccscssscesseesscesseessccessceneeenseceeseees 25 Military & Space Issues Koshelev Forwards Trade Union Appeal on ‘Worry’ /[SEGODNYA 25 Nov] ......ccccccccccsseeeeseeeeseeeeee 26 Defense Fuel Debt Increases, Reserves ‘Critical’ (Moscow Radi] ........cccccsscescecsseeesseesceesscesseessceeees 26 Commission Works To Improve Military Payments /KOMMERSANT-DAILY 24 Nov] ..........000+ 26 “CRMGR- ZIFF SaeTee TCMCER CONN FIT AIT TAG ccrcsssicrsnnsincscesisncsnsreconsessenesssssvoncenscuensonsnbnennsssnts 27 Forces Announce Successful ICBM Test Launch /ITAR-TASS] .....c..cccccssccssssssessseeessesesseeeseeeeeseeeeneee 27 Media Issues eS Yeltsin Otsects to State-Supported Mein [ITAR-TASS) ..ccccccccsccsoscessscsscsevssscsscscersecsesovcccosssessssssesees 27 Filatov Recommends ‘Compatible’ Team Members /ITAR-TASS] .......scccscsssssesssesseeseeeseeeseeeeeeeeneees 28 Print Media Competes For Government Subsidies /OBSHCHAYA GAZETA I Dec] .00.....c00..0000000 28 Russian Television on Abandonment of Merger Plan TT Ee TEE BO PUNE | saseniintntinvecinsisieaiaishciianaaiiitenunantiniemntianiiinidiiaaniteiniaiins 28 Federal Assembly State Duma Urges Veto To Stop Bosnia Intervention /Ra@dio ROSSI] .......cc.ccccsscsssseesseseeesesesseeseeeees 29 Duma Criticizes NATO Intervention in Yugoslavia /ITAR-TASS] .....cccccccccssscsssssessesecessecesseeceeeeeees 30 Report on Kokoshin’s Briefing on Nuclear Forces /NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA 23 Nov] .........0000+. 30 Commission Disagrees With Government on Oil Spill [INTERFAX] ........ccccccscscssscesesscceeseeesseceesneee 30 Rybkin on Conditions for Moldova Withdrawal [INTERFAX] ........cccccssccssssseesscsssssssssscseseseeseeeenees 31 WGF Command Said Not Involved in Irregularities (Radio ROSSii] ........:.ccssccsccssseseescesseeseeseeeeeeees 31 Defense Committee Chairman on Duma Hearings /ITAR-TASS] ......cccccsccccssscsesscesseeceseceeseseeeneeeesnes 31 Lukyanov Cited on Duma’s Rejection of Paramonova [INTERFAX] .......cccccsccssccssssssceesseeseeeeseeseeees 31 Russia’s Choice Faction To Support Draft Budget /1TAR-TASS] .......:ccscccsssesssessssessseseeseseessenseeenees 32 To Support Yeltsin Electoral Bills /ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA 23 Nov] ......ccccccssssesssseeseeseeeeees 32 State Duma Fails To Adopt Law on Referendum /ITAR-TASS] .....cc.cccccsssescssescessssseseseeesenseesnsenees 32 FE TA Gs TE SG Ee POON ATTIRED ctinenastesennstnttninsesniintintsteaceiisiinimnmnnns 32 Regional Affairs Yeltsin Returns After Visiting Estonian Border [1 TAR-TASS] ....:.cccscccsssssssssseseesessescseessesersnseecesenees 33 Chechen Opposition Gunships Pound Government Troops /ITAR-TASS] ......0.. scssssssscseeereeeseeees 33 ee Ge DOte PURINE FOr IIE costccantticinmneseciinenidnneoressticocecorsesetucesoneassinennentinnces 33 Dudayev Declares Martial Law, Curfew [Radio ROSSii] ......c.cccsccssssssessessseseesesesesseseceeeeneeeaees 33 Leaders Blamed for Expanding ‘Aggression’ [INTERFAX] ......c.scccssccsssssssesessessesseeseseeseeseseess 34 FSK Uncovers Foreign Agents in Krasnodar [INTERFAX] .0......ccccccccsssccsssssccsssscccesssccsessssccesseseceeeees 34 % Urals Economic Development Conference Held /ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA 23 Nov] .....:..:cccs00000 34 *BIS-SOV-94-227 & 25 November 1994 3 Central Eurasia Bashkiria Pipeline Accident Causes Oil Spill [ITAR-TASS) .01...scccscscrssccccerocsercccsecsscsntecessssssescoessooeese 34 Governor Cited on Nuclear Waste Disposal Problem [INTERFAX] 0.......cccccsssssscssseceseeseseeenseeseeeeees 34 River Pollution From Nikolayev AES Investigated /Moscow Radio] .........:..ccccscsssccsesessesseseeeseceneeeees 35 Funding Crisis Could Cause Nuclear Station Shutdown [Moscow TV] u....cccccccccccscssessecesseceesceeeneeeees 35 Several Explosions Reported in Karelia /ITAR-TASS] .........csccsccccssssccssssssessesescescesssressscessosesssessesees 35 Moscow Oblast Communists Celebrate ‘Widened’ Influence /SOVETSKAYA ROSSIYA 22 Nov] .. 35 Krasnodar Mayor’s Removal Based on ‘Dubious’ Pretext IT ye TEED BO CHOU pissicnionsccisinisadindiaitinneinissecnsisiadineeiinenteressnnaminhantitertianiasibiaaies 36 Hunger Strikes in Yekaterinburg Over Salary Delays [INTERFAX] ........ccccccccccssscesssccesseeessceceneeeeseneees 37 UKRAINE International Affairs Kuchma Looks To ‘Widespread Cooperation’ /Kiev International] ..........ccccccccscccssesessessceessecssesseeeees 38 Seg EET GD EU, SD PRUNE, FUFITIIINTE ss cteiccsivecncaciccnsecnnsusensnscasccesectibenackendeuchdinsdeneniueonadt 38 Uae EEED FUNG TT TED. TUNIS FI FEIT ccsstscserisnsicsnescciniecessssncentncscnasscsnenevscniccnnssesniane 38 Russian Paper Comments on Kuchma’s US. Visit /IZVESTIYA 23 Nov] .....ccccccscccscsscsessceeeseeesseees 39 Foreign Minister Discusses Moscow-Kiev Relations /MOSKOVSKIYE NOVOSTI 27 Novy ........... 40 Moroz on Ukraine-Ressia ‘Problems’ [INTERFAX] ...0..:ccssisssssccsccsscsossscossessssesesscccesseancesscscoses 41 Crimeans Note ‘No Logic’ to Kiev Law Decision /IZVESTIYA 23 Nov] ...cccccccccccscccesssecessceeeseceeeees 41 Russian Duma Deputies Urge Compromise //TAR-TASS] ........:cccccccssscssssessessscesceeeseeseeeeseeeseee 42 Kiev Protests Russian State Duma Stance [UNIAN 24 Nov] .......ccssccssscssssccsssesesseeessneeesceeeensees 42 Moroz Calls For Expedient BSF Vessel Transfer /INTERFAX] .0......cccccccccsssccesseceeseceescecsseceesseesneees 42 Anti-Ukrainian Feelings Increase in BSF [Kiev International] .........ccccccsccsscesscsssessceseesseeseeneceeceneeenees 42 National Affairs Kuchma Issues Reform, Anti-Monopoly Edict /HOLOS UKRAYINY 22 Nov] ........ccscccscsceessseesseeees 43 Parliament Expects ‘Battle’ Over Power Bill /INTELNEWS] .0........ccccscccssssescesssessessesecsesescesnseeseeees 43 Moroz Addresses Group on Economic Reform /Kiev International] ..........ccccccsccsssessesseessesseeseeeeeees ad Moroz on Opposition To Some Land P.eform Decrees [INTERFAX] u....cc.cccccccccscssssesesssesceeseceseeeeaes 44 Kuchma Appoints Fuel, Energy Adviser /Kiev International] .0.........ccccccccsccssssesseeseesscessceesseesneenceeees 44 Kuchma Appoints Security Service Cfficial /[HOLOS UKRAYINY 22 Nov] .cccccccscssccsssesseesceseesseeees 44 General Fedin Undertakes BSF Apzawintment [UNIAR] .........cccccccssvsssssssssecsssrecssssecesseccsessssccseosscocses 44 Cabinet Appoints Union Negotatior: Team /INTELNEWS] .........:.ssssccsssssseseseerecesesseeesseeesenseneeenses 44 WESTERN REGION Belarus Moldova Gas Supply Resumes Under ‘Strict Conditions’ /Minsk Radio] ........cccccccccccsssssssessesereesseeseeeeteeseeees 46 Government Imposes Limits on Electricity /Minsk Radio] ...........cccccsscsscsscesscsssesseeseeseeeneenseeeeeseeeeees 46 US. Studies Petrochemical Plant Project (AGinsh RadiO] ...0..cccasccesesssscscssccesesecssnesrssssesesecesonecsseavess 46 A TU I adders aguniocennelinnnsumunbiiiiadibiaeniiniininets 46 Lukashenka on ‘Crisis of Power,’ IMF Credit Denial /INTERFAX] ......c.cccccsccssesssseesseeeseeseeseeeseeees 46 Minister Views Foreign Economic Activities /RESPUBLIKA 17 Nov] .....c..ccccssssscsssesessessesseeceseeneens 47 Ministry Issues Directive on Short-Term Bonds /Minsk Radio] .........cccccsssssssssessessessensessescensssceeeees 50 Lukashenka Meets With Trade Union Activists /Minsk Radio] .......c..c.ccccssssssssssscsssseseeseseseeneeseceaees 50 Army on Structure Details, Kastenka Profiled /BELAPAN] ..........ccscsssssssssessssssssescessescescenesecenseennees 51 New Union Looks To Unify Moldovan Ukrainians /BASAPRESS] .........:.cscsssssssssssesesseseeeeseseeeeenees 53 Ministry Denies Involvement at Vulcanesti /INFOTAG] ..........cccccsssssssescssessesessesessesesnescencecenescescenees 53 Chisinau Uses CSCE Peacemakers in Dniester /ITAR-TASS] ..........csccecscssssssssescssesssccscerssssscescaseeenss 53 General To Visit Troops, Discuss Withdrawal /Moscow Radio] ........:..scccscsssssseeseeeeeseesesceneees 54 FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 4 Central Eurasia CENTRAL ASIA Kazakhstan Uranium Deal With United States Confirmed /ITAR-TASS] .........ccccccccscsssesseeseesserseeecenseeseeeecerseeees 55 Russia Said Aware of Uranium Sale [INTERFAX] ....0.00cccccccsccsesccecsecsssssessesesncsecsesevecssensecsseees 55 Russian-Kazakh Oil Talks Held in Almaty [PANORAMA 19 Nov] .0.......ccccccsssesscessceseesceescessesseessenees 55 Refinery Replaces Russian Oil With Kazakh [Almaty Radio] ..........cc.cccccccsceeseescessceseesseesseeseseeereeees 55 Iran Ready To Allow Transit of Kazakh Oil [Almaty Radio] .0..........cc.ccccccecceeceeseeseeeseeneeseeeceesceeeeees 56 Parliamentary Delegation Departs for Iran, Pakistan [Almaty Radio] ..............cccsccessesseserceseereessesees 56 EBRD Delegation Considers Draft Assistance Programs en acide neisiarhnlibinhtnirianiesietinn 56 Court Dismisses Case Against Russian Journalist /KAZAKHS7ANSKAYA PRAVDA 19 Novj ....... 56 Licenses Required to Bury Radioactive Waste {PANORAMA 19 Nov] .0........cccccccscceesceesceesseessceseeeees 57 Kyrgyzstan EBRD Funds Telecommunications Modernization [Bishkek Radio] ............ccccscsssscesecessesseessereeeees 57 Prime Minister Meets ICO Secretary General /ITAR-TASS] .........ccsscssccsssssssescessesscessssssssessecsaceseenee 57 Russian Units Include Military Intelligence (VECHERNIY BISHKEK 21 Nov] ..............0.ss000000000+ 57 Osh Region Has 1,900 Refugees From Tajikistan /EKHO OSHA 12 Nov] .00......ccccccssccsssessesseeseeeees 58 Akayev Says Agricultural Reforms Crucial /Bishkek Radio] ...........cccccccccsssescessesseeceeeseccerseencersenseess 58 Tajikistan Agreement With China on Joint Pharmaceutical Venture /Dushanbe Radio] ...............c0ssss0seesee00 59 Action Urged After Journalist's Murder /Dushambe Radio] .00........:..ccccccccssseesseesseeseceesceeseesseesscesseeees 59 Defense Ministry Official Fails in Hijack Attempt /ITAR-TASS] ........c:csccssssssssesseeseeeesseseeseaseeesenees 59 FCS Sees Hijacking Attempt as ‘Hooliganism’ [INTERFAX] .00.........ccccseccsseecceseeeeseseeeseceeeeeees 59 Rakhmanov Welcomes Weapons Surrender by People’s Front /INTERFAX] .0............:ccscccseesoseeeeees 60 Meeting Held To Accelerate Economic Transformations /Dushanbe Radio] ...............ccccccssseeseeeeee 60 Turkmenistan President Returns After ‘Triumphant’ European Tour /TURKMENSKAYA ISKRA 22 Novj ......... 60 UN Mission Opens in Ashgabat /TURKMENISTAN I] Nov] .......:.:csscsscsssseeseesseccesssesceseeseeeneeacenses 61 New Bank Plans Oil Industry Investments /TURKMENISTAN 10 Nov] .......:c..csssssssessesesesescesseeees 61 Uzbekistan President Karimov Receives EBRD Delegation [Tashkent TV] .0........sccscsssssssssssssscecseceessserseeaeensenee 62 Meets With Finance Minister /NARODNOYE SLOVO 23 Nov] ......c..ccsssssssssessessssessesseseessenees 62 I a er: ch eh teeiineinigermnndiomteenmioennnnihtneninnisinnnins 62 Najibollah-led Afghan Delegation Received [Kabul Radio] ............sccscsscssssssessssssseecssscessncensensensencess 63 Natural Gas Supply Stopped for Nonpayment /INTERFAX] .........c..ccssccssssssssseescsessescencenscenceeceasences 63 Tashkent Said To Block Georgian Gas Supplies [Moscow TV] ..........csscssssssssssssssssssssseesseseaceneeeesenees 63 Start of Limited Land Privatization Decreed [Tashkent TV] ..........c.scscsssssssessssssssssessessscesesesescssesesees 63 Edict Issued on Land Sales /NARODNOYE SLOVO 25 Nov] .......c.s-scssssssesseesessessescessencensesescensensenee 63 CAUCASUS Armenia Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Comments on Ties /Yerevan International] ...........c.:0sssssseseeeenes 65 Vice President Receives Romanian Health Minister /Yerevan International] ................0c.ssseeoee: 65 Exchange of POW’s With Azerbaijan Delayed /ARAGIL ELECTRONIC NEWS BULLETIN) ..... 65 Azerbaijan Reportedly Fires on Armenian Towns [Yerevan Radio] ..............c.ssssssesseseeeessesseneeneees 65 Aid Grain Shared With Starving Georgia /SAKINFORM] ..0.........c.csssssssssesssesesesesssecasesessenseaceasees 65 FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 5 Central Eurasia Azerbaijan IMF Postpones Signing Credit Agreement /INTERFAX] ...........:ccsssccessssssessessssssssssessesssessesssssenseees 66 Appeal to World Community Over Plight of Refugees /ITAR-TASS] ......:c.ccccccsssssessesscsseeseceeseneeeees 66 Baku Conference on Human Rights, Refugees Concludes [TURAN] ...........cccsccscsscsesceseseeseesesseeeeees 66 Memorandum Signed With Norway on Oil, Gas Extraction /INTERFAX] .....c..:ccccsccsscsesssessseeseeeeee 67 Foreign Minister Discusses Oil With Norwegian Delegation /TURAN] ........:.cccccssssssesseesessesceseeeeees 67 Diplomatic Relations With Afghanistan Established /Baku Radio] ..........c.ccccscsssssesssssssescreeseseeeesees 67 Aliyev, Ter-Petrosyan To Meet in Moscow Next Week [INTERFAX] .......csccscecsssssssossssesesesceseeseeeess 67 Georgia Greek Government Delegation To Meet Dignitaries /SNARK] .0.......cc..cccccsessssssessseesessneceeseeeeneeeenens 68 IS | IED caseninnisniosisiniiiinannisninietbiiieinnansiinenarenetesaincnisinntanannianmansseets 68 Greece Allots $50 Million Loan {CONTACT INFORMATION AGENCY] o0.....cccccsessseeeeeeeees 68 PRAVDA Version of Abkhaz Peace Talks Disputed /SAKINFORM] .........:ccccccccccssssesessesceeeseeneeenees 69 Ceding Territory in Ethnic Conflicts Ruled Out (CONTACT INFORMATION AGENCY} .........++. 69 Preparations For War With Abkhazia Urged [INTERFAX] ............:cccccssssssssssscssssecssssessenseessceseeeeseees 69 Mobile Police Will Shoot to Kill in New Crackdown /NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA 24 Nov] .......... 69 Budget Ratified for Fourth Quarter of 1994 /SAKARTVELOS RESPUBLIKA 16 Nov] .........000000+ 69 ‘Tough’ Power Supply Restrictions Introduced [SNARK] .........::csccsscsesssssseeesseeseseeseeseseesesscseeeseeeseees 70 ST, Ce REE UU IPMND FUE cvtceticcesccsrcnsrscinssesrsiesnecsenssnntaanerensencssenanenvenianesets 70 BALTIC STATES Estonia Prime Minister Returns From Crime Conference [ETA] .........:.:sccsssssssssescesceeesesensceseseeseesesseceesessense 71 Premier Met With Russian, Other Ministers [Tallinn Radio] ...........cccscssscssssssesseseseesseseencase 71 Foreign Ministry Statement on Yeltsin’s Border Visit (Tallinn Radio] ..........cc.ccccsccsseseeesseeeeseseeenee 71 Luik: Russia Unwilling To Settle Dispute /Riga Radio] ............:ccccccssssssesseeesceeeeeeseeeneeeeeeensees 71 Kozyrev: Border “Will Remain Unchanged’ [INS] ............ccc.ccccccrsccccssccessscerssccosssoescocossecsscees 72 Russia Interested in Privatized Metal Processing Plant [ETA] ............:cccsscssscsssssesesessceseeseeseeeseeecenees 72 Tallinn Reports Landing of Hijacked Russian Aircraft (Tallinn Radio] .........ccccsccsscesssscsseeeeseeseeeees 72 Hijackers Deraand Flight to Denmark /ITAR-TASS] ........::.:sccsescsssssssseeeeeeseeeesesssesecesnenenereeees 72 Russian Antiterrorist Units To Arrive [Tallinn Radio] ........c.cccsccscssseseeseesesscescesesscsseescesesseeees 73 CE ET ED FOUR IIE cinsccocsccrnisicesesvssutinreneenenscecnereesonsninmnsnenisnnsotnnsesenien 73 I IED MEU DREPADNEIE cxvivencensescsessicececesuresonenibaianoeneensntnbessannenenrianneannereenie 73 aaa iicicicsssnicsiinervessintnaninesasenicieniaunintenionnnsitemianinimaninnuiie 73 Sy SEI UR PRUIOINID FRRIIID GUID eccesencsscesnensnescseeserennessenoseceniesnnnsancseetnontnnensebaaenasentite 73 Foreign Minister: Hijacking Resolution Affirms Security /ETA] ..........cccccccscssssescssseseseeseesceenseeseneees 73 Russian Envoy Grateful For Hijack Handling [Tallinn Radio] .............cccscssssseseeeescesscesseeseneeeesseseeess 74 Lawia nee I tres Oe I FS FI aiassiisscoisnsinssieanecnanbnncensennnsenesiesiterennemmacconsnessinisintobiici 74 Baltic Foreign Ministers Statement on EU, Borders [Riga Radio] ..........ccscssccssssesssssesecessesseeeseesenees 74 Spokesman Rebuts Yeltsin Statement on ‘Forced Settlers’ /BNS] ........:...scssscssssesesseseeseeseneeessenseeees 75 Accords Ratified on Russian Army Withdrawal /Riga Radio] ............cc.ccccssesssessesssensesecensereseenenseneees 75 Sacima Passes Law on State Defense [Riga Radio] ...........csccseccccsrssscessesssssssscassnsescessessesssccesssscossosees 75 Lithuania Norway Supports Lithuania’s Admission to EU [Vilnius International] ...........ccccccssssesesseeeeeseneeeees 75 FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 CIS Customs Chiefs Meet, Draft Customs Alliance Accord LD2311143694 Moscow Russian Television Network in Russian 1100 GMT 23 Nov 94 [From the “Vesti” newscast] [FBIS Translated Text] A routine session of the council of heads of customs services of the CIS countries is taking place in Moscow today. [D. Maslennikov] This CIS body has drafted an agree- ment on a custoi7s alliance and the principles of customs legislation of the Commonwealth countries. In the view of participants in today’s conference, a unified docu- ment needed to be created to consolidate the main principles of customs work within the framework of the CIS. The document has defined the main principles of legislation in the field, the status and functions of customs bodies, has examined all issues relating to the movement of goods and means of transport across the borders of states and outlined custom regimes. The law-enforcement aspect of the document which defines customs bodies as investigative bodies also merits atten- tion as it will help in fighting smuggling. [V. Meshcheryakov, deputy chairman of the State Cus- toms Committee of the Russian Federation] Over what is almost the whole of 1994, goods have been seized at crossing points worth a total of about 130 billion rubles [R]. That is one thing. Second, we have also seized, or rather prevented the export of goods which appeared through some breach of the law worth a total of nearly R160 billion. There have been and I believe there will be other cases of, say, the smuggling of a container of caesium. However, we discussed these problems with our colleagues from European states. They said that work needs to be done in this area and indeed both they and we are working on it, but they also said that such cases should not be overdramatized. CIS Border Troops Commanders Meet on ‘Common Border’ MM2411142394 Moscow PRAVDA in Russian 24 Nov 94 p 1 [Report by Viktor Kharlamov: “One Border Common To All. Meeting of CIS Border Troops Commanders Held in Moscow”’] [FBIS Translated Text] The session of the Council of CIS Border Troops Commanders, which ended the other day in Moscow, is yet another step along the road to a unified system of protection for the Commonwealth’s external borders. And as early as the beginning of next year a treaty on guarding the external border, which will prob- ably become a common border for all the CIS countries, will be presented to heads of state to examine and then sign. At the end of the session I asked some of its participants to give mini-interviews to PRAVDA. The question was as follows: INTERREGIONAL AFFAIRS “Why were border guards the first to reach mutual understanding and start along the path of integration— rather than politicians, the Armed Forces, or even law- enforcement organs?” This is how they replied. Bolat Zakiyev, commander of the Republic of Kaza- khstan Border Troops: “It is simpler and more profitable to ensure our own security in collaboration. After all, the security of each of our states depends on the reliability of the Common- wealth’s external border.” Anarbek Bakayev, chairman of the Republic of Kaza- khstan State Committee for National Security: “‘We view our external borders as the common borders of the Commonwealth. So that we, at least, have no doubts as to the need for integration. I hope that the process begun by the border guards will be supported by other state and power structures.” Valeriy Chkheidze, chairman of the Republic of Georgia Department for State Border Security: “Not all the newly-formed states have the capability or the means to reliably secure their borders. This compels us to pool our efforts to ensure our own security on our external borders. Thus we are forced to integrate by the very realities of life.” Vasiliy Morkovkin, commander of the Republic of Belarus Border Troops: “There is an illegal transit of nonferrous and rare metals to third countries through Belarus, as the Common- wealth’s western gate. This is economically ruinous for states such as Russia and Kazakhstan, and at the same time it exacerbates the crime situation in our republic. The same can be said of the illegal transit of weapons and drugs. Thus we simply cannot do without collaboration and coordinated actions.” Anarey Nikolayev, commander in chief of the Russian Feder: 10n Border Troops: “The choice is as follows: Either each state of the Commonwealth guards all its borders all the way along its perimeter, spending colossal resources on equipping new borders, or it takes the course of trust and mutual commitments, leaving internal borders open and “trans- parent“ and guarding the Commonwealth’s borders in coordination and collaboration vth the other CIS states. We have taken the second course, based on logic and common sense.” But the concept of the “border” does not just imply Border Troops. It also means customs controls, which ensure economic security, immigration control, counter- intelligence, and phytosanitary services. In short, the whole system. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. a 2 INTERREGIONAL AFFAIRS 11 AR-TASS Carries Press Review for 24 Nov LD2411071294 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 0659 GMT 24 Nov 94 [Press Review”—ITAR-TASS headline] [FBIS Transcribed 1 ext] Moscow November 24 TASS— The Russian press carries reports on President Boris Yeltsin’s trip to Pskov region. ROSSIISKAYA GAZETA quotes the president as saying that the purpose of his trip was to see for himself how the Russian-Estonian border has been equipped. The president believes, the newspaper writes, that the Russian-Estonian border is not quite a place where everything is all right. But “this border has been, is and will remain Russian one. We shall not cede an inch of land under any circumstances whoever would lay claim to it”. The border with Estonia was sealed at the Helsinki conference and, therefore, there can be no question of any revision of it, the newspaper states. NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA analyses the grain market situation. The newspaper believes that next year may become a year of grain shortages. A disastrous state of affairs in the procurement of grain has developed in the country, which is fraught with serious consequences for urban dwellers. The government, the newspaper maintains, has taken up an ambigious stand over the matter—not to buy nation- ally-produced grain and not to import any. This indi- cates that the urban population may remain without bread or, to be more exact, bread prices will soar. IZVESTIYA comments on foreign trade liberalisation problem, export quotas and licenses for energy resources, in particular. The newspaper believes that this is a principled issue connected with a continuation of market-oriented reforms. The newspaper points to inconsistency of the authorities’ policy in this respect. “The present flare-up of government discussion on the export of oil is accounted for by at least two reasons: firstly, the positions of the liberals in the government have grown substantially stronger and, secondly, which may be most importantly, that Russia expects to get about 7,500 million U.S. dollars from international financial organisations shortly.” ROSSIISKIYE VESTI on a country-wide discussion of a contemplated merger of two Russian television net- works. The newspaper points out that “political and mercantile considerations have come to prevail in the discussion”. “It strikes the eye that many of those who commented on the intention expressed by the president to finally decide FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 the future of state-run television networks pursue prima- rily their own private goals, not the main thign that should have been discussed first—the interests of tele- viewers”. PRAVDA carries an interview with agrarian party leader Mikhail Lapshin, who analyses the political situation in the country in the light of his party’s policy. “Sooner or later the great peasant country will have a president who would represent the agrarian sector. Russia has got the right to such a leader through suf- fering, and peasantry as a political force is prepared to nominate him”, Lapshin said. NOVAYA YEZHEDNEVNAYA GAZETA (New Daily Newspaper) on the cost of the repair of government and parliament buildings. The repair of the former residence of the parliament and the state planning committee building which now houses the state duna has cost 1,000 million U.S. dollars, a competent soi rce in the government told the newspaper. The newspape™ has estimated that the government and parliament buildings repair cost was tantamount to that of 200 houses for 170,000 people. “This would suffice to resolve the housing problem of officers who are being withdrawn from the Baltics,” the newspaper said. NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA carries an article by former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev who analyses the U.S. policy with regard to Cuba. He believes that it is time for the Americans to change their policy with regard to the freedom island. Gorbachev believes that the U.S. got an opportunity to bring Fidel Castro to the negotiating table. Nevertheless, the U.S. does not do that, which in itself is an evidence of a striking political short-sightedness of the Wash- ington administration, Gorbachev emphasises. “In this case, just as in relations with new democracies in Central Europe and with Russia, the U.S. continues to cling tenaciously to Cold-War methods, demonstrating its proud role and its haughtily assumed monopoly—to be the spokesman for the aspirations of the free world”. Press Review for 25 Nov LD2511083694 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 0746 GMT 25 Nov 94 [Press Review”—ITAR-TASS headline] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Moscow November 25 TASS— A forecast for the socio-economic development of the Russian Federation in 1995, the deterioration of the criminogenic situation in the country and the covert operation codenamed Sapphire to remove 600 kilo- grarnmes of highly enriched uranium from Kazakhstan to the United States are the main topics in today’s Moscow-based newspapers. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 ROSSIYSKIYE VESTI runs excerpts from the forecast for the socio-economic development of the Russian Federation in 1995, prepared by the Russian Ministry of economics for an all-Russia economic conference opening in the Kremlin on Saturday. The document says in particular: “We are faced with a difficult choice. The government considers it the only reasonable option in the obtaining situation to come forward with an active strategy for macroeconomic sta- bilisation and the earliest economic recovery.” “The main concept is to adopt a hard-and-fast budget which would accurately reflect possibilities for the mobilisation of revenue with due regard for the lessons of the current year: reduce budget deficit down to approximately eight per cent of gross domestic product, to cover the budget deficit exclusively from non- inflationary sources, i.e. The sale of government securi- ties and borrowings from abroad”. ROSSIYSKIYE VESTI reports that according to the Russian Ministry of Labour, the incomes of 30.5 million citizens in Russia in foreign currency equivalent is approximately 42 dollars a month, with 20.5 per ceni of people in Russia subsisting on such funds. ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA gives data on a deterioration of the criminogenic situation in the country. Referring to interior ministry data, the newspaper reports that the growth of crime in Russia doubled over the past four years and that not less than 120,000 crimes are recorded every month. There were 2.8 million crimes last year, with 29,200 of them being wilful murders. Criminal groups were in control of up to 50,000 enterpreneureal entities and more than 400 banks and ran thousands of enterprises with the use of criminally-gotten capital. The share of economic crimes, of which 15 were committed every month, grew by more than 16 per cent within the year, the newspaper noted. ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA comments on a covert oper- ation codenamed Sapphire to transfer 600 kg from Kazakhstan to the United States. Under existing arrangements between Moscow and ex- Soviet republics, on the territories of which there remain INTERREGIONAL AFFAIRS 3 nuclear materials of military purpose following the break-up of the Soviet Union, the materials should be transferred to Russia to be processed at special plants after an appropriate treatment into fuel ior nuclear power stations. IZVESTIYA on the uranium deal between Kazakhstan and the U:S.: “The main piquant thing is not even in Kazakhstan people’s hard bargaining for every milligramme of the material which they did not need at all. The peculiarity which makes this story almost a Hollywood-style one is that this almost ownerless uranium was found by Amer- icans, not by Kazakhstan people. IZVESTIYA, in another article on the same subject, writes that “a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman in Moscow told us that Russia was informed in advance by the American side about this purchase of uranium and that there was an exchange of views on that score. Moscow expressed confidence that the U.S. would ensure a peaceful use of the material and would place it under IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] safe- guards. Washington promised to do everything note to shake this confidence.” TRUD carries an interview with Aman Tuleyev, deputy to the Federation Council of Russia, who dwelt mainly on the position of coalminers. Touching upon the problems of inter-ethnic relations, Tuleyev emphasised that “ordinary people in Kaza- khstan, Ukraine and Belarus (I do not mention other republics so far) obviously gravitate towards closer rela- tions with Russia, and the for many reasons which include centuries-old mutual interests, inter-ethnic mar- riages, and the neighbouring peoples’ cultural and eco- nomic relations which closely intertwined.” “I am confident that sooner or later the peoples of at least these four countries will make politicians realise that none of ordinary people need the ‘transparent’ borders between them. The borders hamper contacts, and, which is the main thing, hinder efforts to get out of the common economic crisis. A politician who would not heed this voice of the people is doomed by history to oblivion and curse,” Tuleyev said. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 4 RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Yeltsin Suspends Limitation Measures on Yugoslavia LD2311174594 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1534 GMT 23 Nov 94 [From the “Diplomatic Panorama” feature by diplo- matic correspondents Aleksandr Korzun, Igor Porshnev, Yevgeniy Terekhov and others] [FBIS Transcribed Text] The president’s press service announced on Wednesday that Yeltsin had passed a directive documenting the suspension of a number of limitation measures in relation to Yugoslavia. For instance, the ban has been lifted on the Russian planes’ flights to Belgrade in accordance with the U.N. Security Council’s Resolution No. 943 of September 23, 1994. “Yeltsin has brought the Russian laws in line with the international law,” a high-ranking Russian diplomat told Interfax. He said that the ban on the flights of Russian planes to Belgrade and other limitations were lifted back on October 5, because Resolution No. 943 went into effect immediately. Shumeyko Says NATO Bombing Beyond *K easonable Limits’ LL2511095894 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 0803 GM1 25 Nov 94 ‘By ITAR-TASS special correspondent Sergey Sereda] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Lisbon November 25 TASS— Russian Federation Council Speaker Vladimir Shum- eyko believes the latest NATO air strikes on Bosnian Serbs are an excessively severe measure and insists that the conflict in Bosnia should be settled only by peaceful means. “We shall support a compromise by all means and will remember that the means should be 99 percent peace- ful’’, he told Portuguese lawmakers during a meeting on Thursday. The NATO bombings “are a measure which is beyond the necessary reasonable limits. I can say that it is an excessive measure”, the chairman of the upper chamber of the Russian parliament said. He added that it is inadmissible to side with any party involved in the Bosnian conflict and warned that the lifting of the arms embargo on Bosnian muslims can flare up the conflict as weapons deliveries allow to earn enormous profits. “Military assistance to any of the conflicting parties is inadmissible. If there is an embargo it should be strictly FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 observed, if it is lifted it should be lifted from every- body”, Shumeyko said and stressed that the lifting of the embargo would result “in direct material profits earned on the conflict”. “Russia proceeds from the principle foreign policy posi- tion that it is categorically inadmissible to side with any of the conflicting parties”, he stressed. Comments on World Model, Foreign Policy LD2511095294 Moscow ITAR-TASS World Service in Russian 1750 GMT 24 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS special correspondent Sergey Sereda] [FBIS Translated Excerpt] Lisbon, 24 Nov— A conver- sation today between members of the Portuguese parlia- mentary commission on foreign affairs and a delegation from Russia’s Federation Council lasted twice as long as planned. The delegation, which is here on an official visit, is led by Federation Council Speaker Vladimir Shumeyko. [passage omitted] In the discussion on international topics, Vladimir Shumeyko said that Russia supports the multipolar model of the world, replacing the bipolar model which ceased to exist when the Soviet Union disintegrated. Russia will never agree with the unipolar model of the world in which the United States is interested. Russia is currently making a general reassessment of its relations with many countries, rejecting the division of the world into “first”, “second” and “third”. [passage omitted] The Portuguese MP’s asked a series of questions linked with the Yugoslav conflict. Russia’s position, Vladimir Shumeyko said, is based on the principal postulate of our country’s foreign policy: in a conflict in which two or more sides are taking part, it is categorically wrong to take the side of any one of them. We will support efforts to find a compromise by any means, bearing in mind that the means must be 99 percent peaceful. This makes military aid to one of the conflicting sides all the more unacceptable. If there is an embargo, then it should be strictly implemented, and if it is lifted, then it should be lifted on all sides. The lifting of an embargo on arms trading leads to a sharp rise in arms prices and the derivation of direct material profit f:om the conflict. As for the recent bombings, it should be understood that this measure exceeds necessary and reasonable limits. Such measures can be described as redundant. Chernomyrdin Interviewed on Results of Visit to UAE LD2311143894 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 1329 GMT 23 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondents Gennadiy Yezhov and Vyacheslav Anchikov] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Abu Dhabi November 23 TASS—“I am satisfied with the results of the visit to the This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 United Arab Emirates. The talks conducted by the Russian delegation here were constructive and useful,” Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin said in an interview with the local WAM news agency on Wednesday. “We discussed an entire range of various aspects of cooperation at the talks with UAE Deputy Prime Min- ister [and President] Shaykh Sultan Bin-Zayid al Nuhayyan and meetings with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Shaykh Khalifah Bin-Zayid al Nuhayyan and other leaders of the country. “I'd like to state that we met understanding on all problems under discussion,” the Russian Cabinet head said. “In actual fact,” the premier noted, “we only open the UAE for ourselves, and this visit should pave grounds for the start of fruitful cooperation between the two states.” In this connection, Chernomyrdin expressed confidence that the new agreement on trade, economic and scientific cooperation between Russia and the UAE will be signed in the near future. “We are also preparing for signing an agreement to protect mutual investments, to avoid double taxation and other documents,” he continued. The premier stressed that Russia offers foreign partners good possibilities to establish joint ventures and to participate in financing various projects, especially if one takes into account the on-going conversion of the munitions industry in Russia. “Russia has rich experience in the oil and gas indus- tries,” he added. All this can become spheres of bilateral cooperation. Chernomyrdin called on UAE businessmen to go on a fact-finding visit to Russia and to learn possibilities opening for them. Speaking about the discussion of foreign policy issues with the UAE leaders, including the situation in the Gulf, the premier stressed that economic cooperation between states is a major factor for achieving stability, including in this region. In conclusion, Chernomyrdin shared his impression of what he saw in Abu Dhabi. What has been done in this country oniv for 20 years, he said, evokes fascination, and the great merit for this goes to UAE President Shaykh Zayid bin-Sultan al Nuhayyan. Leaves UAE, Arrives Oman LD2311201194 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 1846 GMT 23 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Vyacheslav Anchikov] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Abu Dhabi November 23 TASS—Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin on Wednesday wound up his two-day official visit to the RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 5 United Arab Emirates (UAE) and left for Oman, the last point of his first tour of the Arab countries in the Gulf area. He was seen off at the Abu Dhabi airport by UAE Deputy Prime Minister Sultan Bin-Zayid Ai Nuhayyan. On the last day of his visit to the UAE, Chernomyrdin met representatives of the country’s business community at the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He also visited a sea oil-producing plant. Members of the Russian premier’s delegation also had a number of meetings on Wednesday. Artur Chilingarov, deputy speaker of the state Duma, met Al-Haj Bin Abdallah Al-Mukhairebi, speaker of the UAE Federal National Council (parliament). Oleg Davydov, Russian deputy prime minister and minister for foreign eco- nomic relations, met UAE Economic and Trade Minister Sa’id Ghabbash and Deputy Finance Minister Muhammad Halfan Harbash. Russian Fuel and Energy Minister Yuriy Shafranik met the management of a national oil company. President of the Stolichniy Bank Aleksandr Smolenskiy met the manager of the UAE central bank Sultan Nasir Al-Suveidi. Moscow ITAR-TASS in Russian at 1846 GMT on 23 November adds the following: “Viktor Chernomyrdin, chairman of the government of the Russian Federation, who is visiting countries of the Persian Gulf, arrived in the Sultanate of Oman on an official visit today. At the airport at Sib he was met by Qays ‘Abd-al-Mun’im al-Zawawi, deputy prime minister for economic and financial affairs. “During the course of his brief visit to Oman the head of the Russian government will have talks with the Sultan of Oman Qabus Bin-Sa’id and oti «r officials on ques- tions of the development of bilateral relations, and will Sign an inter-governmental agreement on trade and economic and technical cooperation between the two countries.” Signs Russia-Oman Cooperation Agreement LD2411161794 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 1444 GMT 24 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondents Gennadiy Ezhov and Vyacheslav Anchikov] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Muscat November 24 TASS— Russia and Oman signed today a trade, economic and technical cooperation agreement to cover such diverse areas as industry, minerals, energy, construction and agriculture. The agreement was signed by Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and Omani Deputy Prime Minister for Financial and Economic Affairs Qays *Abd-al-Munim al-Zawawi. Chernomyrdin also met today the Omani leader, Sultan Qabus Bin-Sa’id, in his camp residence near the city of Nazwah. On agenda were the situation in the Gulf, peace process in Mideast, and prospects for the Omani- Russian relations development. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. @: The Russian prime minister, who is on a tour of Gulf Arab states, has already visited the United Arab Emir- ates, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to enter into pacts on trade and investment. Returns to Moscow After Ending Gulf Tour LD2511092094 Moscow ITAR-TASS World Service in Russian 2310 GMT 24 Nov $4 {[FBIS Translated Excerpt] Moscow, 25 Nov—Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin arrived in Moscow today after ending his tour of Arabic countries of the Persian Gulf. [passage omitted] Moscow, UAE May Jointly Develop New Fighter Plane LD2311190494 Moscow NTV in Russian 1600 GMT 23 Nov 94 {[FBIS Translated Text] Russia has offered to the UAE participation in research and development of a new multipurpose fighter plane, the SU-37. This question was discussed at Abu-Dhabi negotiations between Pre- mier Viktor Chernomyrdin and the Emirates’ leaders. It has been said in Chernomyrdin’s entourage that the Emirates are also interested in Russian air defense systems, T-80 tanks, and SU-37 airplanes. Karasin on ‘Chain Reaction’ in Wake of NATO Air Strikes LD2311133694 Moscow ITAR-7ASS in English 1317 GMT 23 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS diplomatic correspondent Andrey Shtorkh] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Moscow November 23 TASS— Russia expressed concern over a new air strike by NATO on a Serb missile base in western Bosnia on Wednesday. “The new alarming reports from Bosnia caused our serious concern”, spokesman of the Hussian Foreign Ministry Grigoriy Karasin told TASS. He added that details of the new air st.ike and of the general military activities in Bosnia are yet to be atten- tively analysed. ‘““However, the danger of a chain reac- tion of power methods is already clear and, according to our conviction, they can result in nothing, but a contin- uation of the bloodshed”. “We continue to stand for boosting political and diplo- matic efforts in the Bosnian settlement’, Karasin said and stressed that Russia would continue to work in that direction both in the UN Security Council and in the international Contact Group on Bosnia, as well as on a bilateral basis. Recall of Russian Peacekeepers Said Possible LD2311171394 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1702 GMT 23 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Russia is “extremely con- cerned” about the emerging trend toward resolving RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 Bosnian settlement issues exclusively by force, a high- ranking member of Russia’s Foreign Ministry told INTERFAX on Wednesday in comments on the report concerning another NATO air strike on Bosnian Serbs’ positions in the area of Otok north-east of Bihac. “There is no doubt that the Bosnian Serbs, who had fired at the NATO planes engaged in patrolling the ‘no fly zone’, provoked the air strike. However another thing is noteworthy: the international community is gradually sliding toward supporting militarily only one of the parties involved in the conflict,” he pointed out. According to the diplomat, this may lead to the start of a full-scale war in the Balkans. “The use of force may provoke a tough reaction both from the Bosnian Serbs and from Belgrade, which has restrained itself so far, but can lose control ver itself some time,” he said. As the diplomat said, under the circumstances Russia may decide to recall its peacekeepers from the former Yugoslavia. “We are no suicides, and we shall not sacrifice our people. It would be a crime against them,” he stressed. The diplomat declined to say when the decision to recall Russian peacekeepers will be taken. “If at its meeting to be held on the Ie vel of foreign ministers in Brussels on December 2 the Contact Group fails to curb the trend toward resolving all issues by force, Moscow will take its decision promptly. It would be deadly to delay it,” he concluded. Kozyrev Holds News Conference on Bosnia LD2411152794 Moscow ITAR-TASS World Service in Russian 1427 GMT 24 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS diplomatic correspondents Andrey Serov and Andrey Shtorkh] {[FBIS Translated Text] Moscow, 24 November— Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Andrey Kozyrev has warned about the danger of “third forces” being drawn into the Bosnian conflict. At a meeting with journalists today he voiced the opinion that the Muslim side was deliberately provoking the Serbs in the hope of NATO strikes at the latter in response. “The Muslim side conducted the latest offensive obvi- ously calculating that it would succeed in dragging NATO, outside third forces, into the conflict on its side, persuade people to lift the embargo on deliveries of arms and, most important of course, secure air strikes,” the head of the Russian foreign policy department said. At the same time, he noted, the main reason for the continuing confrontation is the Bosnian Serbs’ not agreeing to accept the peace settlement plan proposed by the “contact group.” This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 The Bosnian and Krajina Serbs, A.Kozyrev indicated, are responding without restraint to the Muslims’ provo- cations, going outside “the reasonable framework of response” and “stepping every time on the same rakes.” As a result, the minister said, there is at present a danger of “‘a third force” being drawn into the armed forces. The “unrestrained escalation” now taking place had become an object of the concern of Russian diplomacy. “We would like to halt the logic of the war, and con- nected with this are our initiatives in the ‘Contact Group’, a session of which at the level of foreign minis- ters will be held at the beginning of December,” the minister said. “I hope that the meeting of the ‘Contact Group’ will send a clear signal that the international community is not for escalation of military confronta- tion but for a return to political methods.” Replying to an ITAR-TASS correspondent’s question, the minister said that at this meeting it is planned to discuss a number of proposals, conditionally pooled together under the title ‘Plan B’. The idea, he said, is to present, in addition to the ‘Geneva package’, a second plan which would exist paraliel to the first one. According to the authors of ‘Plan B’, it is due to help get out of the deadlock which was formed following the Bosnian Serbs’ refusal to adopt the “Geneva package’. This is an attempt to find the ‘next best’ way around it, to begin tackling other problems, and then to go back to solving the central question. “We believe that ‘Plan B’ contains the basis for discussion; it has elements worthy of attention and elements which give rise to very serious doubts”, A.Kozyrev said. Churkin on Possible Pullout From Yugoslavia MM2311200794 Moscow KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA in Russian 24 Nov 94 p 1 [Interview with Vitaliy Churkin, Russian ambassador to Brussels, by Ravil Zaripov under “Firsthand” rubric; date, place not given: “Russian ‘Blue Helmets’ May Leave Former Yugoslavia, Vitaliy Churkin Toid Us”’— first paragraph is introduction] {[FBIS Translated Text] We asked Vitaliy Churkin, for- merly the Russian president's special representative for the settlement of the Yugoslav crisis, who recently took up the post of Russian ambassador to Brussels, to comment on the situation that has developed since the NATO military action in Serb Krajina. {Churkin] I would like to remind you that NATO has a very limited remit in Bosnia and operates in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions. You can argue about the details but, strictly speaking. picking bones with NATO does not work today since the UN Security Council did give authorization. The NATO Council adopted the corresponding decisions and immediately briefed our embassy on this as the embassy of a perma- nent Security Council member country and one of the main participants in the settlement of the conflict. RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL A¥FAIRS 7 [Zaripov] We have information that the United States intends to train Bosnian troops and that even now specialists are at work there. What then is the point of the Contact Group’s activity? {[Churkin] A tremendous U.S.-European and even intra- NATO furor has blown up over this here in Brussels. But at the moment the Americans are categorically denying that anything is being done in this area. If the report is confirmed, this will not only undermine NATO unity but the Contact Group as well. [Zaripov] How do you assess the activity of tne UN forces? Maybe it would be better to send the “blue helmets” home and give the warring parties themselves the opportunity to achieve reconciliation? [Churkin] Officially the UN mission is not to .concile the sides but to provide the civilian population with humanitarian aid. At this moment withdrawing the UN troops would not be the best option. If it does all boil down to the sides’ unwillingness to make peace and insisting on the unchecked escalation of the conflict then of course the troops should leave. But in that case the conflicting parties and those who are helping them to continue the war by advocating the lifting of the embargo on arms shipments must bear the responsibility for everything. [Zaripov] If the United States does nonetheless unilater- ally lift the embargo on arms shipments to the Muslims, what should Russia’s response be, in your view?. [Churkin] In this case we should withdraw our UN battalion. And Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev has stated that publicly. The British and French are ready to act similarly with their contingents. I see this as another component of the European countries’ joint stance. Russia Not Satisfied With ‘Semi-Nuclear’ Status for Ukraine LD2411163994 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1421 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Russia and its Western partners in “the nuclear club”, the United States and Great Britain, will grant security guarantces to Ukraine only in the event that the ratification documents on Ukraine joining the NPT Treaty do not contain “reservations or ambiguities,” a top ranking official from the Russian Foreign Ministry said in an interview with Interfax on Thursday [24 November]. In his words, the resolution of Ukraine’s Supreme Soviet on Ukraine’s joining the NPT gives rise to many ques- tions. “It is not clear in what status, of a non-nuclear or as a kind of ’semi-nuclear“ power, Ukraine will join the NPT,” the diplomat said. He underlined that neither Russia nor its Western part- ners will be satisfied with Ukraine’s “semi-nuclear This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. status.” “If we agree to this we will legalize the posses- sion of the third largest number of nuclear warheads after Russia and ihe United States,” he said. Nevertheless, the diplomat hopes for “state wisdom” from Kiev, because it is “in its interests to remove all ambiguous and unclear wordings.” “In this case Ukraine can be granted guarantees, in Budapest on December 5-6, where the presidents of the Russian Federation, United States, Ukraine and British Prime Minster are to meet in the framework of the CSCE summit,” he said. Report on Ambassador Pickering’s Visit to Duma MM2511093794 Moscow IZVESTIYA in Russian 25 Nov 94 p 5 [Report by Sergey Chugayev: “U.S. Ambassador Prom- ises To Improve Visa Service for Russian Citizens”’] {FBiS Translated Text] The Consular Department of the U.S. Embassy in Russia plans to make substantial changes to its activity with a view to speeding up and simplifying the procedure for issuing visas to Russian citizens wishing to visit the United States. In particular, it is intended to employ the practice of written responses to questions instead of the mandatory interview with Consular Service personnel. U.S. Ambassador to Russia Pickering told your IZVESTIYA correspondent this fo!- lowing a conversation that he had at the State Duma with S. Yushenkov, chairman of the Duma Defense Committee. Mr. Pickering also announced plans to expand the Con- sulate’s premises in the hope that Russians waiting for visas will not freeze while waiting in line on the street. The Embassy has met with support from Moscow Mayor Yu. Luzhkov in resolving this problem, but everything is being held up by the sluggishness of the Russian Admin- istration for Servicing the Diplomatic Corps, the ambas- sador said. A number of recent moves by leading Russian parlia- mentarians in protest at the actions of the U.S. Consular Service in Moscow were the reason for the head of the U.S. Embassy’s visit to the Duma. Thus, after P. Grig- orenko, the son of the well-known rights defender, who wanted to visit his sick mother, was denied a visa, Human Rights Commissioner S. Kovalev said that he no longer wants to visit the United States. His example was soon followed by V. Lukin, chairman of the Duma Committee for International Affairs, and S. Yushenkov, chairman of the Duma Defense Committee. They aban- doned scheduled U.S. visits and said that they are suspending all contacts with U.S. citizens. This was how the heads of the two Duma committees responded to the fact that the U.S. State Department adopted a decision at the highest level to issue V. Zhirinovskiy with a visa at a time when the Duma is receiving numerous complaints from Russian citizens regarding the rudeness of U.S. consular officials and unwarranted refusals to grant visas (not so long ago, for RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 instance, a group of Russian children, mainly from children’s homes and boarding schools—-winners of the “Glass Slipper” Music Contest—werve subjected to humiliating checks, which by no means everyone passed). (Pickering confirmed that the LDPR [Liberal- Democratic Party of Russia] leader was issued with a visa on the personal orders of the U.S. secretary of state). The activity of the U.S. Embassy Consular Department has long since come to the attention of the Russian press. It is hard not to notice the long line of people standing outside the building on Sadovoye Koltso in all weathers. The Russian Foreign Ministry, parliament, and mass media editorial offices constantly receive complaints from our fellow citizens regarding what they consider to be the discrimination of Consulate officials and their insulting behavior. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, 400-500 people a day come to the Embassy’s Consular Department. And between 20 and 25 percent of the visa applicants are turned down. The promptness with which the U.S. ambassador responded to the clash by visiting the State Duma is evidence of his concern at the situation that has devel- oped. However, as I learned from the participants in the meeting, the ambassador by no means came empty- handed. According to Pickering, around 15 percent of the Russian citizens who receive short-term visas stay in the United States for good. And that forces Consulate officials to display particular vigilance. At times beyond what is reasonable. He promised to conduct an official investigation into the officials who have been the cause of complaints. What is more, it turns out that U.S. official organs are also receiving plenty of complaints from U.£. citizens who have clashed with our consular officials when obtaining Russian entry visas—they com- plain of slowness and are puzzled why the Russian Consulate requires an additional fee for speeding up the issuing of visas. Ambassador Pickering promised Yushenkov that he would petition the U.S. government to unilaterally intro- duce a more liberal procedure when it comes to pro- cessing Russian citizens’ entry to this country. The interlocutors also agreed to do everything they can to promote the conclusion of a consular agreement between Russia and the United States. At the end of the meeting S. Yushenkov told journalists that he is pleased with the results and is suspending his boycott of the United States. There is every indication that V. Lukin will do the same on his return from the Czech Republic. Kozyrev on Republican Congressional Elections Win LD2411173994 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1617 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] The Russian Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev thinks that the victory of Republicans This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 in the recent Congressional elections is most likely to add an element of toughness to the policies of the USA. At a Taursday [24 November] informal meeting in Moscow with Russian journalists covering international affairs he said his conclusions are based on certain statements by some Republican leaders who favor tougher measures, in particular in the Bosnian conflict. However, according to Kozyrev, a further analysis shows that “the devil might not be as bad as he is painted”. He described as very positive Moscow’s experience with the previous Republican administration. “We have a big field for working with the Congress, the Republicans and we are now actively dealing with this”, Kozyrev stressed. U.S. Congress Changes Not Mandate for ‘Foolhardiness’ MM 2511091394 Moscow TRUD in Russian 24 Nov 94 po6 [Article by correspondent Vissarion Sisnev: “Sunday Does not Come After Tuesday, Specially When It’s Black Tuesday”’] [FBIS Translated Excerpt] Washington—For all the talk in the runup to the midterm elections on 8 November that voters were “‘angrier than ever before,” only zbout 38 percent of the electorate actually turned out to vote, that is to say, roughly 75 million people voted while around 113 million stayed home. Although this is the best result at such elections since 1982, only by stretching a point can this vote be described as an expression of the popular will. However its outcome, I would remind you, ended the Democratic Party’s 40-year-long domination of Con- gress, while at the same time not a single Republican lost his seat. [passage omitted] It is essential that the president do something special if he wants to stay on for a second term. The presidential staff are reorganizing the work program, including legis- lative initiatives, in line with the new configuration of forces. In particular, according to the magazine U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT, Clinton “plans to focus more than ever before on international relations, where his presidential powers are very considerable.” It goes on to say that “unpleasantnesses may iie ahead for him.” Russia is acting increasingly tough toward the former Soviet republics and is issuing a challenge to U.S. policy vis-a-vis Yugoslavia, Iraq, and Iran and the admission of certain former USSR satellites to NATO. In response the administration is abandoning the ‘Russia first’ rule.“ Does this mean that matters are heading toward a worsening, if not an exacerbation, of American-Russian relations. After all, Moscow too does not rule out that this is possible with the advent of the Republicans to RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 9 power. To my question about this, an official whose post makes him very familiar with the problem answered as follows on condition that his anonymity be preserved: “It must not be forgotten that the White House’s present policy did not come about in a vacuum, the foundations of American-Russian relations were laid under the Republicans, Reagan and Bush. But they develop favor- ably only when there are joint efforts on both sides.” That is true, but even Moscow can understand when it hears that the most likely chairman of the Senate Foreigr Relations Committee, the right-wing Republican from North Carolina Jesse Helms, and kindred spirits are accusing the Clinton administration of “having been too soft on Russia since the outset” and saying that instead of troops being sent to Haiti they should have been sent to Cuba to overthrow Castro. A chill runs down one’s spine at such statements. And oil has also been poured on the flames by certain observers like, for example, ex-diplomat George Kennan, who wrote in the conser- vative WASHINGTON TIMES: “Clinton’s Russian friends are the same Russians who are seeking to expand the antidemocratic Russian empire again.” A now-familiar note is heard in such statements: We thought that the Russians would henceforth act only as we wished, but they.... Such a note did creep in even before, prior to the Republicans’ triumph, under the oid regime, as it were, including in statements by its repre- sentatives. It has to be hoped that this “disappointment” will not poison our relations with America and that Washington won't take up or, more accurately, revive the fashion of showing “toughness toward the disobe- dient Russians” implied in commentaries about “Amer- icans drifting toward the right.” The mandate on Black Tuesday was given for honesty, level-headedness, and farsightedness, not for foolhardiness and reckless talk. Kozyrev Favors Stronger Role for CSCE LD2411191094 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1701 GMT 24 Nov 94 [From the “Diplomatic Panorama” feature: By diplo- matic correspondents Aleksandr Korzun, Igor Porshnev, Yevgeniy Terekhov, and others] {[FBIS Transcribed Text] Russian Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev has said he would like the future CSCE Budapest summit on December 5-6 to make decisions that would enable this organization to “tackle such major issues as, for instance, the settlement in Nagorno- Karabakh.” “We support the CSCE’s stronger peacekeeping capabil- ities. The world is entering a situation when there will be quite possible real conflicts, not only that in Yugoslavia, rather than euphoria about an end to the East-West confrontation,” he pointed out. According to Kozyrev, “now Russia’s partners are starting to think why not to carry out a CSCE operation in Nagorno-Karabakh considering that the U.N. is This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 10 RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS already overloaded and there is reluctance to launch a U.N. operation.” “However, everyone proves to himself that the CSCE is simply unprepared for the task: there is no mechanism, financing, etc.,” he continued. Kozyrev said Moscow had “managed to convince its partners that the CSCE should not be thrown away as a cut-off slice.” “Both in the West and Central Europe there is what I call NATO centrism, NATO mania. Supporters of these ideas insist that the CSCE has exhausted itself and only such ’good institutions“ as NATO remained. I think we have managed to break the spine to such arguments,” he emphasized. UN Representative Lavrov Interviewed MM 2511110394 Moscow ROSSIYSKIYE VESTI in Russian 23 Nov 94 p 3 {Interview in New York with Sergey Lavrov, Russian Federation permanent representative to the United Nations, by Ilya Baranikas; date not given: “Instruc- tions—To Protect the Interests of the Motherland”]} [FBIS Translated Text] Sergey Lavrov, Russian Federa- tion permanent representative to the United Nations, has recently started work in New York. He had been Russian Federation deputy foreign minister since 1992. Our correspondent in the United States, Ilya Baranikas, spoke to him. [Baranikas] You worked in the Russian missior at the United Nations back in the years when it was the mission of the Soviet Union. Has the policy which the United States has been conducting in the United Nations changed in the years of your absence in New York? [Lavrov] Yes, to some extent it has changed, of course: During my first posting there, Reagan’s Republican administration was in power, whereas now the Demo- crats are occupying the White House. The Republicans only realized the need to use the United Nations more actively in the interests of their own foreign policy toward the end of their time in power, when the war in the Persian Gulf was beginning. But the Democrats were already speaking about it during the phase of Clinton’s election campaign. Today American diplomacy is operating very forcefully in the United Nations. I believe that this is right: A country which wants to protect its interests should be energetic. Although at the same time it should also be respectful toward others. We also try to operate like this. It does not always work. But that is entirely natural: I think that you can scarcely find any country’s mission at the United Nations which carries out all instructions from its capital successfully. [Baranikas] During the recent vote in the General Assembly on the question of removing the embargo on arms supplies to Bosnia, it is said that Madame Albright, FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, walkcd around the hall persuading delegates from var- ious countries to vote for this resolution. Is this a normal phenomenon? [Lavrov] Yes, entirely normal: After all. she was cam- paigning for this during the discussion, before the vote. If a question is of fundamental significance to your country, then such actions are entirely justified. [Baranikas] And as Russia’s permanent representative, would you act in the same way if the need arose? [Lavrov] Yes, of course, if it concerned an issue of great importance to my country. [Baranikas] During the vote on the Bosnian resolution, the Russian delegation abstained. The resolution was adopted by a majority of votes, but it is predicted that it will be rejected by the Security Council... [Lavrov] Of the 15 countries that belong to the Security Council, nine abstained during the vote at the General Assembly session, so the outcome of the vote in the Security Council can largely be predicted. Not just Russia, but a number of other countries are convinced that opening channels for supplying weapons to Bosnia will only add fuel the fire of internecine strife and cannot bring a political settlement to the conflict nearer. [Baranikas] In New York, apart from Russia’s perma- nent mission to the United States, there is also the Russian Federation Consulate General. People who are far-removed from international politics sometimes find it hard to see the difference between them. [Lavrov] We represent Russia’s interests in the United Nations, while the Consulate General concerns itself with bilateral U.S.-Russian relations as applied to New York. If, for instance, a government or parliamentary delegation arrives from Russia for bilateral talks with the Americans, then the program for its stay is prepared by the Consulate General; it provides the delegation with transportation, reserves hotels, and so on. But if some Russian representatives arrive in order to participate in UN events, then the Russian Permanent Mission at the United Nations deals with them. Consular matters (visas, passports, and other things) come under the sphere of activity of the Consulate General. Ties with compatriots abroad are also formally its business. But we do not stand aloof either. An exhibition of sculptures by Ernst Neizvestnyy was organized in the permanent mis- sion building this year, and now you can see Mikhail Shemyakin’s pictures there... If any Russians living in America appeal to us with their problems, we do not pass the buck, we try to help. [Baranikas] What problems connected with the United Nations does Russia consider to be a priority? [Lavrov] Today our country is paying particular atten- tion to two spheres in the activity of the United Nations—peacekeeping and socioeconomic activity. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 Peacekeeping primarily because we need stability on the perimeter of our borders. We are interested in stability in more distant areas of the world too. It would be good if less money was spent on UN peacekeeping operations. A tota! of $3.5 billion a year on peacekeeping forces is an enormous sum. And furthermore these operations are not always effective—look at Somalia... Incidentally, we expressed doubts when that operation was only just beginning. But our position was not supported at that time. The second group of priorities is Russia's economic interests. We are interested in making the programs adopted by the General Assembly and the UN Economic and Social Council, which envisage UN support to countries with a transitional economy, more specific. One of the UN projects for Russia, and there is a whole series of them, concerns the development of democratic institutions and administrative structures. This project is being elaborated with the participation of Russian government departments, the parliament, and the regions. We are also trying to reduce Russia’s expenditure on participation in the United Nations—contributions into its regular budget and particularly for peacekeeping operations. Our payments have already been reduced as compared with the USSR’s contributions. The UN Com- mittee on Contributions has made a recommendation on the subsequent reduction of our financial participation to 4.5 percent of the UN budget. [Baranikas] What about Russia’s debt to the United Nations, which constitutes $600 million? [Lavrov] We are paying it off gradually. In the near future we are waiting for a decision from Moscow on the schedule for paying off debts. Things are difficult for Russia now, but these are not debts which can be put off till better times. [Baranikas] You are not a new recruit in the United Nations. What is the main difference in your present working conditions and working conditions in former times? [Lavrov] It is true that I worked here 1981 through 1988 in the mission’s economic department as first secretary, aide, senior aide, and then head of the economic advi- sory board. And before New York, I was in the USSR Foreign Ministry International Economic Organizations Department. This time I am going to have to be involved not only in economics, but also in all international problems: In my post I represent the country in the United Nations Security Council, the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Ceuncil, and other UN organs which meet in session in New York. The lion’s share of the work will be taken up by work in the Security Council. As far as any changes in the working conditions are concerned, then these are fairly substantial and have made our lives perceptibly easier. RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 11 A great many contrived restrictions, which used to regulate the activity of and visits by our diplomats ficre, have been abolished. Every staffer at the Russian mis- sion is now free to decide for himself how and where he will spend his weekend or vacation. Russians who work abroad can travel to third countries. You can now invite relatives from Russia with no restrictions: In the past, only husbands, wives, and minors were allowed to visit. We can now send our children to American schools, which was banned in the past. [Baranikas] Do you remember how the Soviet colony’s primary party organization, which for some reason was disguised and called a “trade union” organization, used to operate? [Lavrov] Yes, and the trade union organization was conspiratorially called a “local committee,” while the Communist Youth League was called a “sports” organi- zation... These absurdities no longer exist, just as UN specialists who are Russian citizens and work in a personal capacity in various UN organs no longer have to “voluntarily” give up part of their earnings. In the past their wages were “trimmed” to the general Soviet level, and they were made equal in material terms with Soviet diplomats at various levels. All this has disap- peared without a ‘race, but certain restrictions still exist on the American side. [Baranikas] For example? [Lavrov] In the past all Soviet diplomats had to inform the U.S. authorities three days in advance if they were going to leave the 25-mile (40 km) zone around the city center. This procedure was supposed to disappear in accordance with an agreement between the United States and Russia. But for the time being, these restrictions are only removed for diplomats of aide rank and higher. There is no logic to be found here. CIS Kurd Urges Mediation Between Turkey, Kurds LD2311152094 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1406 GMT 23 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Representative of Kurdistan’s Nationa! Liberation Front in the CIS Akhmed Dere urged the Russian president and government “to act as a mediator and peacemaker in the conflict between the Kurdish movement and Turkey.” He told a press conference in Moscow that Russia, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, must play a more central role in the settlement of the Kurdish problem, because “‘it’s borders are near the conflict zone, because it is linked with Kurds by traditional and historical bonds, and because more than | million Kurds live in the CIS.” Dere told Interfax that “Kurds have friends” in the Russian parliament and other government bodies, “who This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 12 RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS are deeply concerned about Turkey’s activity on part of the former Soviet Union’s territory.” Speaking about the attitude of the Front leaders to the plans for building an oil pipeline from Azerbaijan to Turkey, Dere said that “the Front is strong enough to prevent any work done without due account taken of the national interests of the actual owners of this land.” He also said that in the opinion of the Kurdish leaders, the “Caspian project” is a manifestation of the “pan-Turkic plans.” Minister, Iranian Ambassador Discuss Cooperation LD2311151894 Tehran IRNA in English 1342 GMT 23 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Moscow, Nov. 23. IRNA— Russian minister for nationalities and regional policies, Nikolay Yegorov here Wednesday [23 November] emphasized the need for expansion of relations and cooperation between Iran and Russia in all areas. In a meeting with Iranian ambassador to Moscow, Mehdi Safari, Yegorov said that bilateral relaiions date back to the 16th century. He said that Tehran and Moscow enjoy friendly relations with mutual respect adding that bilateral relations have been enjoying an upward trend. The volume of trade between the two states in 1992 and 1993 indicated growth in muiual cooperation, Yegorov said. Safari referred to the historical bonds between the two nations and described Tehran-Moscow relations as excellent. Iranian envoy said that greater cooneration between the two countries especially in the field of energy, power plants and mines and metals were among the objectives of his mission in Russia. Duma Chairman Rybkin Receives Chinese Parliamentarians MM2311160394 Moscow ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA in Russian 23 Nov 94 First Edition p 1 [Report from the ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA/ ITAR-TASS column: “Parliamentarians Meet’’} [FBIS Translated Text] Topical issues of bilateral rela- tions between Russia and China were discussed at a meeting yesterday between State Duma Chairman Ivan Rybkin and a delegation from the Chinese National People’s Congress Sino-Russian Friendship Group. At the meeting the sides voiced their mutual conviction that the strengthening of friendship between the two neighboring peoples and the development of interparlia- mentary contacts is very important not only for the two countries but for the preservation of peace in the Asia- Pacific region. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 Japan Postpones Repayment of Russian Debts LD2511121894 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 1141 GMT 25 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS diplomatic correspondent Nikolay Ger- onin] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Moscow November 25 TASS— The Russian side has had talks with Japanese represen- tatives to postpone the repayment of Russian debts, and Japan, as member of the “Paris Club”, has decided to satisfy this request. Tokyo has made this decision in keeping with the agreement reached within the frame- works of the “Paris Club” last June to sign by November 30 all the necessary bilateral documents with Russia, putting off the repayment of its debts, ITAR-TASS was told today at the Russian Finance Ministry. The corre- sponding Russo-Japanese agreement is to be signed together with other documents during Russian Vice- Premier Oleg Soskovets’ upcoming visit to Japan, sched- uled for November 27. Japanese officials have announced in Tokyo on Thursday that the Japanese Government had decided to put off the repayment of Russian debts to Japanese trade companies, amounting to 180 million dollars, which had to be paid back in 1994. Moscow will apparently have to begin repaying this sum two years and nine months from now, and to complete it within a period of thirteen years. Delegation To Develop Trade, Economic Ties in Japan LD2411174794 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 1627 GMT 24 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Oleg Velichko] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Moscow November 24 TASS— Documents which a government delegation of the Rus- sian Federation is planning to sign in the course of its official visit to Japan will become the foundation for the development of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. This was stated here today by Oleg Soskovets, first deputy premier of Russia, at a meeting with Jiro Kawake [name as received], chairman of the Japanese-Russian Committee for Economic Cooperation. The first deputy premier considers the processing of Russian raw materials with the use of Japanese technol- ogies to be the most perspective form of bilateral rela- tions. Russia is seeking to process timber more qualitatively with the aim of its further sale at the world market. With that end in view, it is necessary to resolve the problem of the double taxation at the government level, Oleg Sosk- ovets noted. According to him, “Russia proposes to conclude a cor- responding agreement but the Japanese side refuses to do this referring to the absence of a peaceful treaty” between the two countries. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 Oleg Soskovets also spoke for the adoption of a Russo- Japanese agreement envisaging preferential tariffs for cargo transportation across the border. “Russia is pre- pared for cooperation taking into account the interests of Western companies including Japanese firms,” he stressed. Jiro Kawake regards the present state of the Russian economy as a transitional one. Under these conditions, he believes, direct contacts among enterprises are impor- tant. Japanese business circles are pinning particular hopes on two projects: The development of timber resources in the Russian Far East and deliveries of Japanese equipment for this purpose, as well as the implementation of the 1991 agreement on the develop- ment of the Sakhalin shelf. It was noted at the meeting that the success of the second project depended on the adoption by the State Duma of a law on the division of products to be extracted. Russia Involved in Japanese Space Rocket Project LD2411163694 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1421 GMT 24 Nov 94 {[FBIS Transcribed Text] The Japanese space rocket M-3S2 will put in space a ballistic research capsule of Russian manufacture early next year. The “Express” capsule containing research instruments of the Japanese Space and Astronautics Institute and the German space agency Deutsche Aerospace AG is to be launched in mid-January. The Express project (Experimental Re-entry Space System) is being carried out under a bilateral German- Japanese space cooperation agreement and among other things, will probe into the effects of micro-gravitation on various systems. Under the agreement the sides divided duties - Germany undertook to provide a capsule by signing a DM12- million-contract (about 7.5 million dollars) with the Khrunichev State Research-Industrial Center in Russia, and Japan - to put the capsule in space with the M-3S2 rocket of the Japanese space and astronautics institute. The Japanese rocket will put the capsule in an elliptic orbit between 270 kilometers (perigee) and 380 kilome- ters (apogee). After a series of experiments in orbit the capsule will return to Earth near town of Woomera, in Australia and then be moved to Bremen, Germany, for data analysis. In case the Russian capsule is used successfully the Khrunichev industrial center will be commissioned to make an Express-2 for the European rocket Ariane-5. Soskovets Visit to Japan Previewed MM2511102994 Moscow IZVESTIYA in Russian 25 Nov 94 p 3 [Report by Sergey Agafonov: “Soskovets Going to Japan as Chief Economist’”’] RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 13 [FBIS Translated Text] Tokyo—Thanks to the efficiency and caustic attitude of Japanese reporters—who enjoy copious news leaks from official Japanese depart- ments—the veil of secrecy covering virtually everything about the forthcoming visit to Tokyo by a Russian Government superdelegation headed by Oleg Soskovets has been lifted. The Japanese general public are already aware that the culmination of the visit will be the signing of a joint document and the institution a new structure with the high-sounding name “Intergovernmental Commission for Trade and Economic Issues”; Soskovets will be asking for an increase in the line of credit from the Export-Import Bank of Japan to $540 million for four Russian projects, but the Japanese are unlikely to pro- vide more than $400 million; the Russian side will also be insisting on the Japanese Government allocating funds to insure Japanese companies’ operations in the Russian market, while the Japanese will be insisting on the problem of the repayment of Russian debts being cleared up. It should be noted that the details of Soskovets’ “‘confi- dential working meetings” with Japanese Ambassador Watanabe in Moscow—meetings that have become a regular event over the past few months—have been covered in great detail by the Japanese press, and, consequently, we know that our first vice premier is very much counting on continuing to be the “main econo- mist” during the visit and avoiding discussing ticklish political topics such as, primarily, the territorial problem. KYODO reports that this matter was discussed at Sosk- ovets’ latest meeting with Ambassador Watanabe Tuesday. Also discussed were the prospects for Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev’s visit to Tokyo next January, although, insofar as we are aware, Soskovets’ job does not include being in charge of Kozyrev. Incidentally, there may be quite a simple explanation for this point— KYODO notes that the first deputy premier and the ambassador agreed that political problems would be discussed with the Japanese by the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, and this obviously means that the first vice premier will retain responsibility for economic matters. As a theoretical plan this division of labor could only be welcomed, were it not for the stroke of bad luck of Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Kunihiko Saito’s stating that, although the Japanese side recognizes Sos- kovets’ economic specialization, this by no means implies that the territorial issue will be put to one side during his visit to Japan. One thing is reassuring and encouraging—the busy schedule of business meetings facing the Russian delega- tion will not be long and exhausting, since the program has been constructed on the principle that “once the job’s done you can let your hair down.” It became clear today that the special aircraft carrying Soskovets and his entourage will arrive in Tokyo around noon on Sunday, This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 14 RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS and the main documents relating to the visit will be signed on a very tight schedule—just six hours after the guests land, at 1710 Tokyo time the same day. Monday will be spent on brief meetings between the delegation head and the Japanese premier and ministers of finance, foreign affairs, and trade and industry. On Tuesday morning Soskovets will give a lecture at the Keidanren (Federation of Japanese Industrialists), after lunch he will attend a press conference on the work done in the last day and a bit, and he will then immediately set off on a tour of the country that will last tii December and be pleasant in every respect. On the eve of the delegation’s arrival there were exten- sive rumors that the Moscow Motor Vehicle Plant named for the Lenin Komsomol—which has been in a difficult position for some time now—will gradually be put back on its feet thanks to an agreement with Peugeot of France and Toyota of Japan. The inclusion in the Russian Government delegation of the president of the “AZLK” Joint-Stock Company seems to indirectly confirm these rumors and gives rise to expectations of a major pleasant surprise. There is only one cloud on the horizon—the thundering silence from the Japanese side, which, as a rule, always gives its general audience advance warning, either through hints or minor “leaks,” about major deals that are in the offing. So as not to languish in ignorance, the IZVESTIYA bureau in Tokyo appealed direct to Toyota Headquarters and, a few days later, received a written reply from Toyota comprising two subject headings. The first, entitled ““On the Toyota Business in Russia,” notes that 3,800 assembled Toyotas were exported from Japan to Russia in 1993, whereas only 1,300 had been exported in the first nine months of this year. The most popular Toyotas in the Russian market are the Land Cruiser jeep and the Hiace minibus, followed closely by the Carina and Corolla compacts. The Japanese com- pany is devoting a great deal of attention to organizing a network of own-brand technical service centers in Russia and the CIS countries—there are already 12 such centers in the biggest regional centers, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Tashkent, and Kiev. The second section of Toyota’s written reply—headed ““New Directions” is emphatically laconic. It states that, despite the rumors circulating about Toyota taking part in the modernization of the AZLK, the corporation has no such plans at the present time, and the question of investing in Russian car plants does not arise. The potential new export markets for this mighty car corporation include only one country as an indisputable priority—China. For China Toyota has developed a prototype “new family car,” completed a plan for the construction of several plants and assembly shops, and worked out a phased timetable for investment. The president of Toyota and all the members of the Japanese FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 supercompany’s board have already visited China sev- eral times. None of them have as yet been to Russia, as far as we are aware. The second “convoy” of Japanese humanitarian aid to the disaster-stricken Kuril Islands has left for Russia. While it transpired for the umpteenth time that Mos- cow’s promises to help the South Kurils, which were hit by an earthquake, was another bluff—giving rise to many rhetorical questions such as “‘where is the govern- ment aid for the stricken population?” and “where is the money?”’—Japan has been continuing to do real work. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Kojo Igarashi stated that this time Japanese aid worth 45 million yen ($450,000) will be delivered to the islands, including kerosene heaters and compact stoves. Moreover, human- itarian cargo worth 82 million yen ($820,000) will be sent to the Russian islanders through the local authori- ties and social organizations on Hokkaido Island. The misfortune that befell the populace of the South Kurils has been taken very much to heart on Hokkaido— a special “stricken islanders’ rescue fund” has even been set up. This fund has collected more than 7 million yen in private contributions in the past month alone. DPRK Delegation Promotes Economic Relations in Far East SK2511062294 Moscow Voice of Russia World Service in Korean 1200 GMT 24 Nov 94 [From “Various Aspects of Cooperation” program] [FBIS Translated Text] As has already been reported, a delegation of the DPRK External Economy Commission has recently visited Russia’s Far East regions. Observers view that the delegation’s visit was designed to actively vitalize bilateral economic relations between the two countries’ borderline regions. We will hear from the Russian media on how they assess the results of DPRK delegation’s visit to Russia’s Far East regions: Due to the differences of opinion over the distribution of profits between the two countries, the DPRK-Russian agreement on jointly developing forestry of Siberia region has been deadlocked and, thus, inflicted heavy damage on bilateral economic relations. In order to break the stalemated situation, a DPRK delegation consisting of experts from various economic fields, visited Russia’s Far East regions. Led by Han Su-kil, vice chairman of the DPRK External Econemic Commission, the delegation inspected the Maritime Kray, the Amur Oblast, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, and the Sakhalin Oblast. While regional reporters did not provide details on the results of talks between the DPRK delegation and This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 regional administrative officials, Han Su-kil, the head of the delegation, assessed the visit as being very produc- tive. In the Sakhalin Oblast, the delegation agrecd with the regional fishery bureau’s officials on joint efforts in fishing. Since joint cooperation will surely bring about a large amount of profits, this region’s administrative officials hurriedly left for Moscow to get government approval for additional fishing quotas. In the Maritime Kray, the DPRK delegation inked an agreement and a protocol of cooperation with the region’s administrative representatives. Accordingly, joint-venture companies in the fields of light industry, shipbuilding industry, coal and excavation industry, and the construction of houses will be set up in the Maritime Kray in the near future. The two sides have also agreed to establish a representative office of the DPRK Admin- istration Council in Viadivostok early next year. The representative office is expected to control businesses between Korean firms and joint-venture firms that are slated to be opened in the seashore of Russia’s Pacific region. In the Amur Oblast and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, the DPRK delegation has concluded an agreement to promote cooperation in the agricultural production sector. According to the Jewish Autonomous Oblast’s vice administrative officer (Viktor Krevich), the DPRK delegation’s visit is of significance in the fact that the DPRK has signed an agreement based on (?foreign currency trade), and not non- foreign currency transac- tion trade,. Summing up the result of his visit, the delegation head stressed that Pyongyang will further promote amicable relations with these regions in the future. OPEC Hopes Russian Exports Will Be Curbed by Severe Winter MM2511092194 Moscow IZVESTIYA in Russian 24 Nov 94 p 3 [Report by Boris Vinogradov: “Tropical Jakarta Hopes for a Severe Winter in Russia’’] {FBIS Translated Text] Whereas gasoline-starved Moscow is looking for opportunities to increase Russia’s oil exports, OPEC countries in Jakarta have agreed to freeze their own production and maintain it at its current level for the whole of 1995, putting on sale no more than 24.52 million barrels per day. If they succeed in doing so, and none of the 12 main exporters breaks its commitments, a marked growth of prices is to be expected on the world oil market this winter—possibly to $21 per barrel, against the current price of $17 per barrel. Such is the conclusion reached by experts analyzing OPEC’s decision. RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 15 At the same time it is noted that current trends are moving in favor of Russia, which remains the third largest oil-producer after Saudi Arabia and the United States. This, despite the fact that overall production und consumptior within the country is in free fall. Thus while Russia produced 354 million tonnes of oil in 1993, it produced only 310 million tonnes in 1994. However, the meagerness of our own oil share is not stopping Russians from increasing exports. Whiie in 1993 the “Transneft” company overtook the maximum level reached by the former Unior by 82.7 million tonnes, this year it has increased that figure to 84 million tonnes. The rate of growth is to some decree secured at the expense of our Commonwealth partners. In the current year CIS countries have received from Russia not 48 million tonnes, as was the case last year, but only 30 million. At a recent conference Vice Premier Oleg Soskovets demanded that several more Russian companies be given access to the export oil pipelines. No one knows what limits exports could reach. In this situation OPEC countries are warily watching to see that Russia, which possesses the potential to create panic and chaos on the oil exchanges, does not upset their plans. At any rate, at the demand of Libya and Qatar the conference in Jakarta provided for the option of a six-month freeze if Russia and the North Sea oil-producing countries take no active measures to cap- ture the market. True, some participants in the Jakarta meeting hope that a severe winter and the threat of a freeze in the northern territories will prevent Russia’s “oi! kings” from doing so. In this they rely on weather forecasts predicting severe cold spells in regions near the Arctic Circle. One participant in the conference said that only a cold winter will restrain the Russians and allow us [OPEC] to obtain the prices which existed at the height of the 1990 crisis in the Persian Gulf. Gazporm Blames Ukraine for Bulgaria, Turkey Gas Shortages LD2411181694 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1625 GMT 24 Nov 94 [(“INTERFAX-UKRAINE” news item] {[FBIS Transcribed Text] Supplies of Russian gas to Bulgaria and Turkey have been reduced because Ukraine is taking part of the gas intended for these countries, a spokesman for the Russian Gazprom joint-stock com- pany told Interfax. As a result, Gazprom has to deliver to Ukraine 20 million cu m [cubic meters] of gas per day more than contracted. According to the Gazprom source, Bulgaria not long ago received about 3 million cu m of gas less than it should in a 24-hour period, and Turkey - about 4 million cu m This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 16 RUSSIA INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS less. He remarked, however, that Bulgaria also takes “‘as much gas as it needs,” although it has a large gas supply debt to Gazprom. Russian gas is transported to Turkey via Ukraine, Mold- ova, and Bulgaria. Interruptions in gas supplies to Bulgaria and Turkey began about a week ago. “Gazprom has been showered with cables from Turkey demanding an increase in gas deliveries to this country,” the source said. Pacific Nuclear Pollution Conference Planned MM2411122394 Moscow IZVESTIYA in Russian 24 Nov 94 p 4 [Report by Natalya Ostrovskaya: “Submerged Subma- rine Reactors Sena Out ‘SOS””] {[FBIS Translated Text] Vladivostok—Thanks to the notorious liquid radioactive waste and its discharge into the Sea of Japan what specialists consider to be the far more real problem of solid radioactive waste contami- nation in the northern Pacific Ocean and the three Far East seas has remained in the background. This waste is made up of the products obtained from recycling [utilizatsiya] nuclear submarines plus the waste products from Japanese and U.S. nuclear power stations which are buried at sea. A letter from U.S. scientists at the Center for Research into the Problem of Nuclear Waste (Mississippi) to the Far East Branch of the International Green Cross envi- ronmental organization in Vladivostok provides con- vincing evidence that there is a problem. It says that the Japanese-Russian-U.S. group set up to resolve the problem of dumping nuclear waste in the Seas of Japan and Okhotsk and the Arctic Ocean will meet 12-13 January next year at the Gulf Coast Hotel, Mississippi. Representatives of the Far East’s Green Cross who have information regarding the problem of the contamination of the Sea of Japan are invited to attend. Evidently the people who wrote the letter to Vladivostok are interested in more detailed, thorough information than that which they have at the moment. Thanks to the efforts of one member of the international group of experts, Professor Aleksey Yablokov, chairman of the Russian Federation Interdepartmental Commission for Environmental Safety, figures that, for all that they are general, are truly shocking are known. Thus, the message to the people of Vladivostok says that during the “Cold War” the Russians discharged 2.5 million curies of radioactive waste, twice the official figure. Some of this ““dose”’ is to be found in the 18 nuclear reactors that were dumped in the sea along with their fuel. The already complex environmental situation is aggravated by the Pacific currents, thanks to which, the scientists write, the nuclear waste dumped by the Russians “floats” toward Alaska. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 Green Cross Regional Coordinator Aleksandr Malyshev regards the involvement of the people of the Far East in the meeting on the problems of nuclear wasie in Missis- Sippi as one step toward the implementation of this project. Aleksandr Malyshev said that oceanologists, ecologists, and representatives of the Pacific Fleet will leave for the United States. U.S. Interest in Russian Rockets, Launching Complexes Noted LD2411111694 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 0741 GMT 24 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Aleksandr Pakhomov] {[FBIS Transcribed Text] New York November 24 TASS—The United States plans to modernise its obso- lete carrier-rocket launchers with the help of Russian experts. The Americans are displaying particular interest in the automated launching complexes, developed by the Moscow transport machine-building designing bureau for “Zenit” and “Tsiklon” carrier-rockets. A representative of the U.S. Air Force recently attended the launching of a “Zenit” rocket from the Baykonur Cosmodrome to check the effectiveness of these com- plexes. “‘We were amazed by the simplicity and effi- ciency of preparations to launch the Zenit’, an unnamed high-ranking representative of the U.S. Air Force told the magazine “AVIATION WEEK AND SPACE TECH- NOLOGY”. “Nobody had to be on the launching plat- form, because everything was done automatically, including the placing of the carrier-rocket in the vertical position, its connection to the supply systems, and the launching proper.” Specialists of the Russian designing bureau are currently visiting the Cape Canaveral cosmodrome in Florida at the invitation of the ““Martin-Marietta” corporation to check the possibility of modernising “Atlas” launching complexes and eventually the launching facilities for the most powerful American “Titan” rocket. “Too much time is being spent in the United States to prepare the launching, and we hope to cut it down by means of Russian technologies,” Robert Ford, one of the man- agers of the ““Martin-Marietta” corporation, noted. The corporation’s engineers, as well as representatives of the U.S. Air Force, were staggered by the fact that the “Zenit” launching complex took only five hours to get ready for the next start. In addition to launching complexes, the “‘Martin- Marietta” is also interested in Russian rocket engines. It plans to install them on modernised “Atlas” rockets. The idea of manufacturing such engines in the United States is now being considered. The corporation recently pur- chased in Russia several hundred litres of kerosene, which proved to be better than the American as regards density and other characteristics. The ‘*Martin- Marietta” plans to put it to several tests with a view to using this kerosene in “Atlas” launching engines“. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 Political Affairs Yeltsin Continues to Reduce Staff LD2511121194 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 1143 GMT 25 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Moscow November 25 TASS— Russian President Boris Yeltsin continues to reduce his apparatus. In accordance with a presidential decree received by ITAR-TASS today, the information and technical center of analytical developments and a group of experts will be included into the composition of the analytical center under the president and its staff will be reduced no less than by 20 per cent. Zhirinovskiy Ready To Form Bloc With Communists LD2411201194 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 1946 GMT 24 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Evald Kessariyskiy] {[FBIS Transcribed Text] Nizhnyy Novgorod November 24 TASS—Vladimir Zhirinovskiy, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), visited Nizhnyy Novgorod on Thursday to meet Governor Boris Nemtsov, known as a prominent reform champion and practitioner. Zhirinovskiy also met voters of the city’s major industrial district. Speaking to over 2,000 people, he said he is ready to block with former vice-president and Yeltsin's opponent Aleksandr Rutskoy, Commu- nists and the Agrarian Party “for the sake of Russia’s escaping the wreck.” Although this is the fourth visit of Zhirinovskiy to the Nizhnyy Novgorod region in the last five months, this is the first time when Nemtsov agreed to receive him. The meeting was held behind closed doors, with no reporters present. After the meeting, Zhirinovskiy told TASS ““Nemtsov is bringing the country to collapse,” while Nemtsov referred to Zhirinovskiy’s conduct as “populism, nothing more.” Nemtsov said he suggested that Zhiri- novskiy refuse from running for the presidency. ““Then this will be actually a victory of democracy. I guess the people will not give him as much credit as a year ago,” Nemtsov said referring to Zhirinovskiy’s winning scores at the December 1993 parliamentary elections. Rutskoy Claims To Have Widespread Support LD2511173194 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1602 GMT 25 Nov 94 {[FBIS Transcribed Text] Former vice president, cur- rently leader of the patriotic movement Derzhava Aleksandr Rutskoy has said that after his trips to 14 regions of Russia the number of his movement’s ranks exceeded 800,000 people. RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS 17 Speaking before the public of Vologda, he pointed out he will visit all the other regions of Russia before the next presidential elections. Rutskoy is confident that by the beginning of the election campaign he will be able to create a strong movement to guide patriotic forces to power in a legal way. Ecological ‘Cedar’ Movement Becomes Party MK2411121094 Moscow SEGODNYA in Russian 24 Nov 94 p 3 [Report by Irina Vladykina from Yekaterinburg under the “Organizational Party Development” rubric: ““Cedar’ Is Making Second Attempt”’] {[FBIS Translated Text] The “Cedar” constructive- ecological movement, which came into being before the elections for the Federal Assembly late in 1993, has turned into an ecological “Cedar” party. The founding congress of this party was held in Yekaterinburg with messages of greetings coming from Arkadiy Volskiy, Ivan Silayev, and leaders of the Federation of Indepen- dent Trade Unions of Russia. Anatoliy Panfilov, who heads the party, believes that in addition to the educational work with directors of enter- prises and the population, it will be able to deal directly with nature conservation agencies and ecological inspec- tion services. Last year’s failure (the movement fell short by 5 percent of the required votes, for which reason it is not repre- sented in the State Duma) does not deter the organizers of the party. They intend to campaign against practices where finances come from separate ecological public organizations from Russia and other countries, and to establish a unified independent ecological fund. Academician Aleksey Yablokov, a leader of the new party, stated at the congress that the ‘““Green”’ movement today has two strategies: one is a sharp politicization, and the other is avoiding all politics, which may result in a split. Aleksey Yablokov told your SEGODNYA corre- spondent that for more than a decade “‘Cedar”’ has been drawing a skeptical attitude from many public organiza- tions devoted to environmental protection, both because they lay claim to being the leader in the ecology move- ment, and because of the new party’s undisguised con- nection with state-run and commercial structures. ‘Life-Time’ Mufti Tajuddin on Russia’s Moslems LD2411112594 Moscow INTERFAX in English 0625 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Talgat Tajuddin said he still believed himself to be the Supreme Mufti and Chairman of the Central Spiritual Department of Moslems of Russia and the CIS European Countries as he had been elected to this post for a life-time. He told a press conference in Moscow today that the emergency congress of the Central Sjiritual Department This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 18 RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS of Moslems of Russia and the CIS European Countries in Ufa (Bashkortostan) on November | was “self-styled.” The congress in Ufa dismissed Tajuddin from his both posts. Tajuddin said he could be replaced on his post only if he died or if he quitted Islam. He stressed that his adver- saries would never see him doing either of the two things. The powers of Tajuddin were confirmed by the depart- ment’s presidium, muftis of the Middle Volga Region, Tatarstan, the Rostov, St.Petersburg, Sverdlovsk and other Russian regions who were fresent at the press conference. Tajuddin said the split in the Central Spiritual Depart- ment of Moslems of Russia and the CIS European Countries was a result of activities of foreign Moslem organizations and fundamentalist foundations based in Arab countries. He warned against fanning discord between Russian Moslems of different ethnic belonging. He said if Islam was opposed to other confessions this could trigger off a conflict similar to that in ex- Yugoslavia. Tajuddin blamed the Bashkir authorities for interfering into affairs of the religious community. He said tnat in particular the Council on Religions under the Bashkir government had approved the decisions of the congress. He said that as a result the bank accounts of the Central Spiritual Department of Moslems had been frozen and could be transferred to pretenders. He said he expected the office of the Central Spiritual Department of Mos- lems in Ufa to be captured. Tajuddin, a Tatar, 46 years old, was elected the Chairman of the Central Spiritual Department of Mos- lems of Russia and the CIS European Countries in 1992. DPR Demands Report on Social Accord Treaty MM2511130994 Moscow ROSSIYSKIYE VESTI in Russian 23 Nov 94 p 2 [Commentary by Lyubov Tsukanova: “The Treaty Is For the Conciliation of Interests, Not for the Purpose of Blackmail’’] [FBIS ranslated Text] The Democratic Party of Russia [DPR] National Council and the DPR faction in the State Duma have demanded the immediate convocation of the Civil Accord Assembly in order for the federal organs of power to report on the fulfillment of the commitments which they undertook in the Treaty on Social Accord. In the opinion of the faction’s leaders, the government is not keeping its promises, the socioeco- nomic situation in the country is deteriorating, and hence at its next congress the party could raise the question of removing its signature from the treaty. For all the scepticism of a significant part of society toward the treaty, this statement attests at least to the fact that the Treaty on Social Accord has become a real FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 factor in political life which is recognized and appealed to, not only by its initiators, but also by the moderate opposition. The treaty has been in force for more than six months, and in this time, Arkadiy Voiskiy, leader of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs {[RUIE], said at a press conference last Friday [19 November], “We cannot fail to note that there has been something of a lull.”” The RUIE leader is not convinced that this “lull” will last long, but that the country got through the summer and fall relatively calmly is a fact which cannot be denied. While not considering the treaty to be a panacea against all political storms, Arkadiy Volskiy is nevertheless convinced that work to create conciliation mechanisms and procedures must be con- tinued. But there is another fact which it is impossible to deny: There has been no let-up in attempts to undermine the process of conciliation in society. The DPR is by no means the first “signatory” to use its signature to the treaty to put pressure on the authorities. Mark Masar- skiy, one of the leaders of the ‘“roundtable’—the Rus- sian Federation President's Public Chamber—and a member of the conciliation commission, believes that “intimidation is an improper method,” especially since it is ineffective: Retracting their signature does not mean that, after seceding from the treaty, the “‘apostates” will employ different methods. However, it is necessary to acknowledge another fact also: Attacks on the treaty by its participants objectively reinforce the prestige of the irreconcilable opposition, which does not recognize the conciliation process and has been recently stepping up its statements on the need to change the “regime.” Arkadiy Volskiy is right in saying that accords make sense only if they are fulfilled. Those who say that, fully or partially, the government has not fulfilled the majority of its commitments under the treaty are, alas, also right. But it is also a fact that the agreement is being badly fulfilled by all sides—by parliament, which has still not adopted a number of fundamental acts of the first importance; by entrepreneurs, who often, in Mark Kasarskiy’s words, behave “antinationally”; and by political chiefs and public organization leaders, who have “lobbed” into the public arena the ideas of early elections, or, on the contrary, of extending the term of the existing organs of power. When not only the Com- munists, but also “Yabloko” leader Grigoriy Yavlinskiy talk about early presidential elections, this means that ideas of a rule-of-law state are still just so much hot air, not only for those who have never accepted them, but also for some democrats. It is one thing when the Communists ignore the Constitution: The statement by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation pub- lished recently in PRAVDA and SOVETSKAYA ROSSIYA is only a continuation of their policy. It is another thing when leaders pretending to independence and parading their adherence to democratic principles begin to play someone else's tune. At any rate, this has already given Gennadiy Zyuganov the right to assume that leaders of the other democratic organizations will This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 follow Yavlinskiy in demanding early elections. It gives Petr Romanov, member of the Federation Council—a “leading light of the opposition”—the right to state already today that he is ready to take on responsibility for the country, either as president or as premier. There is nothing terrible in the fact that political forces are seeking power—that is normal for a democratic country. What is bad is that no one wants to be patient and carry his burden for even the short period which is defined in the Constitution as transitional. The Treaty on Social Accord was concluded precisely so that the country should be saved from upheavals during this period and so that the new Constitution should come into force in its entirety without let or hindrance. The impatience of politicians has frequently played a fateful role in Russia’s history. It is more difficult to negotiate than to issue ultimatums or go for broke. But it is more productive. It is for this purpose, and not for that of self-assertion, that the democratic methods of concili- ating interests provided by the Treaty on Social Accord should be used. Fedorov Urges Democrats To Quit Government MK2411092094 Moscow KURANTY in Russian 24 Nov 94 p 1 [Statement by Boris Fedorov under the “Opinion” rubric: “Boris Fedorov: ’The Authorities Have Turned Their Backs on Democrats and Reforms] [FBIS Translated Text] Yesterday, Boris Fedorov, State Duma deputy and Liberal Democratic Union chairman, made the following statement to a KURANTY corre- spondent. Tension is increasing in the mass media in recent days in regard to the upcoming voting in the State Duma on the 1995 budget. In the process, deputies are being intimi- dated by a possible disbandment of the State Duma resulting from its failure to pass the budget, and parlia- mentary elections are predicted to take place in spring 1995. I categorically reject pushing through the State Duma any decisions using blackmail. Such actions have nothing to do with democracy and are even more dangerous than a bad budget. Nobody is going to intimidate us. Only politically bankrupt people who are afraid of looking their voters in the eye can be scared of elections. I disagree that the nonacceptance of the budget should necessarily entail a dissolution of the State Duma. What is preventing the president from replacing the government, drawing up a new budget, starting genuine reforms? Finally, | doubt that the president, with his services in fighting communism, will decide to dissolve what is actually the third parliament in four years. I call on all freedom-loving citizens to give a rebuff to the attempts to view the situation in the country exclusively in black and white. Most people in Russia have long been RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS 19 using color televisions, and they can see that four polit- ical centers have been formed—the essentially nonparty colorless authority, communists, Zhirinovskiyites, and a democratic opposition to the first three groups. The opposition of democrats is taking shape not because some people are joining hands with the communists, but because the authorities have turned their backs on dem- ocrats and reforms. The remaining democrats should quit the government, which is incapable of solving society’s vital problems. Grachev Undergoes Medical Tests, Misses Duma LD2411101694 Moscow ITAR-TASS World Service in Russian 0942 GMT 24 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Aleksandr Nechayev] [FBIS Translated Text] Moscow, 24 Nov—Russia’s Defense Minister Pavel Grachev is in hospital for med- ical tests and his aide Yelena Agapova hopes that the minister will be back on duty next Monday. Agapova told the ITAR-TASS correspondent today that Grachev had gone in for observation following his address to the State Duma last Friday. “‘He was feeling poorly and the doctors recommended that he go to the clinic. You know how intensively he has been working recently,” she said. According to Agapova, the minister is feeling alright, although he is unable to take part in any engagements this week. Grachev should have attended closed hearings in the State Duma today on corruption in the Western Group of Forces. According to the EKHO MOSKVY news agency, Matvey Ruziakov, former commanding officer of the Western Group of Forces, will be standing in for him. Shakhray on Early Elections, Budget Compromise LD2311181294 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1559 GMT 23 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Russian Vice-Premier and leader of the Party of Russian Unity «nd Accord Sergey Shakhray says that new parliamentary and presidential elections must be held within the time frame set by the country’s constitution. In an interview with Interfax on Wednesday, he stressed that the deputies, government and president had enough common sense to be able to strike a compromise on the draft new budget. Shakhray was commenting on a state- ment by leader of the Russia’s Choice Party Yegor Gaydar saying the president might dissolve parliament if the 1995 budget was rejected. Shakhray says the dissolution of the Duma or the gov- ernment will be equally destructive culminating in a new political crisis. At the same time, he stressed the deputies must realize that the dissolution of parliament is a This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 20 RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS constitutional procedure and it is up to the politicians to decide whether or not it is implemented. Tsarev on LDPR ‘Ruse’ To Remove Rybkin MM2311170094 Moscow ROSSIYSKIYE VESTI in Russian 23 Nov 94 p 2 [Report by Pavel Anokhin: “Are There Any More Bets?”’] {[FBIS Translated Text] The recent statement by LDPR [Liberal Democratic Party of Russia] faction deputies rescinding the votes (which were secret, so just try to fathom which way they voted now) they gave to Ivan Rybkin on 14 January this year to elect him State Duma c 1airman ended in a vote of no confidence in the speaker of the house. As we known only five deputies supported this—which came as a surprise to many Duma deputies. State Duma aide Aleksey Tsarev comments on the situation especially for ROSSIYSKIYE VESTI: “In this instance the LDPR deputies were using a traditional ruse to remove Ivan Rybkin as a possible presidential election candidate. Although Ivan Petrovich has never declared his intention to stand for the Russian presidency, LDPR analysts could calculate various sce- narios and circumstances and see him as a real rival to Viadimir Zhirinovskiy, so they determined at all events to compromise him,” the aide said. It is hard to say to what degree the Duma analyst’s opinion corresponds to reality, but all the signs suggest that the number of presidential players has increased. Duma Deputies Form Social-Democratic Faction LD2211172894 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1355 GMT 22 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Russian State Duma deputies have formed an initiative group for the creation of a Social-Democratic parliamentary faction, Interfax was told by Duma deputy Vasiliy Lipitskiy who is currently in Novosibirsk. Among the group members are 20 deputies from the factions the New Regional Policy, Russia’s Choice, the Party of Russia’s Unity and Accord, as well as several independent deputies. Lipitskiy is the group’s coordi- nator. He said that some of the political factions and alliances in the Duma are in crisis. That is why the creation of a new political faction, based on the ideas of social democ- racy, will help deputies engage in constructive work in the State Duma. Cominenting on the Duma’s immediate agenda, Lip- itskiy said that debates on the 1995 budget is the main issue. He believes the issue will receive long and hard debate because the main revenues are to come from high taxes and Western credits. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 Unemployment Increases 80 Percent Since January LD2411150894 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 1145 GMT 24 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Liliya Kuznetsova] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Moscow November 24 TASS— As many as 1,475,200 people registered at Russia’s federal employment service from the beginning of 1994. The number of unemployed rose by 80 per cent from the beginning of the year. The number of Russians who lost jobs increased by 50,000 in October alone. ITAR-TASS learned this from the press service of the Russian federal employment service. The unemployment rate for the whole of the country has risen 80 per cent, but it is different in various regions. By the end of the year, the number of unemployed will reach iwo million, and this index will double in 1995, according to experts of the service. FCS Edict Grants Investigation, Security Power MK2411083094 Moscow SEGODNYA in Russian 24 Nov 94 p 1 [Report by Aleksandr Barinov, Aleksandr Kudakayev in the “State Security” column: “What Did We Fight For? The President Has Restored the FCS Investigation Func- tions”] {[FBIS Translated Text] Yesterday President Yeltsin signed the edict “On Creating an Investigation Direc- torate of the Federal Counterintelligence Service of the Russian Federation [FCS] and Investigation Units in Counterintelligence Bodies of the Russian Federation.” Under the document, the new—or rather restored— service is entrusted to organize and conduct preliminary investigation on matters referring to FCS jurisdiction. To organize an investigation apparatus, the authorized strength of the counterintelligence service (including military and civilian personnel) is to be increased by 1,000. Sources say the creation of an investigation appa- ratus in the FCS structure also envisions the return to this department of Lefortovo prison. Therefore Russian state security has fully restored its powers that existed before 21 December 1993. FCS representatives, predictably, met the presidential edict with approval. Aleksandr Zdanovich, deputy chief of the FCS Public Relations Center, told SEGODNYA’s correspondent that the restoration of investigation bod- ies—in his opinion, unreasonably abolished in December 1993 in the process of reorganizing the Secu- rity Ministry as the FCS—directly responds to state interests in intensifying the struggle against especially dangerous crimes. It should be noted that representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor’s Office have repeat- edly noted that the investigation of criminal cases, which This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 Nevember 1994 earlier referred to the jurisdiction of the Security Min- istry (espionage, smuggling, and so forth), proved to be a fairly complicated task for the latter owing to the inves- tigators’ overload and their insufficient qualifications in this highly specific sphere. To sum up, Yeltsin's edict last year on dissolving the Security Ministry, caused by the president’s opinion that “*... the state security system of the Russian Federation has outlived itself, is ineffective and burdensome on the state budget, and hinders political and economic reform,” has proved to be not effective enough. Justice Minister Yuriy Kalmykov believes that the need to step up the fight against terrorism makes the FCS’ investigative functions quite legitimate. At the same time, Kalmykov does not rule out that in the future it would be logical to merge all investigation structures under a single leadership. FCS Official on Migration, Smuggling LD2511143594 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1241 GMT 25 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Viktor Kondratyev, head of the Federal Counterintelligence Service’s Primorsky branch, feels that the Russian lawmakers are late with the drafting and adoption of legislation on fighting orga- nized crime and the inflow of foreigners. He said at a news conference in Vladivostok Friday [25 Nevember] that nearly 600,000 citizens of neighboring countries passed the Primorsky Territory in 1993 alone. According to Kondratyev, this amounted to a creeping occupation but the lawmakers are very slow in adopting legislation on migration of foreigners in Russia. Kondratyev said that in the absence of a treaty with Japan on cooperation between the special services of the two countries no effective steps could be taken in pre- venting Russian sailors from smuggling weapons and drugs into Japan. Human Rights Commissioner Criticizes Edict MK2411082094 Moscow SEGODNYA in Russian 24 Nov 94 p 2 [SEGODNYA report under the “Reaction” rubric: “Human Rights Activists Dissatisfied With Widening of FCS Functions”} [FBIS Translated Text] It has been recalled in the Commission for Human Rights led by Sergey Kovalev that the detaching of “the investigation directorate from the former [K]GB” was regarded as one of the foremost “democratic achievements in the fight to scrap the Soviet punitive state security organs.” It has been stated in Kovalev’s commission that “the reinstatement of such structures once again proves that in our country you can chop off one head of the dragon after another, only to see new ones growing in their place, because the communist body of this dragon is still alive and intact.” RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS 21 Commission members are convinced that the reinstate- ment of the investigation function to ihe state security body “was achieved under pressure of forces among ‘he Chekists, and President Yeltsin may yet regret he yie’® d to this pressure.” Some public figures are inclined to link the appearance of such an edict with the State Duma’s passing in first reading of a law on the FCS [Federal Counterintelligence Service] granting state security organs the possibility to “suspend” almost with no control the most important rights of citizens. Prosecutor Discusses Kholodov Case, Suspects MM72411134994 Moscow ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA in Russian 24 Nov 94 First Edition p 8 {ITAR-TASS report: “People Are Standing Up for Jour- nalists”’} [FBIS Translated Text] The first suspects in the case of Dmitriy Kholodov, who died as a result of the explosion at the MOSKOVSKIY KOMSOMOLETS editorial office 17 October, have already emerged. One has been arrested. According to Russian Deputy General Prosecutor Oleg Gaydanov, analysis of the materials linked with the killing of the MOSKOVSKIY KOMSOMOLETS corre- spondent gives reason to believe that his death is most likely linked with his professional activity and possibly with the articles that he was working on at the time. Examination indicates that a boobytrap bomb—of the kind found in the Ground Forces arsenal—was planted in the “deadly attache case” that exploded at the MOSK- OVSKIY KOMSOMOLETS editorial office. The force of the blast was equivalent to 150-20. grams of TNT. The mine was wrapped in an October issue of one of the supplements of the weekly ARGUMENTY I FAKTY, which is primarily circulated in Moscow. Mikhail Yegorov, chief of the Russian MVD [Ministry of Internal Affairs] Organized Crime Directorate and first deputy internal affairs minister, said that 370 people have been interrogated in this case, among them repre- sentatives of the “power structures.”” And Nikolay Kov- alev, deputy director of the Federal Counterintelligence Service, confirmed that a task force is working around the clock. Ministry Cancels ‘Airworthiness’ Certificates MM 2411135594 Moscow TRUD in Russian 24 Nov 94 pl (Unattributed report: “Forced Landing”] [FBIS Translated Text] Forty-four Russian airlines have had their airworthiness certificates temporarily sus- pended for serious violations revealed in the course of comprehensive checks into their safety status carried out on the initiative of the Russian Ministry of Transport. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 22 RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS This was announced yesterday by Oleg Trufanov, deputy head of the ministry’s Air Transport Department. “‘Because of the seriousness of the violations, the checks, which were carried out by six special teams, forced us to make the decision to strip around 10 companies of their airworthiness certificates for over six months,” Grigoriy Linnok, head of the Air Transport Department’s Certi- fication Department, said. According to him, the others have been barred from flying for up to three months. The offenders included a number of companies providing charter flights abroad. Around five or six have rectified the violations, and they have been permitted to resume flying. CIS Experts Analyze Air Accident Causes MM2411100194 Moscow IZVESTIYA in Russian 23 Nov 94 p 15 [Report by Viktor Belikov: “CIS Air Experts: Given Current Discipline and Practices in Civil Aviation the Number of Crashes Will Increase. Interstate Aviation Committee Analysis of the Causes of the Unprecedented Accident Rate on Our Airlines”’} [FBIS Translated Text] Some representatives of a very unusual profession—60 top-class air accident investiga- tors from the CIS countries—met last week at the Interstate Aviation Committee. Each of the seminar participants had a wealth of experience of work as pilot, flight engineer, or air traffic controller. Their collective assessment of the current accident situation on the Commonwealth countries’ airlines is not just alarming— it will dismay anyone who has been a passenger on an aircraft even once. Although 1994 is not yet over it is clear already that it will be the worst in the history of civil aviation in the CIS (and the former USSR). Between the beginning of the year and the middle of November there were 57 recorded air incidents, including 18 crashes which cost the lives of 318 people. Compare this with the whole of 1993, when there were 106 incidents, including 14 crashes resulting in 197 fatalities. The professionals were bound to be worried by the comparison provided by these grim statistics on the number of aircraft written off, that is, broken up: Last year it was 48, this year only 35 aircraft and helicopters. The one-fourth reduction in the number of aircraft destroyed given an overall increase in the number of fatalities leads to the depressing conclusion that more so-called heavy passenger aircraft on regular services are crashing. The experts stated that regular services (scheduled flights) accounted for eight incidents, but three crashes led to the deaths of 228 passengers and crew. In 1993 there were two crashes and 194 fatalities. The worst offenders are Tu-154, Tu-134, An-24, and Yak-40 air- craft. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 The report by flight safety commission chairman R. Teymurazov and the contributions from Interstate Avi- ation Committee seminar participants contained a detailed analysis of the obvious decline in the standard of reliability of our aircraft as mass passenger transport. The chief cause is the human factor, in other words, gross violations by air traffic controllers and flight crew of the rules governing the safe operation of aircraft. A fateful, one might say, sinister role is played by ill- conceived “market relations,” which are eating away at the old established air transport system like rust. There is frequent mention, for example, of overloaded aircraft or disregard for the center of gravity in order to make extra profit every trip. Crews paying cash for fuel at “foreign” airports are taking on the minimum amount—again out of “economic expediency.” As a result they sometimes lack the reserves of kerosene to be able to go on to an emergency airfield if necessary. They have to land even if weather conditions have deterio- rated drastically, which is bound to lead to accidents, particularly when the pilots often are not properly trained to make such difficult landings. As for crew training, it was noted at the seminar that one of the most likely causes of the crash of the A-310 Airbus near Mezhdurechensk was the Russian pilots’ unfamil- iarity with the controls of a West European-made air- craft. The problem becomes particularly acute and sig- nificant in connection with the influx of foreign aircraft into CIS countries’ airlines. Incidentally, it turns out that the black box recordings of the flight parameters of Boeings and Airbuses cannot be decoded by Russian equipment, which has quite dif- ferent specifications. So trips are made without objective monitoring facilities to analyze the progress of the flight. It is getting to the point where accident situations have to be roughly assessed later. Economies by aircraft factories do not allow for expensive decoding of black box record- ings. The purely practical, specialist seminar was not intended to elaborate any general recommendations on flight safety “rules.” Particularly as these rules were estab- lished long ago and are incorporated in flight operation manuals and instructions. They need only be strictly adhered to everywhere and in all things if we want to reverse the very dangerous trend of increasing accidents involving aircraft. As current practice shows, this is the most difficult professional duty of aviators. Economic Issues Ministry on Lower Food Production, Higher Imports LD2411205794 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1923 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Russia’s Agriculture and Food Ministry puts this year’s total domestic output of meat This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 and meat products at 3.1 million tonnes, that of whole milk products at 6.4 million tonnes, that of butter at 475,000 tonnes and that of vegetable oil at 780,000 tonnes, which respectively accounts for 75, 82, 68 and 78 percent of last year’s amounts. The state of sugar production is “particularly alarming,” a ministry official told Interfax: this year’s output of it is not expected to exceed 2.6 million tonnes, which is 67 percent what was produced in 1993. What explains this is a poorer sugar bect harvest, which in 1994 is unlikely to top 15 million tonnes, compared to last year’s 25.5 million. That, in turn, has been caused by cuts in total area under the crop (trimmed to 222,000 hectares - 17 percent down on last year) and lower yield, which went down from 2.7 tonnes per hectare in 1993 to 1.9 tonnes this year. In the meantime, Russia has kept increasing its imports of some food items, experts say. In the 10 months from January to October, the country imported 325,000 tonnes of frozen meat, 314,000 tonnes of poultry and 154,000 tonnes of butter, which is respectively 390, 500, and 200 percent up on the same period last year. However, in the same 10 months Russia bought abroad only 2.7 million tonnes of grain, $12,000 tonnes of raw sugar and 928,000 tonnes of refined sugar - 71, 49, and 17 percent down on the same period in 1993. Yeltsin Signs industrial Production Decree LD2411175394 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1617 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree on additional measures to stimulate the industrial production, including by attracting foreign investments, the presidential press office told Interfax Thursday. The document was issued to support enterprises’ invest- ment activities and speed up the development of the national industries. The decree made exempt from customs duties all mate- rials, equipment, devices and spare parts, except for those liable to excise duties, imported to Russia for the industrial development of enterprises, bodies and orga- nizations in the settlement of contracts concluded and properly registered before January | 1993 as well as those imported under credits granted by foreign states or international financial institutions. Yeltsin instructed the government to submit a draft law to make goods mentioned above exempt from customs duties for consideration by the Federal Assembly within a month. Moscow Looks To Change Oil Balance Guidelines LD2411095594 Moscow INTERFAX in English 0625 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Russia proposes to change the guidelines for making up the balances of oil and oil RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS 23 products if the fuel export quotas are lifted, a source in the Russian government told the Petroleum Information Agency. He said that the payable demand of Russia’s regions, federal needs and the amounts to be exported would be recognized in making up the balances. Under the existing regulations on distribution of oil and refinery products, the making up of balances is the responsibility of the Economy and Fuel and Energy Ministries which determine the amounts to be consumed inside the country and exported. The annual and addi- tional export quotas are assigned to businesses by the Russian government’s daily management commission. When this practice is discontinued, the source believes, the oil companies will have to work out balances of oil and product production and consumption which will reflect the agreements signed with the country’s regions and the potential of free sales inside and outside Russia. The companies will be required to keep the consumers supplied. The Fuel and Energy Ministry is expected to accumulate the data from the oil companies in its own balance which would allow for the export for the state needs, the amount of which will be determined by the Economy Ministry. The Petroleum Information Agency found that the state- owned Rosneft company which runs non-privatized oil installations in Russia had forecast a 1995 balance. It plans to extract 121,726,000 tonnes of oil in 1995 or which 27,324,000 will be exported. Parliament on Credits To West, 1995 Budget MK2311144094 Moscow KOMMERSANT-DAILY in Russian 23 Nov 94 p 3 [Report by Andrey Bagrov: “The Hearings Took Place Behind Closed Doors”] {[FBIS Translated Text] For the first time since the previous Supreme Soviet, the Russian parliament has returned to the practice of closed hearings on economic matters. Yesterday, behind closed doors, the State Duma discussed the Russian foreign debt problem. The parlia- mentarians were so inhospitable primarily because the ultimate formulation of the federal 1995 budget today depends on the foreign debt situation. In spite of the express mysteriousness of the hearings, their progress and outcome could essentially be pre- dicted beforehand. Obviously, the participants spoke with special interest about using new Western credits to cover part of next year’s budget deficit: This original idea became a component part of the 1995 federal budget concept. Of the planned 72 trillion rubles budget deficit, 30.6 trillion (or 42.5 percent) is proposed to be covered This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. eo * from outside financial sources. Predictably, the parlia- mentarians expressed their bewilderment over the gov- ernment’s confidence that new Western credits for closing the budget deficit will indeed be received, espe- cially considering the present foreign debt situation. No official explanations were made on this count, however: Vice Premier Oleg Davydov, overseeing this problem, is accompanying Viktor Chernomyrdin on a tour of Per- sian Gulf states, while Aleksandr Shokhin, who was present at the hearings and who as former vice premier was Russia’s chief foreign debt negotiator, can now be regarded as a mouthpiece of the official government position on the issue only with a measure of irony. Meanwhile the current foreign debt situation is quite noteworthy. According to unofficial information announced at the hearings, the aggregate sum of Russian debts has reached $112.7 billion. According to official data, the overall debt of the former USSR is $80 billion (Russia’s main partner at the debt rescheduling negotia- tions is the Paris Ciub of creditor states, which Russia owes $50 billion; the second largest creditor is the London club of private banks: $24 billion; and finally, the Russian Government owes $6 billion to private firms). Citing government sources, however, the figure of $103.9 billion was mentioned as foreign debts inherited by Russia from the USSR. For its part Russia is owed approximately $160 billion. Oleg Davydov proposes that debts be primarily paid to private firms while debts to the Paris and London clubs be postponed to a later date. Such an approach, rather than reducing debt service payments, can lead to a situation wherein Russia will have to pay debts on the least favorable terms because the hopes of getting out of making substantial payments to official creditors are not destined to materialize. Even so, the experience of Russia’s interrelations with its creditors shows that even the most irrational policy followed by Russian authorities in the foreign debt sphere is not necessarily an obstacle to getting new credits: And in this respect t's government’s budget plans are not doomed to failure. Actually the govern- ment is offering the West a deal: credits in exchange for at least a semblance of budgetary stabilization. Quite possibly, the West will be ready to accept it. Official on Foreign Debt, Former USSR Credits LD2311144794 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1123 GMT 23 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] As of January |, 1994 Russia’s aggregate debt to foreign creditors was $112.7 billion, deputy head of the currency-credit department under Russia’s Foreign Economic Relations Ministry, Yuriy Gromushkin, reported to Interfax on Wednesday. He explained that this debt is the result of credits received by Russia from international organizations and foreign governments beginning with 1992—totaling $8.8 billion, and of credits granted to the former USSR amounting to $103.9 billion. Russia owes over $80 RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 billion of this sum to Western countries, members of the Paris and London clubs, about $20 billion—to all its other creditors, including South Korea, Persian Gulf countries, among others. Being the legal successor of the former USSR, the Russian Federation took the obligation to service the USSR’s entire debt, including the share of the former Soviet republics which have transferred their part of former USSR assets to Russia. Forecasts of the Russian foreign debt rising to $130 billion by the end of 1995 are connected with prelimi- nary assessments of the size of Russia’s likely new borrowings in the immediate future. Foreign Investments Increase in Stock Market MM2311163494 Moscow IZVESTIYA in Russian 23 Nov 94 p 1 [INTERFAX report: “West Spending $500 Million a Mouth on Shares in Our Companies”’] [FBIS Translated Text] Foreign capital investments used to buy blocs of shares in Russian enterprises on the stock exchange are running at $500 million-$700 million a month, whereas back at the start of the year they were no more than $30 million-$50 million, First Deputy Economy Minister Yakov Urinson stated in an interview with the FINANSOVYYE IZVESTIYA agency. Chubays Opposes Cancellation of Foreign Debt LD2511150294 Moscow ITAR-TASS World Service in Russian 1433 GMT 25 Nov 94 [By BUSINESS-TASS correspondent] [FBIS Translated Text] Moscow, 25 Nov—First Vice Premier Anatoliy Chubays has come out firmly against any writing off of Russia’s foreign debt. During a con- versation with journalists at the State Duma today, he stressed that Russia had always had a reputatiun as a country that always discharges its international financial commitments and pays its debts. Russia is not now going to stand before the whole world as a country that is unable to pay its way, A. Chubays said. However, the first vice premier did say that it is neces- sary to carry out a “profound restructuring of the Rus- sian foreign debt.” According to data made public in parliament this week, the Russian Federation’s state foreign debt amounted on 1 January 1994 to $112.7 billion. By the end of 1995, it could have increased to $130.3 billion. Ministries Vie To Settle Oil Export Questions MM72511135394 Moscow IZVESTIYA in Russian 24 Nov 94 p 1 [Report by Mikhail Berger: ““The Question of Freedom for Our Exports Could Cost at Least $7 Billion’) This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 [FBIS Translated Text] In the upper echelons recently there have been particularly heated and even fierce discussions over the problem of export quotas for oil and petroleum products. Statements on the continuation of market reforms presuppose the further liberalization of foreign trade, including the trade in energy sources. The situation regarding the supply of fuel to domestic con- sumers (the gasoline crisis in Moscow and the frozen northern territories), however, provides ammunition for the opponents of unregulated oil exports. By an irony of fate the problem of export quotas and licenses for energy sources is “celebrating” its third anniversary now. Many people have probably already forgotten that it was in November 1991 that the first set of presidential edicts, prepared by Yegor Gaydar's team, appeared. The edict on the liberalization of foreign trade was a crucial one. Freedom for exporters was supposed to begin on 1 July 1992, then on | January 1993, then on the next “‘eco- nomic Monday”—1 January 1994. The latest “‘solemn” promise to abolish all export quotas and licenses was formulated in the president's special edict of 23 May this year in his well-known package of spring economic edicts. Skeptical liberal observers stated at that time that they were shocked by the revolutionary nature of this edict but they asked for a delay until | July 1994 when the promised freedom was supposed to begin. July 1 came but freedom didn’t. Instead what happened on that day was that the president issued a new edict on this theme interpreting the previous revolutionary paper to mean that | January 1995 would mark the beginning of an even tougher and more comprehensive regulation of oil exports. Over the past three years the keen debate between the liberals and the “practitioners” in the government over whether or not to supply Russian energy sources to the free market has first erupted, then died down. The liberals consider this necessary. The “practitioners” claim that export freedom will hit Russian domestic consumers (the echoes of this debate can be “heard” in the reportage by our correspondent in icy Arkhangelsk published in today’s issue of IZVESTIYA). There are at least two reasons for the latest eruption of the government debate on oil exports. First, the position of the liberals has strengthened considerably in the government; the second (and perhaps the “main’’) reason is that Russia is hoping to receive big money— around $7.5 billion—from the international financial organizations in the very near future. The 1995 budget policy aiso hinges on that money. It should be said that Russia is close to receiving those credits. The sole but absolutely insuperable obstacle is the retention of the oil and petroleum products export quota system. The signal that Russia might not get the promised billions was given by the IMF decision to withhold its RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS 25 promised credit to another CIS state—Belorussia [Belarus]. INTERFAX has reported that the IMF has suspended discussion of the allocation of a $308 million credit to Belorussia. The reason is the Belorussian pres- ident’s edict on restoring prices to the levels of early November. So the passion for state regulation could cost Russia very dear as well. First Vice Premier Anatoliy Chubays and Economics Minister Yevgeniy Yasin, addressing Tues- day’s session of the KOV [expansion unknown], demanded very firmly that the quota system be abol- ished. Furthermore, the Economics Ministry's forecasts show that even with complete export liberalization there will not be a price explosion. However, the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations insists On retaining oil export regulation. But what about the credits? The Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations has officially submitted proposals to the government which would formally scrap export quotas but in fact retain full state contrul over them. The foreign economic department is proposing to introduce as of | January 1995 a balance for the consumption of oil and petroleum products in the domestic market. Thus these are not export quotas, it seems, but a purely internal matter. In practice what this will mean is that the government is ratifying a domestic oil consumption balance which in principle is hardly different from internal licensing. In other words, the oil that is produced will be distributed by the state to domestic consumers. But in order to export oil you first have to produce it in Russia and here the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations is already lying in wait to impose its conditions on potential exporters. Oleg Davydov, vice premier for foreign economic policy and minister for foreign economic relations, added a memorandum to those proposals in which he said that almost all the economic departments are in agreement except the Economic Ministry. It remains to be seen whose arguments prove stronger: those of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations or those of the Economics Ministry? Yasin Announces End of Oil Price Regulation LD2411203194 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1923 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] On January |, 1995 the Russian Government intends to fully give up the regulation of the prices of oil and oil products in the domestic market. In practice this means that the last administrative barrier will be removed that sets a 50 percent ceiling on the profitability of oil extracting companies. This was disclosed Thursday in an exclusive interview with the Financial Information Agency by the Eco- nomics Minister Yevgeniy Yasin. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 26 RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS He said the step is largely formal because for objective reasons the profitability of the oil industry has not exceeded 20-30 percent for a long time. “If the figure grows, the 37 trillion of debts in the industry will increase by at least a half, and the drop in demand will hit oil extraction hard”, the minister said. Yasin described as a more radical and effective step the planned abolition of oil and oil product export quotas as well as the possible elimination of the group of special exporters. If the procedure is radically revised, the ques- tion of oil exports will be decided solely by producers and customers which will change the balance of resources directed to the international and domestic markets, Yasin said. Still he does not think that the abolition of quotas and deregulation of exports can lead to the uncontrolled exportation of oil to the detriment of Russian interests. The minister suggested introducing export duties that would even out oil prices in the domestic and interna- tional markets. In this case the incentive will disappear for large-scale exports forming the foundation for satu- rating the Russian market with oil products. However, the minister refused to name concrete changes in the size of export duties saying it is necessary to discuss his proposals with the cabinet (most experts predict that customs duties will drop from 30 to 22-25 ECUs for a ton of oil). Yasin thinks the prices of oil and oil products will stabilize in Russia quite fast but at a higher level. Oil prices are expected to grow 100 percent. Independent experts believe this will be caused by a growing demand for fuel and energy in the country following the deregulation of exports rather than infla- tion and growing extraction costs. Military & Space Issues Koshelev Forwards Trade Union Appeal on ‘Worry’ MK2511111094 Moscow SEGODNYA in Russian 25 Nov 94 p 2 [Report by Andrey Nikolayev under the “Trade Unions”: “Ground Forces Workers Complain to Presi- dent. Defense Ministry Not Sufficiently Concerned for Them”} [FBIS Translated Text] Valentin Koshelev, Ground Forces Workers and Servicemen Trade Union Central Committee chairman, has forwarded an appeal, signed by nearly 50,000 union activists, to the president of Russia, Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, Federa- tion Council Chairman Vladimir Shumeyko, and State Duma Speaker Ivan Rybkin. The message voices “extreme worry over the situation” shaping up in “the work collectives of military units,” military educational FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 establishments, institutions, organizations, and enter- prises of the military districts owing to tardy financing of the Russian Federation Defense Ministry, the widening gap between the salaries and the minimum living stan- dard, and owing to interruptions in electricity, water supply, and heating. Valentin Koshelev has stated that, as a result of system- atic delays in payment for finished products to the profit-and-loss- accounting enterprises and of “‘exorbi- tant taxes” collected regardless of when the enterprises get paid, servicemen have not been paid their salary for months, not been paid their vacation money, and not been given social entitlements and guarantees provided for in collective agreements. Enterprises are forced to pay fines for failing to pay on time toward state and local budgets, pension and other funds, their suppliers and contractor enterprises. In the meantime, according to Mr. Koshelev, “‘a social explosion is brewing in many collectives” because mea- sures being taken by the Russian Federation Defense Ministry “are unable to radically change the current situation.” Defense Fuel Debt Increases, Reserves ‘Critical’ LD2311211194 Moscow Mayak Radio Network in Russian 1930 GMT 23 Nov 94 [From the “Radio Slavyanka” program of the Russian Defense Ministry] [FBIS Translated Text] The other day the government announced its intention to carry out the latest price liberalization and this was done while the Defense Min- isiry’s debts to fuel suppliers are continuing to grow. Reserves of energy resources have not been created in militar’ districts and in the fleets. Thus by | November only 47 percent of the coal supply plan had been fulfilled. For the purchase of solid fuel at November prices R252,000 million was required. Debts to gas suppliers at that time exceeded R27,000 million. Because of this, in Vorkuta, Yakutsk, and a number of garrisons in Moscow oblasts, gas supplies have been extremely limited of late. This has not made it possib:c to bring boilers up to operational conditions even at above-zero temperatures. In individual garrisons of the Northern and Pacific fleets, the fuel oil reserve in Novernber reached a critical level. According to the information of our military journalist colleagues, if the debts of the Defense Ministry are not paid off from the federal budget and the volume of financing of Army and Navy needs is reduced through plan and budget, then free prices could be the final straw reducing people to despair. Commission Works To Improve Military Payments MK2411093094 Moscow KOMMERSANT-DAILY in Russian 24 Nov 34 p 3 [Report by Vladislav Borodulin: ““The Government Has Promised To Foot 70 Percent of the Military Bill”) This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 [FBIS Translated Text] Perhaps for the first time in its existence, the government commission on improving the payments and settlements system yesterday discussed the problem of arrears in a clearly nonproduction sphere: the army. At first sight the resolution of this problem lies on the political plane: to pay or not to pay from the deficit-ridden budget. Today, however, it is especially important for the authorities to demunstrate their atten- tion to army problems: The upcoming discussion of the 1995 budget in parliament could become fatal for the Chernomyrdin cabinet, and the attempt at least some- what to neutralize the opponents appears quite appro- priate. The commission leadership decided that the discussion of the problem of nonpayment by the state to its army should be closed to the press. Mass media representa- tives were allowed only to the so- called “parquet”—the first several minutes of the sessions. After that, Oleg Soskovets, citing “‘an abundance of confidential infor- mation,” left commission members one to one with Defense Ministry representatives.“ The gist of the statements by the military was that according to their estimates, 87.8 trillion rubles was required this year for a “normal” functioning of the army. A compromise figure—S55 trillion—could also suit the ministry, but this year’s budget provides for military spending of 40.6 trillion. The military's irritation is aggravated by the fact that even the money promised by the government is not being fully released by the Finance Ministry. According to various estimates, the debt ranges from | trillion to 5 trillion rubles. Such substan- tial discrepancies are due to the fact that the Defense Ministry includes into state arrears also the indebtedness on state order payments. Yesterday, however, there was no discussion as such: Settlements with the army must be made in full, above all on salaries to officers and enlisted men—this was the thrust of statements by commission members. To be sure, traditional qualifications were made to the effect that priorities need to be defined while funds must be dissipated. In the end, on Oleg Soskovets’ insistence, it was decided that the government must undertake to finance 70 percent of the military spending envisioned in this year’s budget. Anatoliy Chubays is skeptical of the feasibility of such pledges. According to him, the govern- ment was originally planning to ensure a 66- percent execution but in fact it will be between 62 and 64 percent. In this situation, however, the specific figures of military budget execution are not so important after all. The government acutely needs allies in debates on the 1995 budget. In this respect yesterday’s session was called upon somewhat to mitigate the negative effects of the sharp statements made by the country’s political leadership this year: the president’s, on the need drasti- cally to downsize the army; and the premier’s, that Russia does not need that many howitzers. RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS 27 ‘Cosmos-2297’ Satelite Reaches Orbit LD2411221794 Moscow ITAR-TASS World Service in Russian 1640 GMT 24 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Viktor Gritsenko] [FBIS Translated Text] Moscow, 24 Nov—The Cosmos- 2297 military satellite launched today by the Russian military space forces from the Baykonur space centre has been placed in an orbit with the following parameters: period of revolution, 101.996 minutes; orbital inclina- tion, 70.99 degrees; apogee, 879.48 km; perigee, 851.32 km, an ITAR-TASS correspondent learned from the military space forces press center. Forces Announce Successful ICBM Test Launch LD2511093794 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 0819 GMT 25 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Mikhail Shevtsov] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Moscow November 25 TASS— The Russian strategic missile forces have successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile with mul- tiple dummy warheads from the Baykonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday. The missile has long been on combat duty in a Russian unit and the main aim of the launch was to check the reliability of its systems, Tass was told at the press centre of the Russian strategic forces today. Military experts assessed the launch as successful. “All the dummy warheads hit the designated areas which confirms the high reliability of Russian strategic mis- siles”, they told TASS. Media Issues Yeltsin Objects to State-Supported Media LD2411135994 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 1346 GMT 24 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Moscow November 24 TASS— Russian President Boris Yeltsin assessed the law on the state support for the mass media, passed by the Duma, as “a return to the monopoly of opinions” and as “‘a covert form of political censorship”. The law passed “despite resolute protests of democratic public, prominent workers in science and the arts, despite the stand of democratic and independent press,” poses a danger “to the most important gain of russian democracy—the freedom of speech”, says the statement of the head of state circulated by the presidential press service on Thursday. “As guarantor of the constitution and democratic rights of Russian citizens, I do declare that I cannot tolerate the encroachment on the freedom of speech and the press. This report may contain copyrighted materia!. Copying and dissemination | is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 28 RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS Therefore I will take the necessary measures to avert this menace to Russian democracy”, the statement says. Filatov Recommends ‘Compatible’ Team Members LD2311174394 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 1602 GMT 23 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Tamara Zamyatina] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Moscow November 23 TASS— Head of the newly-created Presidential Information Department and presidential spokesman have to be “compatible” in order to work as one team, chief of Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s Administration Sergey Filatov said. Filatov has recommended the president to appoint Sergey Nosovets, 36, as head of his Information Depart- ment. However, Yeltsin has apparently decided to wait untii his aides find a replacement for his outgoing spokesman Vyacheslav Kostikov. The president believes that the head of the Information Department and a new spokesman have to be psycho- logically compatible to act as one team. In addition, the spokesman has the rank of presidential aide and his status is higher than that of the Information Department chief, and therefore the latter’s candidacy has to suit the former. Filatov told ITAR-TASS that he will oversee the presi- dential Information Department, while the new spokesman will be subordinate to Yeltsin’s right-hand man Viktor Ilyushin, who heads the team of presidential aides. Filatov said he and Ilyushin have no disagreements over the plan of the reorganisation of the presidential admin- istration, which will in particular abolish duplicating offices, including the Department of Information Sup- port, the operative information centre and the press service. They will be transformed into one single infor- mation department. Print Media Competes For Government Subsidies MK2511140094 Moscow OBSHCHAYA GAZETA in Russian No. 47/72 25 Nov-1 Dec 94 (Signed to press 24 Nov) p 12 [Own correspondent’s report: “Gimme More”’] [FBIS Translated Text] The Commission on Subsidies (coordinator Aleksey Morgun, acting deputy chairman of the Russian Press Committee), tasked with allocating taxpayers’ money among the needy mass media, held its regular meeting recently. Apart from publications that traditionally need the government’s helping hand (news- papers and magazines for the disabled, children’s publi- cations, the NOVYY MIR magazine as Russia’s national treasure) those who are not disabled—KOMSOMOL- SKAYA PRAVDA, SOVETSKAYA ROSSIYA, PRAVDA, and some others—also received subsidies. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 Thus the principle of political neutrality in the commis- sion’s work was strictly upheld. For those who do not know, this principle is called democratic. I hope, how- ever, that the budget funds do not suddenly end up in ZAVTRA’s pocket for the sake of strengthening democ- racy. As a matter of fact, the NASH SOVREMENNIK magazine was denied budget prop-ups this time around. The 1995 draft budget calls for 144 billion rubles to be earmarked to support the Russian press, against 111 billion in 1994. It seems that the tussle for these billions is about to flare up with a new intensity. no ga Television on Abandonment of Merger MK2311124094 Moscow MOSKOVSKIY KOMSOMOLETS in Russian 23 Nov 94 p I [Report by Elina Nikolayeva: “Less Good and Versatile Television! New Staff Games Around Russian Televi- sion”} [FBIS Translated Text] During his meeting with repre- sentatives of the democratic intelligentsia on 18 November 1994, Russian Federation President Boris Yeltsin announced the proposed merger of state televi- sion and radio companies and the appointment of “a responsible person” as chief of a new company. On 21 November the workers collective of the All-Russia State Television and Radio Company [ARSTRC] sent a letter to the president giving reasons for its concern and expressing disagreement with the announced intentions. “... On the economic side, this merger will not help seriously to cut government expenditure on television and radio. It is well known that payments for the Communications Ministry’s services account for the lion’s share of this expenditure. Only 15 percent of the television and radio company’s budget is being spent on making programs and maintaining its personnel. For this reason we think it essential immediately to start studying terms and conditions of converting one of the channels into a joint-stock company. Meanwhile, the other channel, upon acquiring the status of state channel, could be financed from the state budget. ... On the political side, the merger of the television and radio companies into one group would cause the support base for democratic transformations and economic reform to shrink... Journalists and technicians of the ARSTRC, many of whom left the USSR State Television and Radio for ideological reasons, are deeply disap- pointed with the prospect of a merger with another collective... ... On the legal side, it is impossible to merge companies with two different types of organization: one of them was registered as a mass media company (“Ostankino”), while the other is a state enterprise (ARSTRC). It should be recalled that last year, thanks to your support, our company was transformed into a state enterprise. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 ... Last time the workers collective held a similar meeting to resist the Russian Federation Supreme Soviet’s attempts to destroy the ARSTRC... We emphatically urge you to refrain from signing an edict on merging the television and radio companies, and immediately receive representatives of the boards of directors and workers collectives of the two television and radio com- panies to discuss the situation.“ Yesterday: —Poptsov and Lysenko sent a personal message to Yeltsin... —Zhirinovskiy’s press center promised the ARSTRC its support... —Press Secretary Kostikov promised that the president would refrain from ill-conceived steps... —The artistic intelligentsia under Baklanov and Ivanov gathered in the Kremlin once again... —Artem Borovik: The president is evidently being pushed toward the decision that alternative state tele- vision is no longer needed... —Moscow journalists received information from var- ious sources that V. Markov, chief of RIA-NOVOSTI, was appointed head of the joint company as early as 21 November. Markov himself claimed yesterday, however, that this is not true... —Yesterday B.N. Yeltsin received S. Davydov, director of Russian Radio (?!—E.N.). The flurry of incoherent moves regarding the ARSTRC continues... ARSTRC Chairman Oleg Poptsov: “This is yet another trick of the president’s bureaucrats. Undoubtedly, like any other entourage, the presidential entourage has opposing forces—this has always been the case around any head of state. The companies cannot be merged. The ARSTRC is a great achievement of democ- racy. We have built a giant, powerful, formidable televi- sion and radio company—only to destroy it now?! I oppose this!..” “Vesti” news program announcers say that “despite everything, Russian Television continues its work.” But there can no longer be normal work in such conditions. ARSTRC workers are excited and fretful—all their talk centers on the fate of their television alone. State Tele- vision management is rushing to comb through the contents of programs that might have the least bearing on politics. They do not wish to irritate the president by anything in anticipation of crucial decisions he announces. Even the above appeal to the president— which is uncharacteristic of usually sharp-tongued jour- nalists—is written throughout in the form of a diplo- matic note. As for the 18 November meeting in the Kremlin between the president and the intelligentsia, one can say that the RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS 29 conscience of the nation has once again been drawn into politics from which it (the conscience) is trying to keep as far away from as possible. Will the sole practical result of the Yeltsin-intelligentsia meeting be the breakup of the ARSTRC, which in the view of certain powers that be has gained “too much freedom” and for this reason has fallen from grace on the eve of the political battles of 1995-1996? P.S. According to reports from independent, well- informed sources, numerous memos on the television subject have been circulating in top offices recently, proposing that television be improved, reformed, and so forth. In particular, Prime Minister Chernomyrdin appeared to support proposals that originated with the ARSTRC, namely that “Ostankino” be converted into a joint-stock company and Russian Television be turned into a state channel and fed from the budget in a normal fashion. But there is another lobby on high, however, and what in the end found its way onto the president's desk was a memo drawn up in Ostankino’s corridors of power proposing that the channels be merged. Yuriy Baturin, presidential national security adviser, is known to oppose these steps. Many ARSTRC staffers are cer- tain that there is somebody in Yeltsin’s entourage who has long and maliciously been trying to undermine their company. Federal Assembly State Duma Urges Veto To Stop Bosnia Intervention LD2311181594 Moscow Radio Rossii Network in Russian 1700 GMT 23 Nov 94 {[FBIS Translated Text] Russia’s State Duma today adopted a statement in connection with the sharp exac- erbation of the Yugoslav conflict. As we have already reported, NATO aircraft today carried out bomb strikes against the positions of Bosnian Serbs in the area of Bihac. Prior to this, on Monday, NATO planes bombed an airfield in Serb Krajina on the territory of Croatia. The State Duma statement notes that these actions, despite the fact that the UN had given its consent to them, were not essential. It also contains an appeal to the president and the Russian Foreign Ministry to use more actively all polit- ical and diplomatic means in the UN Security Council, including even the right of veto, to prevent military intervention from outside on the territory of former Yugoslavia. In an ITAR-TASS interview, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigoriy Karasin noted that the new attacks by NATO planes on the positions of the Bosnian Serbs would not lead to anything other than a continuation of the bloodshed. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 30 RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS Duma Criticizes NATO Intervention in Yugoslavia LD2511100094 Moscow ITAR-TASS World Service in Russian 0852 GMT 25 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Ivan Novikov] {[FBIS Translated Text] Moscow, 25 Nov (ITAR- TASS)—The State Duma urged all sides involved in the conflict in former Yugoslavia to cease fire immediately and to return to political dialogue. This message is contained in a statement adopted by the chamber at today’s plenary sitting. “The irresponsible behavior of the sides involved in the conflict, the UN inaction during the offensive of the Bosnian Government forces, and the United States’ unilateral decision to withdraw from enforcement of the embargo on arms supplies to Bosnia-Herzegovina all provoked an escalation in hostilities, which led to more casualties,” the deputies state. In the view of the State Duma, the latest bombings in Serb Krajina and Bosnia cannot be justified. ““The impression is that the United Nations is increasingly being used as a cover for a NATO military intervention in the civil war in former Yugoslavia, thus discrediting the very idea of UN peacekeeping,” the statement says. The State Duma urged the president and the Russian Foreign Ministry to use, in the contact group for Yugo- slavia and at the UN Security Council, all political and diplomatic means available, including, if necessary, the use of veto in the Security Council, in order to prevent military intervention from abroad in former Yugoslavia. The chamber deems it necessary, if any threat to the personal safety of Russian servicemen emerges, to dis- cuss the possibility of withdrawing the Russian peace- keeping contingent from Yugoslavia. Report on Kokoshin’s Briefing on Nuclear Forces MK2311102094 Moscow NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA in Russian 23 Nov 94 p 2 {NG report under the “Armaments” rubric: “Andrey Kokoshin Sees Development of Strategic Nuclear Forces as a Crucial Priority’ [FBIS Translated Text] As NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA has already reported, the State Duma has held a discus- sion on problems of the Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces (SNF). A report on the subject was delivered by First Deputy Defense Minister Andrey Kokoshin. The hearings were also attended by Yuriy Glybin, first deputy chairman of the State Defense Industry Com- mittee; Colonel-General Igor Sergeyev, commander in chief of the Strategic Missile Forces; Feliks Gromov, commander in chief of the Navy; Mikhail Soroka, deputy commander in chief of the Air Force; Viktor Barynkin, chief of the Generali Staff's Main Operational Administration; and also a group of general designers FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 and general directors of defense enterprises. They dis- cussed in detail priorities in the development of all three components of the Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces and matters relating to Russia’s new nuclear policy. Among other things, Andrey Kokoshin pointed out the partic- ular importance of developing combat command and control systems of the Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces, and of increasing their reliability and stability in combat. According to the Russian Federation military doctrine, Andrey Kokoshin said, the Strategic Nuclear Forces are the key fundamental element of the Armed Forces that ensure Russia’s national security. The Armed Forces’ reform is being carried out under the SNF’s umbrella. The existence of these forces is the main factor of deterring nuclear aggression and averting large-scale conventional wars against Russia and its allies. oe Disagrees With Government on Oil pi LD2211182894 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1619 GMT 22 Nov 94 {[FBIS Transcribed Text] The Russian State Duma’s commission, investigating the environmental disaster in the basin of the Pechora River as a result of the series of incidents on the Vozey-Usa oil pipeline, said it disagreed with the official assessment of the Usinsk oil spill. The State Duma commission with the participation of Chairman of the Inter-Departmental Commission on Environmental Security of the Russian Security Council, Academician Aleksey Yablokov held an enlarged meeting today. The commission said the conclusions drawn by the Komineft joint stock company , the Rus- sian government and the Komi Republic authorities were not proved by available evidence (the assessment of the area of the incident, video films, radio radar and air-photo survey assessment). The commission decided to continue the investigation of the environmental disaster which had affected the Pechora Region and to visit the Usinsk Region of Komi in early December this year. By that time 52 kilometers of a new section of the Vozey-Golovnye Sooruzheniya oil pipeline must be commissioned. The commission, headed by Chairman of the Environ- meni?! Committee Mikhail Lemeshev, includes mem- bers of the parliamentary committees on the environ- ment, natural resources and security. The oil spill on the oil pipeline near Usinsk took place in August-September this year. The oil pipeline belongs to the Komineft joint stock company. The Komineft administration said at least 14,000 tonnes of oil had been spilled as a result of the incident. The Russian-U.S. Nordeco environmental joint venture said proceeding from the air-photo survey that 103,000 tonnes of oil had been spilled. Nordeco representatives This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 said that oil had also leaked into the Pechora River falling into the Sea of Barents. Western sources said the incident in Komi was the second largest disaster after the crash of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker near Alaska in 1989. Rybkin on Conditions for Moldova Withdrawal LD2411163294 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1421 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Russian State Duma Chairman Ivan Rybkin is convinced that Moldovan leadership’s recognition of the interests of those who reside on the Dniester east bank was the overriding condition for the pull out of the Russian 14th army from Transdniester as scheduled. In his talks with a delegation of Romanian MPs under his counterpart Adrian Nastase he emphasized that the whole issue was essentially a subject for discussion with independent Moldova. He was surprized by the desire of certain countries to set up and strengthen narrow local organizations and blocs rather than build a united Europe from the Atlantic Ocean to the Urals. Rybkin said that somebody wanted Russia to be a beggar with a balalaika while Russia had always been a great power to be reckoned with. WGF Command Said Not Involved in Irregularities LD2411160394 Moscow Radio Rossii Network in Russian 1400 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Translated Text] Today the defense and security committees of the State Duma and Federation Council held a closed meeting to examine instances of corruption in the Western Group of Forces [WGF]. Yevgeniy Zher- ebenkov, our parliamentary correspondent, reports. [Zherebenkov] Many people who attended the meeting could not understand why it was held behind closed doors because the facts that were mentioned there had already been more than once quoted in the press and, properly speaking, were no secret at all. At the same time, the way the facts were interpreted, including by General [Matvey] Burlakov, former commander of the WGEF himself was somewhat different. According to participants in the sitting, General Burlakov was able to prove convincingly and with the help of numerous documents that the WGF command itself was, on the whole, not involved in irregularities in the Western Group of Forces. It had only carried out instructions from above, from the Defense Ministry and the govern- ment. Burlakov’s speech is likely to show the problem of corruption in the WGF in a somewhat new light. Here is RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS 31 what Viktor Ilyukhin, chairman of the State Duma security committee, told me. [Begin Ilyukhin recording] I would like to say that many deputies, including myself, have discovered many new things for themselves. Many decisions had been taken behind Burlakov’s back, at a much higher level. [end recording] Defense Committee Chairman on Duma Hearings LD2411144494 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 1144 GMT 24 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Anatoliy Yurkin] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Moscow November 24 TASS— Today’s hearings at the Russian State Duma on corrup- tion in the western grouping of Russian troops in Ger- many will not bring sensations, Sergey Yushenkov, chairman of the committee for defense, told ITAR-TASS in an exclusive interview. Sergey Yushenkov believes that parliamentarians do not have the whole volume of information. Besides, Yuriy Boldyrev, former head of the control department of the Russian president's administration, will not be present at the hearings as he is on a business trip. Earlier Yuriy Boldyrev prepared a special report on corruption and could give additional facts of committed offenses. According to Sergey Yushenkov, he does not expect former commander of the western group of troops, Colonel-General Matvey Burlakov, to be frank when he begins giving explanations to parliamentarians today. In reply to a question about the further investigation of unlawful actions by officials from the Defense Ministry in the western grouping of troops, Sergey Yushenkov informed that the State Duma would consider this issue again in December. By that time, he believes, parliamen- tarians will manage to declassify many documents and then it will be possible to have a comprehensive picture of all that happened there. The principle of distributing the military budget existing in the Russian Defense Ministry, is creating conditions for corruption, Sergey Yushenkov believes. “Control over the Russian armed forces must be civil, and the military budget—fully open as it is the practice in other countries. Only in this event the army and the navy will be purged from corruption,” the chairman of the committee for defense pointed out. Lukyanov Cited on Duma’s Rejection of Paramonova LD2311152794 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1406 GMT 23 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] In a 127 to 107 vote, with 19 abstentions, the State Duma turned down the president- proposed candidacy of Tatyana Paramonova to the post of head of the Russian Central Bank. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 32 RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS Deputy Anatoliy Lukyanov (the Russian Way group) told the deputies after the vote that “a highly reputable person has not been appointed to this post,” because the Constitution was violated and “the State Duma was humiliated.” He believes that the deputies should dis- cuss the resignation of former Central Bank leader Viktor Geraschenko first and then pass over to the issue of a new appointment. This particular procedure would have corresponded to the Constitution, he said. Geraschenko was dismissed from his post by the presi- dent in the middle of October after the ruble’s ‘Black Tuesday’ collapse on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange. Following Gerashchenko’s resignation, the president appointed Paramonova acting head of the Central Bank. The absolute majority of the members of the Duma’s Committee for the Budget, Taxes, Banks and Finances passed a resolution which recommends that the State Duma endorse Paramonova’s appointment to this post. Before October 14, Paramonova was deputy leader of the Central Bank and was in charge of budget planning and the Central Bank’s relations with the Finance Ministry. Russia's Choice Faction To Support Draft Budget LD2211183394 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 1711 GMT 22 Nov 94 {By ITAR-TASS parliamentary correspondent Ivan Novikov} [FBIS Transcribed Text] Moscow November 22 TASS— The Choice of Russia faction will support basic articles of the draft 1995 federal budget and vote for basic approval of the draft. The government offers deputies to approve a federal budget with a spending item of 216,200 billion rubles and a revenue item of 144,100 billion rubles and set the budget deficit limit at 72,000 billion rubles. At the same time, the faction voices the need for correc- tions in budget allocations. In the opinion of Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee for Budget, Taxes, Banks and Finances Aleksandr Pochinok, state spending is raised too high. “This spending can be cut both in presidential and parliamentary siructures, as well as in some ministries and departments,” said Pochinok. Pochinok warned against increasing state spending, and said that the draft budget “takes into account all revenue sources and maximum results”. To Support Yeltsin Electoral Bills MM2311160194 Moscow ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA in Russian 23 Nov 94 First Edition p 1 [Report from the ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA/ ITAR-TASS column: “*Russia’s Choice’ Decision™] FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 [FBIS Translated Text] The “Russia’s Choice” faction will support the draft electoral laws submitted to the State Duma by President Boris Yeltsin. This was decided at a session of “Russia’s Choice” members. At the same time Yegor Gaydar’s supporters are not ruling out the possibility that certain provisions of the president's draft laws could be enriched by the norms laid down in the draft “Electoral Code” submitted to the Duma by the “Yabloko” faction as an alternative. State Duma Fails To Adopt Law on Referendum LD2311215794 Moscow ITAR-TASS ‘World Service in Russian 1730 GMT 23 Nov 94 [FBIS Translated Text] Moscow, [no date as received] ITAR- TASS—The Duma was unable to adopt a draft law “On a referendum of the Russian Federation,” tabled by the president. For this constitutional draft law to be adopted it would have been necessary for it to be supported by two-thirds of the corps of deputies, or 300 parliamentarians. However, only 282 deputies voted for it, with 30 against, and one abstention. A conciliation commission has been set up that has been instructed to prepare a new version of a draft law on a referendum. Also today, the Duma adopted at a first reading a draft law “On tabling changes and additions to the criminal code of the RSFSR, and the Code of the RSFSR in administrative infringements of the law,” connected with the electoral process. Adopts Law on Mass Media 23 Nov LD2311165094 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 1307 GMT 23 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Pavel Kuznetsov] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Moscow November 23 TASS— The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parlia- ment, on Wednesday adopted the law on state support for the mass media and publishing houses upon the third reading. According to head of the Duma Information Committee Mikhail Poltoranin, who presented the document, the law will allow the mass media to get rid of poverty and to become an efficient instrument to control state authori- ties. The document regulates tax, customs, currency and other financial activities of the media and privatisation of newspapers, magazines as well as printing houses. The law provides for establishing a national fund of development of the media. The fund is designed to accumulate finances and invest them in the development of the material and technical base of the mass media and printing houses. The fund will be a non-commercial organisation. The Russian Federation’s supreme authorities are co- founders of the fund. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 Under the law, the federal property needed for the development of the media will be transferred to the fund, except the property of editorial offices. The law also stipulates that finances will be allocated to the fund for projects to develop the media as part of federal budget programmes. A board of observers will be set up to control the activities of the fund. The board will be formed by both houses of the parliament, the president and the govern- ment, each of them appointing five members to the body for a three-year term. Xegional Affairs Yeltsin Returns After Visiting Estonian Border LD2311183694 Moscow ITAR-TASS World Service in Russian 1710 GMT 23 Nov 94 [FBIS Translated Text] Moscow, 23 November—After a one-day trip to Pskov oblast Russian President Boris Yeltsin returned to Moscow this evening. The president of the Russian Federation visited the border with Estonia. After walking around the border facilities, Boris Yeltsin visited the Pechorskiy monastery and had a conversation with Archbishop of Pskov and Velikiye Vuki Yevsey. Then he went to see the construc- tion of a settlement for resettlers near the village of Dubrovo. In the afternoon he held a meeting with the heads of administration of Pskov and Pskov oblasts at which the president of the Russian Federation drew their attention to the decision signed by the government today which includes a special program for the socio-economic devel- opment of the border areas in Pskov oblast. Moscow ITAR-TASS World Service in Russian at 1744 GMT on 23 November adds the following: “At the Moscow ‘Vnukovo-2’ airport Boris Yeltsin told the wel- coming party about the results of his working trip. The conversation, which lasted about 30 minutes, mainly touched upon problems of the Russian regions adjacent to border oblasts. Inter alia, Boris Yeltsin spoke about the results of his working trip related to the operation of check-points on the Russian-Estonian border as well as the problems of resettlers moving to Pskov Oblast from the Baltic states.” Chechen Opposition Gunships Pound Government Troops LD2411094794 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 0926 GMT 24 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Mikhail Shevtsov] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Moscow November 24 TASS— An air strike on Chechen government troops in the Gudermesskiy district was delivered on Wednesday [23 RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS 33 November] evening by helicopter gunships of the Provi- sional Council opposing Chechen President Dzhokhar Dudayev, ITAR-TASS learnt from press secretary of the Provisional Council Ruslan Martagov on Thursday. Besides, gunships also bombarded the Shalinskiy Tank Regiment, the main striking force of Dudayev’s troops. Nine helicopters participated in air strikes. According to Martagov, Dudayev’s forces suffered con- ciderable losses as a result of the air strikes. The size of losses is being specified. At the same time, he refuted allegations by the Groznyy authorities that there were casualties among civilians as a result of bombardments. Strikes were inflicted on earlier reconnoitered targets, he stressed. The press secretary underlined that the gunships that pounded Dudayev’s forces, belong to the Provisional Council and are manned by Chechen crews. Martagov noted that the air operation was carried out in preparation for a capture of Groznyy. According to the press secretary, opposition forces are reconnoitering terrain and gradually occupying positions at the approaches to the Chechen capital. The opposition’s preparations are aimed at avoiding casualties among civilians during an assault on Groznyy, Martagov said. Further on Helicopter Attack LD2411075294 Moscow INTERFAX in English 0744 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Nine persons, including seven civilians, were wounded as a result of an air strike against the Shali tank regiment stationed 35 kilometers away from Groznyy, the regiment commander, Isa Daldakhov, told Interfax. Daldakhov said a total of ten helicopters carrying Rus- sian marks were engaged in the raid. Having encoun- tered dense anti-aircraft defense, the helicopters flew away to empty their cartridges at the Shali poultry factory which was heavily damaged. The shelling left two female factory employees and five other civilians wounded, according to Daldakhov. Two soldiers of the Shali regiment who were on duty at the gate were also wounded. One of them is in a serious condition. The hardware of the Shali regiment, the government’s main strike force, was not damaged, Daldakhov said. Dudayev Declares Martial Law, Curfew LD2411020594 Moscow Radio Rossii Network in Russian 0100 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Translated Text] According to an ANI agency report, a regime of martial law was introduced today This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 34 RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS over the whole territory of Chechnya by decree of [Chechen President] Dzhokhar Dudayev, starting at 0000, and a curfew established between 2000 and 0600. The urgent mobilization of Chechen citizens aged sev- enteen and over and of those liable for call-up has been announced. The institution of military commandant’s office is being established in all built-up areas and at establishments of further and secondary education. Leaders Blamed for Expanding ‘Aggression’ LD2411091894 Moscow INTERFAX in English 0625 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Representative of Chechen President Jokhar Dudayev in the Chief Headquarters Musa Merzhuyev told Interfax today that there existed a real danger of Russian territories close to Chechnya getting involved into the war in Chechnya. Merzhuyev blamed the unpredictable developments in the republic on the Russian leaders who, as he believes, are enlarging the scale of the aggression in Chechnya. The Chechen Armed Forces Chief Headquarters said another 300 Russian servicemen had “moved from Mozdok (North Ossetia) to the occupied Chechen terri- tory” this afternoon. (Groznyy considers a part of the Nadterechniy Region where the opposition Interim Council’s headquarters are situated as an occupied ter- ritory). Groznyy expects Russian troops to try to break through on the Naur direction from the Veselovskoye populated center (the Stavropol Region) this night. The Chechen Chief Headquarters said about 50 items of Russian armored equipment had been concentrated there. Merzhuyev said he believed that “while speaking about some interior Chechen conflict the Russian leaders con- ceal the fact of military actions waged on Chechen territory on purpose.” FSK Uncovers Foreign Agents in Krasnodar LD2311153594 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1123 GMT 23 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Over the last period of time the Federal Counterintelligence Service (FSK) department of the Krasnodar territory has exposed nine agents of foreign special services from the former Soviet republics and foreign countries, says a statement of the FSK press service handed over to Interfax on Wednesday [23 November]. The authors of this document express their perplexity due to the address of the LDPR leader Vladimir Zhiri- novskiy to Kuban’s citizens in which he says that the Federal Counterintelligence Service “is entirely para- lyzed and corrupted.” The Krasnodar FSK reported that among the exposed spies were employees of special services of those states FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 which Zhirinovskiy mentioned voicing his suspects con- cerning cooperation of Russian counterintelligence officers with them. In an address to Kuban’s citizens distributed earlier due to the elections to the territorial legislative assembly Zhirinovskiy declared about the FSK connections with the Israeli intelligence service and the CIA. Urals Economic Development Conference Held MM2511102594 Moscow ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA in Russian 23 Nov 94 First Edition p 2 {ITAR-TASS report: “Urals Will Be Powerful’’] [FBIS Translated Text] The concept for the development of the Urals economy is being discussed by administra- tion heads and academics at a conference that has opened in Izhevsk. Almost 70 leaders and scientific workers from Sverdlovsk, Perm, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, Tyumen, and Orenburg Oblasts, Bashkiria, and Udmurtia are taking part in it. The conference opened with a report form Gennadiy Mesyats, chairman of the Russian Academy of Sciences Urals Branch Presidiuin. Gennadiy Shveykin, director of the Chemistry Institute, reported on developments in the main areas of the Federal Program for the Production of Rare and Rare- Earth Metals. The conference participants will also be discussing a number of other questions of the region’s develop- ment—from the conversion of defense enterprises to the creation of regional TV programs and the additional demarcation of powers between federal organs of state power in Russia and its components. Bashkiria Pipeline Accident Causes Oil Spill LD2411052794 Moscow ITAR-TASS World Service in Russian 0443 GMT 24 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Raul Tukhvatullin] [FBIS Translated Text] Ufa, 24 Nov—Around 200 cubic metres of diesel fuel were spilled on the ground as a result of an accident on a pipeline belonging to Aktran- sneftepre@ukt Joint-stock Company. The leak from a worn-out pipe occurred near the mountain village of Bayshevo in Bashkiria’s Aurgazinskiy Rayon. The fuel, which is in short supply in the [Bashkir] Republic, spread over an area of around 6,000 square meters, causing great damage to allotments. Governor Cited on Nuclear Waste Disposal Problem LD2311145994 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1123 GMT 23 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] In the course of the visit by a Russian delegation, headed by Russian First Vice Pre- mier Oleg Soskovets, to Japan, Yevgeniy Nazdratenko, This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 head of the Maritime Territory administration (the Far East), intends to raise the issue on Japan’s participation in resolving the problem of nuclear waste disposal in the Maritime Territory. Speaking at a press conference in Vladivostok, Nazdratenko pointed out that currently there are quite many retired nuclear submarines in the maritime bays. According to Nazdratenko, Far Eastern scientists have many ideas on how to use the reactors from the retired submarines. In addition, Nazdratenko said that in the framework of this visit the Maritime Territory will raise the issue of equipment deliveries for elevatcrs from Japan, needed by the Territory if it is to receive grain from Canada and the United States. River Pollution From Nikolayev AES Investigated LD2411133794 Moscow Mayak Radio Network in Russian 1000 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Summary] Correspondent Ivan Petkov reports from Nikolayev oblast that the Nikolayev nuclear power station releases the technological waste waters from the AES into the Tashlykskoye cooling reservoir, from which it is then released into the South Bug River. These waters contain radionuclides, salts, oil products, and polluting heat and biological substances, which then get into the soil on irrigation. A criminal case has been instigated. Funding Crisis Could Cause Nuclear Station Shutdown MM2311143794 Moscow Ostankino Television First Che «el Network in Russian 1800 GMT 19 Nov 94 [From the “Novosti” newscast—video report by Valeriy Anuchin and Oleg Kul, from Kola nuclear power station] {[FBIS Translated Excerpt] [Anuchin] A catastrophic situation has developed at the Kola nuclear power sta- tion which supplies electricity to all the major enter- prises in Murmansk Oblast and Karelia. Two of the four power units are already out of operation. Everything points to the station’s grinding to a halt. In that case giant enterprises like Severonikel, the Kandalaksha alu- minum piant, the Appatit Association, and many Kare- lian enterprises will come to a standstill. And the people working at these enterprises will be left without the means of subsistence. Admittedly, the Murmansk Oblast Administration has compiled a draft agreement in which it assumes the role of coordinator and invites enterprises to make running payments on time and in full for the electricity they use and issue bills of exchange. But where are the enterprises to take the money from, when most of their earnings go primarily into the country’s budget and various federal funds? There is no local organ which can change this order. RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS 35 And so a number of debtor-enterprises have gotten together and taken out a credit of 30 billion rubles to repay at least part of the debt. But this money is barely enough to pay for the operation of the nuclear power station for one month. [passage omitted] Several Explosions Reported in Karelia LD2211212194 Moscow ITAR-TASS World Service in Russian 1352 GMT 22 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Vladimir Zlobin]} {FBIS Translated Text] Petrozavodsk, 22 Nov— Explosions have been rocking the capital of Karelia for the last few days. It is not yet clear who is doing this and why. Luckily, there are no casualties or severe damage. The Petrozavodsk militia is looking for the unknown plotters. An ITAR-TASS correspondent learned at the Karelian Interior Ministry today that a special headquar- ters to investigate the explosions had been set up and criminal proceedings had been instituted. Everything started on 18 November when a telephone call to a militia station said that a design institute had been mined. This proved a false alarm, however, and no explosive device was found. But the next day a real blast took place on the pedestrian bridge across the river Lososinka in central Petrozavodsk. Yet another blast took place near the town’s jail on the 2. November. And the following day two other blasts went off near the Railwaymen House of Culture, breaking windows in the building and damaging the cars parked nearby. The terrorists, however, did not stop at that. They made another call and said that the stage of the same House of Culture had been mined. There was a disco evening there and the building was urgently evacuated but no bomb was found. The last time the criminals phoned was on the morning of 21 November. An unidentified person said that the building of the Karelian pedagogical insti- tute was mined. Lectures were urgently stopped but nothing was found. Moscow Oblast Communists Celebrate ‘Widened’ Influence MM2311111594 Moscow SOVETSKAYA ROSSIYA in Russian 22 Nov 94 p 2 [Report by Galina Orekhanova: “Communists Prepare for Congress”’] {FBIS Translated Text] The 30th report and election conference of the Moscow Oblast Russian Federation Communist Party [CPRF] organization was held in Moscow 21 November. Representative—244 delegates from 56 Moscow Oblast CPRF city and rayon organiza- tions—and well organized, the Communists’ conference examined five agenda items: a report on the work and tasks of the Moscow Oblast CPRF organization (the main speaker was S.G. Nigkoyev, chairman of the This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 36 RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS Moscow Oblast CPRF Executive Committee Presid- ium), a report by the control and auditing commission, the election of a new Central Executive Committee of the Moscow Oblast CPRF organization and of a control and auditing commission, and also the election of delegates to the Third C?RF Congress, which will take place 21 January 1995. It was obvious from the credentials com- mission report that not only do the conference delegates represent a well-organized detachment of the party but that the CPRF’s influence among the masses has wid- ened significantly. Delegates representing industry, con- struction, municipal services, and science participated in the conference’s work. The most portentous thing is that an influx of young forces into the party has begun. The conference adopted clear-cut decisions: Party orga- nizations are to be created at enterprises and in workers’ collectives within three or four months, and every Com- munist will prepare a young person for admission to the party. It is recommended that political debate be pur- sued at theoretical seminars and not substituted for painstaking daily work in the party. The 30th report and election conference of the Moscow Oblast CPRF organi- zation elected the new Moscow Oblast Executive Com- mittee. S.G. Nigkoyev was reelected chairman of the Moscow Oblast CPRF Executive Committee Presidium, A.S. Sokolov first deputy, and V.M. Butsukin, N.I. Vasilyev, and G.K. Rebrov deputies. The conference elected 11 delegates to the Third CPRF Congress. Krasnodar Mayor’s Removal Based on ‘Dubious’ Pretext MM2311155394 Moscow KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA in Russian 23 Nov 94 p 3 [Report by Irina Kiryanova under the “Provincial Chronicle” rubric: “Yeltsin Deprives Krasnodar of a Leader”’] [FBIS Translated Text] Krasnodar—The November elections for the Krasnodar City Duma and the kray parliament had looked set to produce absolutely nothing of any note. The only hitch consisted in the abundance of candidates. However, we all know: If the action stops, bring on the “deus ex machina.” On this occasion, the role of the god was played by the Russian president himself. On Friday, two days before the elections and, as they say in such cases, “for no apparent reason” he signed an edict removing one of the candidates from his post—Krasnodar mayor Valeriy Samoylenko, to be pre- cise. Thus the president interfered, and most unceremo- niously, what is more, in what was an exclusively local train of events. At the same time he left Krasnodar for several days without a proper government, insofar as the FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 local soviets were dissolved in an equally cavalier manner almost immediately after last year’s Moscow drama. Valeriy Samoylenko is an authoritative politician, and a fairly popular one in the North Caucasus. He is president of the Association of Cities of Southern Russia, in which, incidentally, he managed to get Yerevan and Sukhumi involved in the capacity of non-affiliated members. Again, he is vice president of the Union of Russian Cities. He became Krasnodar’s “top dog” some time ago now. To a large extent, it is he who can take the credit for the fact that Krasnodar survived August 1991 so well, and celebrated its 200th anniversary peacefully last October, despite the shooting in Moscow. And for the fact that, amid all the cataclysms of recent years, there have been no major economic or social failures here, nor fatal interethnic clashes. And that is in spite of the highly complex ethnic makeup of the Kuban and the extremely suspicious attitude of the local population toward per- sons of non-Slav nationality... But what he really deserves to be remembered for is the fact that, through his own determination and authority, he brought about the Kuban capital’s unparalleled leap to a completely new level of culture. In the last two or three years the city has provided itself with a symphony orchestra, an organ hall, a classical ballet, an opera house, a conservatory faculty attached to the Academy of Culture... The official pretext for the dismissal is extremely dubious. Apparently the mayor was failing to carry out the president’s edicts and the government’s decrees. Which ones exactly? In an interview for the city news- paper Valeriy Samoylenko recalled just one instance of disobedience: in a willful decision he banned the priva- tization of bakeries. Which was probably a sensible move. Local analysts are inclined to take the view that the president’s edict was a reflection of the rivalry between two influential groupings which have formed of late in the North Caucasus. One of them is based on the Association of Cities of Southern Russia and led by Samoylenko himself. The other is formed around a similar association of regions of the North Caucasus and gravitates toward Nikolay Yegorov, head of the Ministry of Nationalities Affairs and Regional Policy, and Vladimir Shumeyko. We asked one Krasnodar wit, who was in a neighboring republic when this bolt came down from the blue, whether the president’s edict surprised him. The edict does not surprise me, he replied, but the president does. Incidentally, in last weekend’s City Duma election 10 of the 27 candidates elected were “Zhirinovskiy men”’.... This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 Hunger Strikes in Yekaterinburg Over Salary Delays LD2411112394 Moscow INTERFAX in English 0625 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] The union leader, an engineer and a worker of the research and production association Avtomatika, the biggest manufacturer of missile com- plex control systems in Russia based in Yekaterinburg, the Urals region, have continued an endless hunger strike launched following delays in the payment of salaries. The Avtomatika union leader, Vasiliy Pinyagin, told Interfax Wednesday [23 November] that the management RUSSIA NATIONAL AFFAIRS 37 had failed to anyhow react to the strikers’ demands to repay the salary debt amounting to seven billion rubles, dissolve the contract with Avtomatika Director General Vyacheslav Chebotarev and guarantee their jobs to personnel. Avtomatika workers have not been paid their salaries since April. Only 20 of the association’s capacities are engaged in the production at the moment. About 8,000 people are employed at the association. Pinyagin did not rule out that other workers could join the hunger strike adding he will starve as long as his health will permit him. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 38 UKRAINE International Affairs Kuchma Looks To ‘Widespread Cooperation’ LD2411094094 Kiev Radio Ukraine World Service in Ukrainian 0800 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Translated Text] The meeting of the head of the independent state of Ukraine with U.S. President Bill Clinton and other highly placed officials has character- ized a qualitatively new period in Ukrainian-U.S. rela- tions, said President Leonid Kuchma in a speech on Wednesday at the Center for Strategic and International Research. We have moved away from the past when the dialogue between the two states was restricted mainly to the so-called nuclear problems, he noted. On the agenda for the next protracted period is the issue of widespread cooperation. Even in my dreams | do not imagine the return of the USSR, added Leonid Kuchma. The processes that are taking place in Ukraine today are irreversible. Ukraine is open to the world and aspires to cooperate with all interested partners avoiding dependency on certain countries or groups of countries. Its strategy in choosing partners and allies has one aim, to guarantee the sover- eignty and preserve independence and the territorial integrity of the state. | want to dispel your doubts as to Ukraine’s choice of market reform, the Ukrainian pres- ident said addressing the representatives of the Amer- ican intellectual elite. The first steps along this path have already been taken. US., Kiev Sign Trade, Space Agreements LD2311123394 Kiev UNIAN in Ukrainian 1115 GMT 23 Nov 94 [FBIS Translated Text] Washington—“Seventy seven years ago, on 22 November 1917, another generation of Ukrainian leaders declared Ukrainian independence. It was a tragedy that the civil war and the Bolsheviks doomed the new state to destruction” said U.S. Presi- dent Bill Clinton during an official meeting ceremony with the Ukrainian president on the South Lawn near the White House. In his words, Ukraine could conquer independence and find its place in the new Europe, despite the attempts to prevent it from being in charge of its own will. He said that Leonid Kuchma was advancing to the future through economic reforms, having renounced nuclear weapons. “We are grateful to you as a person who initiated the Ukrainian renaissance,” Bill Clinton said turning personally to Leonid Kuchma. The U.S. President said that the U.S. would support Ukraine’s independence, the inviolability of its borders and the reforms that are being conducted in it. “We welcome the country which will become one of the great states,” Bill Clinton concluded. In his speech Leonid Kuchma, for his part, noted that Ukraine as a young state is prepared to learn from others. The Ukrainian president stressed that the era of FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 global confrontation of two political systems has ended: “It was not the West that won but the way of life which enabled the development of the individual.” “We will become a reliable partner for the U.S. in its efforts to transform the era into an era of democratic values,” Leonid Kuchma noted. After an official ceremony in the Oval Office the Ukrai- nian and U.S. presidents held a conversation. The Ukrainian-U.S. talks ended with the signing of the Charter on Partnership, Friendship, and Cooperation and an agreement on deepening cooperation in the peaceful exploration of space and also a memorandum on cooperation between the U.S. Ministry of Trade and Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and an agreement on conversion. At a news conference which was held after the signing of Ukrainian-U.S. documents, U.S. President Bill Clinton said that according to the Nunn-Lugar program, the United States will continue the stage-by-stage financial assistance to Ukraine in the sum of $900 million (of which $350 million will go toward dismantling nuclear weapons—$6 million has been received—and $550 mil- lion for economic reform). In the words of Ukraine’s President, Leonid Kuchma the signing of the charter will remove the last obstacles on the path of cooperation with the United States. Shpek Details Plans for U.S. Economic Aid LD2511100594 Kiev UNIAN in Ukrainian 1915 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Translated Text] [no date as received]—“Out of the $550 million economic aid package pledged to the Ukraine by the United States, we expect to receive 200 million in the very near future”, Ukraine’s Economic Minister Roman Shpek stated in an interview with UNIAN. Of that amount, he said, 72 million will go toward servicing current payments for energy carriers in the fourth quarter of this year, 25 million towards a long-term easy-payment credit to Ukraine’s agriculture, and three million toward the purchase of medical sup- plies. The rest, which is 100 million, will be divided between investment projects, investment insurance, and power engineering reorganization. Assistance in the pro- vision of these funds will be rendered by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. “The fourteen documents signed by the presidents of Ukraine and the United States and both countries’ ministers on 22-23 November, turned on a green light to private American investment,” Roman Shpek con- tinued. He said the company Pepsico had confirmed its intention to invest $100 million in the Ukrainian econ- omy’s processing industries and production of agricul- tural produce packaging, while General Electric had proposed a new scheme for the purchase of semi- fin- ished and some finished products, to be sold outside Ukraine. Roman Shpek added agreement had been This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 reached in the United States to promote contacts between individual firms and Ukrainian regions. Among the 14 documents signed are a joint statement by Ukraine’s External Economic Relations Minister Serhiy Osyka and U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown; an agreement with USAID on the allocation to Ukraine of a grant to reform the economy, signed by Ukraine’s Economy Minister Roman Shpek; a memorandum on the institution with the aid of the United States of a Ukrainian university of ecology, signed by Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Kuras; an agreement on granting in 1995 a $25 million credit for the purchase of agricultural produce, signed by Yuriy Scherbak, Ukraine’s ambas- sador to the United States, and Christopher Goldthwait, general sales manager of the United States Department of Agriculture; and a financial protocol on the provision of $10 million to finance conversion projects, signed by Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Valeriy Shmarov and Overseas Private Investment Corporation President Ruth Harkin. Apart from that, a number of the documents signed will take effect after confirmation by Foreign Affairs Min- istry notes via diplomatic channels. They are an agree- ment on legal succession with regard to the customs agreement between the United States and the USSR, one on employment for diplomatic personnel family mem- bers, and a joint statement on future cooperation in the aerospace industry. It was also agreed in the course of the visit that a conference would be held in Ukraine between 14-16 December, to be attended by representatives of U.S. financial and business circles. Russian Paper Comments on Kuchma’s U.S. Visit MM2311140594 Moscow IZVESTIYA in Russian 23 Nov 94 p 3 {Commentary by Vladimir Nadein: “America Offers Kuchma Friendship But No Checkbook”’} {[FBIS Translated Text] Washington—A 30-gun salute, the playing of the national anthems, and a ceremonial march-past on the South Lawn of the White House marked the opening of the state visit to the United States by Leonid Kuchma, Ukraine’s second president. The Ukrainian is only the fourth leader, after the emperor of Japan, the president of South Africa, and the president of Russia to whom official Washington has accorded such an honor during Bill Clinton’s two years in office. Hardly had the dense smoke above the guns dispersed than the two presidents disappeared with their closest advisers into a White House office to exchange opinions and, most important, look one another in the eye and work out where they stand. The new Ukrainian president had spoken by phone with Bill Clinton several times and they had exchanged let- ters, but they had never met in person. Is Kuchma going UKRAINE 39 to become “friend Leonid” along the lines of Russia’s “friend Boris” or Germany’s “friend Helmut’? Leonid Kuchma represents a country with a somber present and an alarming future but a country which is also moving increasingly rapidly to the fore in the list of U.S. priorities. Ukraine presents a picture of inflation in the past year at almost 1,090 percent, a 36-percent drop in production in the same period, corruption and crime rivaling Russia and Colombia, and a population that is rapidly sinking into poverty—and all this is not even the price of reforms. There are no reforms. The problem is compounded by ossified economic forms and the active reluctance (at least until very recently) of the power structures in Ukraine to take the necessary steps toward the free market. However, Ukraine’s strategic position and its prominent position in the system of former Soviet republics lead the Americans to the conclusion that the collapse of inde- pendent Ukraine would have a Chernobyl effect on European stability. As the president election in Russia draws closer, prompting thoughts about the future of the fragile part- nership between the former superpowers, U.S. policy makers are increasingly turning their gaze toward Ukraine. Of course, there is no question of playing the “Ukraine card” against Russia. After Leonid Kuchma’s election as Ukrainian president, even those who advocated playing the Ukraine card fell silent and waited for better times. And that despite the fact that the administration’s critics were extremely forthright until recently, demanding almost that Ukraine be admitted into Nato. Despite the differences of opinion with the White House on a number of foreign policy problems, the new Repub- lican majority in Congress is hardly going to oppose support for Ukraine. However, the new congressional leaders have promised to look more closely at whether U.S. taxpayers’ money is being used to help crooks in the government get rich or to help structural transforma- tions. The recent measures unveiled by Leonid Kuchma have been given a rapturous reception in Washington. As Nicholas Burns, the U.S. President's special assistant for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, stated recently, Leonid Kuchma has undergone “a remarkable change—in the twinkling of an eye. Our government was afraid that Ukrainian statehood was in serious danger because of the lack of economic reforms.” The ratification of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty by the Supreme Rada [Council] removed some major obstacles to economic aid for Ukraine. The way has been opened for the United States, Canada, and the IMF to keep their promises and issue $725 million in the final quarter of this year for the stabilization of the Ukrainian economy. A further $350 million will be allocated by the This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 40 UKRAINE United States as part of a technical aid package. All of this will make Ukraine the fourth-largest recipient of U.S. aid after Israel, Egypt, and Russia. U.S. diplomacy also takes the credit for settling, albeit temporarily, Ukraine’s debts to Russia and Turkmeni- stan. For Ukraine this problem is vital. It is not the United States or Canada, much less the countries of the European Union, which are adroitly avoiding giving aid to the former “second among equals among free repub- lics,”” but Russia and Turkmenistan that are today the main donors to the Ukrainian economy. They are owed more than $3 billion. After a two-day break in Hawaii to recover from a grueling nationwide tour on the eve of the elections and get over the disappointment of a crushing defeat, Presi- dent Clinton wil! be very sensitive and responsive in his conversations with the new Ukrainian leader. However, Ukraine is not going to get any special U.S. commitment to support its independence and territorial inviolability going beyond the scope of conventional guarantees to countries party to the Nonproliferation Treaty. The size of the aid package is not likely to be increased either. Leonid Kuchma is not even slightly prey to the fond hopes which his predecessor, Leonid Kravchuk, cher- ished during his first visits to Washington. The United States, for all its financial clout, has ceased to be a large, open checkbook for the Ukrainian president. Despite Kiev’s desperate need for foreign investments, reliable trade and economic partnership with Russia is the key to ending the crisis in Ukraine. L. Kuchma knows that, so does B. Clinton. They also know that B. Yeltsin knows it. Foreign Minister Discusses Moscow-Kiev Relations MK2311132094 Moscow MOSKOVSKIYE NOVOSTI in Russian No. 58, 20-27 Nov 94 p 12 [Interview with Ukraine Foreign Minister Hennadiy Udovenko by Dmitriy Yakushkin under the “Diplo- macy” rubric: “There Is Too Much That Ties Us to Russia] [FBIS Translated Excerpt} In the wake of the Ukrainian parliament’s passing the decision on the accession to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, one of the problems of the republic’s relations with Russia and with the rest of the world has been struck from the agenda. MOSK- OVSKIYE NOVOSTI political observer Dmitriy Yakushkin discusses other foreign policy aspects with Ukraine Foreign Minister Hennadiy Udovenko. {[Yakushkin] Sir, the impression is that the Russian- Ukrainian talks are skidding. The dates of Boris Yeltsin’s visit to Kiev are constantly being moved back. {[Udovenko] It is journalists who, to a certain extent, forced us to name these dates. We discussed the subject FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 with Andrey Kozyrev back in early September and came to the conclusion that we should not commit ourselves to any certain date. There is now generally a proposal first to resolve the navy and debt problems, and only after this sign the treaty. There is also the opposite approach: Let us sign the treaty first and then proceed to solve specific prob- lems, concerning the navy again, on its basis. [Yakushkin] To which line do you adhere? [Udovenko] I believe there should first be a treaty because otherwise we may be dragging our feet on it. On the other hand, our talks on the remaining problems are not going too badly. When there are no talks, everyone is looking over their own shoulders, and that is too bad. At the same time, I would like the Russian mentality changed.... [Yakushkin] In what respect? [Udovenko] One should get used to the fact that Ukraine is an independent state. [passage omitted] [Yakushkin] What was your concept of Ukrainian for- eign policy when you took the ministerial post? [Udovenko] We are not altering the foreign policy course; it is the same as it was when formed by the preceding Supreme Council when it was approving its foundations. But I consider it necessary to add fresh emphases in foreign policy. This platform of mine was approved by parliament, which rather unanimously con- firmed my candidacy. [Yakushkin] What do you have in mind by “fresh emphases?” [Udovenko] There is a need for normalizing relations with Russia, and very much has already been done in this area. [Yakushkin] Do you think these relations were “not normal” until recently? [Udovenko] They were steeped in ideology; may things were perceived in our country as an attempt at dictate. If up to now, three years after Ukraine and Russia became independent states, there is no treaty between them, this is hardly “normal.” The previous treaty—while it was not too bad—was signed when there was still the Soviet Union. Still unsettled is the Black Sea Fleet issue. Separatist sentiments in Crimea are very strong, and we are only asking for whatever guarantees of territorial integrity to us. Thank God, President Yeltsin is talking about this. [passage omitted] The priority of our relations with Russia and the CIS countries, however, should not be at the expense of cooperation with the West. [passages omitted] [Yakushkin] Do you feel pressure in appointing new ambassadors of a independent Ukraine? Is this hard? This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 [Udovenko] Selecting ambassadors is a constant head- ache. We do not have the personnel basis that Russia has. Therefore, we have had very many appointments for political motives. They will be occurring also today; we cannot get away from this, we do not work in a vacuum. Unfortunately, we will not be able to fill all the vacancies with career diplomats. We have decided on Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States (he is Yuriy Shcherbak, an epidemiologist, author, who was ambassador to Israel—note by D. Ya.). Now Russia is on the agenda [passage omitted] [interview ends] P.S. The United States and Great Brit~in clearly wel- come, via their ambassadors to Kiev, Ukraine’s acces- sion to the Nonproliferation Treaty. Russian disarma- ment experts have been more cautious. They believe in particular that it has not been made clear in which capacity Ukraine appears in the given case—as a nuclear or a nuclear-free state. The preamble to the law on Ukraine’s accession to the Nonproliferation Treaty con- tains references to previous understandings on this score. On the other hand, parliament has stated that the nuclear arms are Ukraine’s property. The accession law also enters into force after Ukraine receives security guarantees, although a reverse procedure was originally called for. Moroz on Ukraine-Russia ‘Problems’ LD2411210594 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1923 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] There are no political problems between Ukraine and Russia, Chairman of Ukraine’s Supreme Soviet Aleksandr Moroz declared on Thursday in Kiev addressing chairmen of local Councils in the State Management Ins«tute under the Cabinet of Min- isters. In his words, Russia “has no territorial claims to Ukraine” and is ready to guarantee territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine’s borders. “The Crimean problem” does not influence relations between two countries, Moroz noted. In an interview with Interfax-Ukraine he underlined that Ukraine’s parliament “would pursue a successive policy bringing Crimea’s Constitution in line with Ukraine’s Constitution.” Moroz reported about his telephone talk with the speaker of the Crimean parliament Sergey Tsekov who, as he said, “instills hope for a positive solution of this issue.” Crimeans Note ‘No Logic’ to Kiev Law Decision MM2311143594 Moscow IZVESTIYA in Russian 23 Nov 94 p 2 [Report by Nikolay Semena: “Crimea Depressed by News from Kiev”} UKRAINE 41 {[FBIS Translated Text] Simferopol—The Crimean Supreme Soviet Presidium has examined the results of two hearings: in the Ukrainian parliament “On the Political-Legal Situation in the Crimea” and in the Russian Federation State Duma “On Russian-Ukrainian Relations.” Supreme Soviet Deputy Chairman V. Mezhak, who spoke at both the hearings and the State Duma session, described the results of the Crimean deputies’ trip to Moscow. He stressed that during the meetings Uk:aine’s and Russia’s approaches to the conclusion of a wide- ranging treaty on the Crimea’s participation in this process were analyzed. He said that an accord was reached on the creation of an off-site Russian Federation consulate in the Crimea, on a mechanism for the people of the Crimea to take up Russian Federation citizenship, and on the creation of permanent State Duma and Crimean parliamentary missions to the Crimean Supreme Soviet and the State Duma respectively. Progress was also made when it came to resolving the issue of the Crimean ruble zone. Presidium members approved the speech delivered at the State Duma hear- ings by Admiral E. Baltin, commander of the Black Sea Fleet. However the Ukrainian Supreme Council decision to abrogate around 10 Crimean laws and Supreme Soviet decrees, as Presidium Member M. Bakharev said, left the impression of being hasty and drastic. Perplexity was voiced at the fact that before the session Ukrainian deputies were talking about the discrepancies between the Crimean and Ukrainian Constitutions, but at the last minute the Crimean Constitution was left untouched while Crimean rulings that had already become invalid and were no longer in force were revoked wholesale. For instance, the Declaration of State Sovereignty, as it pointed out, was only in force until the adoption of a Crimean Constitution. No act of independence was adopted in the Crimea, but there was an Act on State Autonomy, which also ceased to be valid with the adoption of the Constitution. Nor is it clear why Kiev revoked en masse even those Crimean laws that do not contravene the law on the demarcation of powers between Ukrainian and Crimean state organs adopted by mutual consent of the two supreme councils. What is the point in abrogating the law on the 1994 budget when just over a month remains until the end of its term, given, moreover, that the mutual treaty on interbudgetary relations is in force? Presidium Member S. Nikulin pointed to another incon- gruity—the laws were abrogated not as laws, as should have been the case in accordance with generally accepted practice, but...as a list [perechen], a new word in law- making activity. Presidium members noted that the decision adopted in Kiev has no logic and in terms of form and essence is purely political rather than legal. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 42 UKRAINE Russian Duma Deputies Urge Compromise LD2311200194 Moscow ITAR-TASS in English 1919 GMT 23 Nov 94 [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Ivan Novikov] [FBIS Transcribed Text] Moscow November 23 TASS— Deputies of the State Duma expressed concern over the way relations between Ukrainian and Crimean Parlia- ments were developing on Wednesday. The lower house of the Russian Parliament issued a statement in connection with the Ukrainian Parlia- ment’s decree “on fulfillment of the Ukrainian Parlia- ment’s decree "on political and legal situation in the autonomous Republic of Crimea.“ “We call upon (our counterparts), all citizens of Ukraine to behave toward the hopes and problems of the Republic of Crimea with the same amount of tolerance and respect as Russia did toward establishment of the independent Ukrainian state,” the statement reads. Deputies of the State Duma believe that “the language of ultimatums and blockade is the worst way to settle the discords.” The fraternal peoples of Russia and Ukraine have an interest in common which consists in protecting the Crimea from any military pressure, because the peninsula is overcrammed with weapons. The State Duma is not indifferent to the destiny of the Crimea due to the fact that any acceleration of tensions on the Crimea echoes tn Russia. “There are no issues in Ukrainian-Russian relations which could not be solved by means of bilateral talks,” the statement reads. Unless a compromise agreement is reached in the Ukrai- nian-Crimean conflict, it will be impossible to reach an agreement on the future of the Black Sea navy, about its anchorages and quarters, and, consequently, the signing and ratification of Russian-Ukrainian treaty of friend- ship, cooperation and partnership, the statement reads. Kiev Protests Russian State Duma Stance LD2411203894 Kiev UNIAN in Ukrainian 1915 GMT 24 Nov 94 {By UNIAN correspondents Svitlana Dorosh, Volod- ymyr Ivakhnenko] {[FBIS Translated Excerpt] Moscow [no dateline as received}—Ukraine’s embassy to Russia today sent a note of protest to the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry in connection with a State Duma statement on the Ukrai- nian Supreme Council’s resolution of 17 November “On the political and legal situation with the Crimean Auton- omous Republic,” the note proposing that clarification should be provided in relation to the statement, Vadym Dolhanov, counsellor at Ukraine’s embassy to Russia, has told a UNIAN correspondent. He said this move by FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 Russia’s legislature should from the standpoint of inter- national law be qualified as “legal nonsense.” The statement, issued by Russia’s State Duma on 23 November, says, in particular, that Russia expresses its concern at the development of mutual relations between Ukraine and Crimea and calls on Ukrainian parliamen- tary deputies to treat “the problems and hopes of the Crimean Republic with the same tolerance as that in Russia’s treatment of the establishment of the indepen- dent Ukraine.” It is said in the statement that “‘an accord on the future, mooring, and basing of the Black Sea Fleet and, therefore, the ratification of a Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation are impossible without a compro- mise in the settlement of the Crimean-Ukrainian con- flict.” There were 227 votes in favor, four against, and three abstentions. “Ukraine by no means links the ratification of a Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership to the removal of misunderstanding between Kiev and Simfer- opol,” said Yevhen Marchuk, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister, commenting in an interview with UNIAN today on the State Duma statement. [passage omitted] Moroz Calls For Expedient BSF Vessel Transfer LD2411175794 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1617 GMT 24 Nov 94 {[FBIS Transcribed Text] Ukrainian Parliamentary Speaker Oleksandr Moroz believes it expedient to transfer all Black Sea Fleet [BSF] vessels to Russia provided Ukraine keeps all coastal infrastructure. In answer to an Interfax-Ukraine question Thursday, Moroz said he did not rule out that the Russian fleet could base on the Ukrainian territory and that the Ukrainian Navy could base in or near Sevastopol. At the same time, Moroz believes it necessary to “imme- diately solve the Black Sea Fleet issue.” “The Black Sea is an area of specific interests of both Russia and Ukraine, and we need to coordinate our activities,” he said. Anti-Ukrainian Feelings Increase in BSF LD2411133294 Kiev Radio Ukraine World Service in Ukrainian 0800 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Translated Text] Aggressive behavior toward cit- izens of our state is increasing among sailors of the Black Sea Fleet. This is stressed in an appeal by the Sevastopol city organization of the DSU [State Independence of Ukraine] to the Ukrainian parliament. It points out that there has recently been a sharp increase in clashes provoked by the sailors of the Black Sea Fleet in which Ukrainian servicemen have been brutally beaten up. One of them died from the injuries which he sustained. The This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 basic reason for this situation, according to the Sevas- topol branch of the DSU, is the anti-Ukrainian tensions that are flaring up in certain sections of the Black Sea Fleet. National Affairs Kuchma Issues Reform, Anti-Monopoly Edict AU2311143894 Kiev HOLOS UKRAYINY in Ukrainian 22 Nov 94 p 5 (“Ukrainian Presidential Edict on Measures To Ensure the Fulfillment of Decisions on Reforming Ukraine’s Economy” signed by President L. Kuchma on 18 November] [FBIS Translated Text] Proceeding from the fact that individual bodies of state executive power are blocking Ukraine Cabinet of Ministers’ measures to reform the economy and are setting high monopoly prices where these prices should be formed independently by agree- ment between producers and consumers, and proceeding from the fact that this is making the population oppose the implementation of radical economic reforms, I resolve as follows: 1. To hold the leaders of ministries, other central bodies of state executive power, the government of the Crimean Autonomous Republic, and chairmen of oblast, Kiev, and Sevastopol city councils of people’s deputies person- ally answerable for failure to fulfill the Ukraine Cabinet of Ministers decisions on implementing economic reforms and for allowing departmental influence on the setting of high monopoly prices and rates. To determine that those officials who are responsible for opposition to the Ukraine Cabinet of Ministers’s deci- sions regarding reforms in the economy and for setting high monopoly prices and rates must be punished in accordance with the law to the extent that they might be dismissed from their posts. 2. Ukraine’s Antimonopoly Committee, jointly with Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy, must submit within one month proposals on measures to restrict branch monop- olism, in particular, to abolish those structures that, through administrative influence, cause price increases proceeding from their departmental interests and in defiance of the citizens’ interests. 3. Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy, jointly with corre- sponding ministries and other central bodies of state power, with the participation of local bodies of power and self-government, must submit by | January 1995 proposals to ensure prices are set for the main products manufactured in Ukraine in taking into account market demand, through organizing fairs and exchange trade and creating other structures that will function on new principles. UKRAINE 43 4. Ukraine’s National Bank must submit by | January 1995 proposals for the sale of products on Ukraine’s domestic market with payment exclusively in the national currency. [signed] Ukrainian President L. Kuchma [dated] Kiev, 18 Nov 1994 Parliament Expects ‘Battle’ Over Power Bill WS2411092494 Kiev INTELNEWS in English 0238 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Kiev, Nov. 23.-—President Leonid Kuchma’s return home from the United States is likely to be followed shortly by a sharp battle with Parliament over his proposals for the division of govern- ment power. According to sources close to presidential advisor Vol- odymyr Hryniov, Kuchma is likely as early as Monday or Tuesday to submit to Parliament a bill greatly increasing his own power at the expense of the legislative branch. Ukraine’s government currently consists of a confusing political patchwork in which presidential and govern- mental decrees and parliamentary laws often contradict each other or are ignored by local authorities. “The draft foresees the transformation of Ukrainian Parliament from an organ that has unlimited powers, as it is today, into a European-style parliament, which would function only as a legislative body,” said Hryniov. According to the bill, the president will head the entire executive branch, including the Cabinet of Ministers, and will be solely responsible for appointing government staff. The government appointed by the president is to be approved by Parliament. If Parliament rejects presidential proposals twice, the president can order it dissolved, according to the bill, which would also give Parliament the right to impeach the president, but only under strictly specified condi- tions. The draft law also foresees that a prime minister will play a different role, concentrating on organizing and con- ducting the sessions of the Cabinet of Ministers, as well as working on the directives and resolutions of his immediate superior—the president. “I believe the Kiev party branch will play a key role during the first political test of our party—the struggle for approval of the presidential bill division of powers, a cornerstone of Kuchma’s reforms,” said Hryniov, speaking to a Tuesday meeting of the Kiev branch of the Inter-Regional Reform Bloc attended by over 200 dele- gates. Regarding the anticipated parliamentary reaction to the law, Hryniov said “Parliament is not likely to give up on its own most of its powers and concede to narrowing its functions.” But the president is determined to push this This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 4c UKRAINE law, and if Parliament rejects it, Kuchma may call for a referendum on the issue, Hryniov said, echoing an earlier statement by the president. Moroz Addresses Group on Economic Reform LD2511132294 Kiev Radio Ukraine World Service in Ukrainian 2300 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Translated Text] We need economic reform only on the basis of law, Supreme Council Chairman Oleksandr Moroz said, addressing students on the key personnel refresher course at the state Management and Self-Government Institute under Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers today. The consensus of both Ukrainian and foreign experts about the main basis and trends of economic reform in crisis, approved by the Supreme Council, is that it is a fundamental document that took the course toward economic reform and made provision for a regulated state market which, strictly speaking, is what there is worldwide. As for the course outlined by the Supreme Council, Oleksandr Moroz believes it shares with the presidential program approximately 80 percent of the ideas contained in it. The Supreme Council is willing to act jointly with the president. Thus, there was not and there will not be any need to oppose their positions to each other. The Supreme Council chairman also warned against radical moves. His view is that objective preconditions make this impossible. Moroz on Opposition To Some Land Reform Decrees LD2311181094 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1559 GMT 23 Nov 94 {[FBIS Transcribed Text] Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament Aleksandr Moroz said he was in favor of the parliamentary-presidential form of rule with a “strong executive vertical.” He said during his visit to the Ternopol Region of Ukraine today that he believed that the president must carry out only representative functions. Moroz told employees of the Niva agricultural enterprise that he considered some provisions of the Ukrainian president’s decree on speeding up the land reform as “not so well conceived and out of time.” Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma is now on a visit to the U.S. Moroz said he believed that he would propose that the parliament veto the provisions of the decree which, in his opinion, “lead to stealing land.” Moroz said it would be a crime to begin selling land “now when there is no national currency unit and there is no money for paying for services and goods.” FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 At the same time, Moroz said he was in favor of implementing the land reform but within the scope of the documents which had already been approved. He stressed that the Ukrainian Land Code provided for granting the right to own land both to individual farmers and collective farms. Moroz also said he was in favor of continuing to subsi- dize production of main agricultural products. He said he believed that the federal budget must assign funds for such subsidies as a compensation for the “nonequivalent exchange between towns and villages.” Kuchma Appoints Fuel, Energy Adviser LD2311165794 Kiev Radio Ukraine World Service in Ukrainian 1300 GMT 23 Nov 94 [FBIS Translated Text] By an edict of the president of Ukraine, Yuliy Yoffe has been appointed supernumerary adviser to the president of Ukraine for issues of the fuel and energy complex. Kuchma Appoints Security Service Official AU2311145394 Kiev HOLOS UKRAYINY in Ukrainian 22 Nov 94 p 4 {Ukrainian Presidential Edict on Appointing A. Bye- lyayev as Deputy Chairman of Ukraine’s Security Ser- vice” signed by Ukrainian President L. Kuchma on 18 Nov] [FBIS Translated Text] To appoint Anatoliy Mykhay- lovych Byelyayev as deputy chairman of Ukraine’s Secu- rity Service, member of the Board of Ukraine’s Security Service, and head of Ukraine’s Security Service Main Administration for Combating Corruption and Orga- nized Crime. [signed] Ukrainian President L. Kuchma [dated] Kiev, 18 November 1994 General Fedin Undertakes BSF Appointmeni LD2411015394 Kiev UNIAR in Ukrainian 2245 GMT 23 Nov 94 [FBIS Translated Text] Sevastopol, 23 Nov—Aviation Major General Ivan Fedin has been appointed as Black Sea Fleet Air Force commander. Cabinet Appoints Union Negotation Team WS2311125194 Kiev INTELNEWS in English 2355 GMT 23 Nov 94 [FBIS Transcribed Text] Kiev, Nov. 22.—In a major step forward toward ensuring labor peace, the Cabinet of Ministers on Tuesday appointed a government working commission to negotiate the terms of a 1995 General Tariff Agreement to be signed between the government and trade unions. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 Labor Minister Mykhaylo Kaskevych was appointed as the commission chair and First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Pynzenyk will coordinate the negotiations. Kaskevych said Monday the cabinet has also drafted amendments to the Employment Law, clarifying the status of the partially unemployed and the conditions of their social protection. Kaskevych, who announced the news after a round of negotiations with Federation of Ukrainian Trade Unions leader Oleksandr Stoyan, said the Cabinet and union leaders have agreed to raise the monthly miinimum wage and tie it in the future to the consumer price index. UKRAINE 45 The two sides also ironed out a framework for addressing union demands for tax cuts, and the lifting of Value Added Tax on bread, milk, meat, and vegetables. The corresponding ministries and other government institutions in charge of the management of public property and local administrations were instructed within a week to appoint their duly authorized represen- tatives to take part in such negotiations. Official also said that by Dec. | the cabinet will elaborate a mechanism that will make it possible to prevent delayed payments of wages in the future. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. Belarus Gas Supply Resumes Under ‘Strict Conditions’ WS2411094394 Minsk Radio Minsk Network in Belarusian 0800 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Translated Text] One cannot rule out that in the immediate future Belarus will have to pay world prices for energy sources, declared Deputy Prime Minister Valeryy Kokaraw at a news conference devoted to the results of a government delegation’s recent visit to Moscow. According to him, this assumption was prompted by the chronic debt of Belarusian enterprises for Russian oil and gas. The current aggregate debt of Belarusian consumers to Russian energy suppliers amounts to some $460 million. In the opinion of the deputy prime minister, the first warning from Russia’s Gazprom to the Belarusian side— a 50 percent reduction in gas supplies to the Republic as of 16 November—was a logical outcome. According to Kokaraw, in the course of emergency negotiations in Moscow, an agreement was reached on resuming the former volume of gas supplies to Belaru- sian pipelines in exchange for a commitment, personally guaranteed by the government, to provide for a 100- percent repayment of the current debt. Another strict condition expressed by the Russian side was the demand to present a precise schedule for the Belarusian Government to repay its two-year energy debt. Government Imposes Limits on Electricity WS2411092094 Minsk Radio Minsk Network in Belarusian 0400 GMT 24 Nov 94 [FBIS Translated Text] Due to considerable reductions in deliveries of natural gas to the Republic, an extremely complex situation with supplying power plants and boiler houses with fuel oil has developed. The Cabinet of Ministers has resolved to reduce the consumption of electricity to a total of 24.7 kilowatt hours per day in all oblasts and the city of Minsk, in accordance with a previously accepted timetable. At the same time, the Belpaliwhaz company has been requested to take neces- sary measures to provide power plants and boiler houses with as much natural gas as possible. U.S. Studies Petrochemical Plant Project WS2311143394 Minsk Radio Minsk Network in Belarusian 1300 GMT 23 Nov 94 [FBIS Translated Text] U.S. Ambassador to Belarus Kenneth Spencer Yalowitz and Lew Navazhilaw, general manager of Polimir Production Association—a leading enterprise in the petrocherricai secisz of Belarus—have signed an agreement granting a subsidy to Belarus. According to this contract, the U.S. Agency for Com- merce and Development will allocate up to $500,000 to WESTERN REGION FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 study the feasibility—as well as the environmenta! safety—of an ethylene-producing factory in Novopo- lotsk. [Words indistinct] civil-engineering company from the United States will undertake this project. IMF Reconsiders Assistance LD2311200994 Minsk Radiostantsiya Belarus International Service in Belarusian 1900 GMT 23 Nov 94 [FBIS Translated Text] The Belarusian Government has received an official notice from the IMF that on 15 December it is not going to consider the issue of financial assistance to Belarus, as was planned before. The fund has been closely following the economic policy imple- mented in our country, the main criteria being consis- tency of the Belarusian Government in carrying out the anticrisis program. And while until recently there were not any special deviations from the program of urgent measures, approved by the Supreme Soviet and the IMF, the well-known decree of the president on reduction of prices, in the opinion of experts, has crossed out every- thing positive that was developed before. Without IMF credits, Belarus will find it extremely difficult to get out of the abyss of the economic crisis. In the opinion of observers, renewing relations with the IMF will be possible in the event of resignation of the government, which has allowed such an economically ungrounded decision. However, the problem is that the initiative of such an action did not come from the government. Lukashenka on ‘Crisis of Power,’ IMF Credit Denial LD2311182494 Moscow INTERFAX in English 1616 GMT 23 Nov 94 [From the “Presidential Bulletin” feature; compiled by Nikolay Zherebtsov, Andrey Petrovskiy, and edited by Vladimir Shishlin] [FBIS Transcribed Text] “Belarus is sovereign for the East and for the West, and the West has no right 19 tell the Belarusian President what decisions he is to .1ake”, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka told a conf_rence of trade union activists on Wednesday [23 Novimber]. President Lukashenka made it clear that in the first place he was referring to the International Monetary Fund, which had denied Belarus another credit of $308 million. IF [Interfax] Note. Earlier reports said that the Interna- tional Monetary Fund denied the credit in response to President Lukashenka’s decree to reduce prices. The IMF argues that Belarus is unable to end the state control of prices. “The West put its foot down,” Lukashenka said about the IMF verdict. President Lukashenka described himself as a supporter of government control of economic reform combined with market mechanisms. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 “The current economic crisis has coincided with the crisis of power,” which, in the opinion of the Belarusian leader is being “provoked by the former nomenklatura, unable to reconcile itself with Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s election.” The opposition is led by those politicians, who lost the election race and now they seek to impeach the President“, Lukashenka said. In spite of the Constitutional Court’s decision declaring as unconstitutional the juridically supported initiatives of the President to abolish 91 percent of the Soviets of People’s Deputies Lukashenka said that. he remained committed to their replacement with self-government committees. The President believes that the presidential chain of command would take no more than two weeks to establish. He said that in order to furnish a social safety net for the population hk: prohibited the managers of industrial enterprises from dismissing workers in connection with stoppages. “Those directors who disobey the President would be dismissed themselves”, President Lukashenka warned. About relations with Russia Lukashenka said that they were equitable relations of partnership between two independent states. President Lukashenka said that “Russia, bled white by its own economic problems, was unable to follow the principle of proletarian internation- alism to supply other CIS republics with inexpensive fuels and raw materials.” This is the reason why at the inter-governmental talks on oil supplies to Belarus next year Russia put forward tough conditions. The debts for the raw materials supplied over the previous eighteen months have to be paid off first, Lukashenka said. He added that the Belarusian Cabinet was going its best to have the payments deferred, but so far failed achieve that. President Lukashenka said that under a firm agreement with Russia the two countries would soon begin to found powerful financial and industrial groups and Russian- Belarusian friendship societies. Minister Views Foreign Economic Activities WS$2311140094 Minsk RESPUBLIKA in Russian 17 Nov 94 p 2 [Interview with Mikhail Afanasyevich Marynich, min- ister of foreign economic relations of Belarus, by Mikhail Shymanskiy; place and date not given: “Belarus Should Penetrate Into Foreign Markets”—first paragraph is RESPUBLIKA introduction] [FBIS Translated Text] Whatever we say, the words “minister of foreign economic relations of Belarus” sound proud and meaningful. We could not even dream about such a post before, because Moscow resolved all our issues. Thank God, times have changed. [Shymanskiy] Well, Mikhail Afanasyevich Marynich is the minister of foreign economic relations of Belarus. We WESTERN REGION 47 are presenting him to our readers. It seems to me that you see him as a laconic, severe, and even unemotional official. He has been nominated to such a high post, which only an expert in various areas, including diplo- macy and behavioral norms, could occupy. Yes, we are living at a time when poems and emotions are out of place. But Mikhail Afanasyevich—recalling something very dear to him—says: [Marynich] I often visit fore.gn states due to the nature of my work. I have to be present at various official meetings, negotiations, receptions, and other official ceremonies. Yes, they are living in a civilized and luxurious world. But I am dreaming about my native village Staryye Golovchitsy in Petrikov Rayon in Pole- sye, where I was born. Our country’s beauty is very serene, we have no Western luxury. We are surrounded by birch trees, blue fir groves, and fragrant summer flowers. Our people are kind, cordial, and industrious, they are not spoilt by life. How can I forget about all this when I am abroad? A poet said: ““Wherever you go, you should never forget about your native land.” [Shymanskiy] Mikhail Afanasyevich, you were in Prague not long ago. You are currently working as minister of foreign economic relations. [Marynich] Yes, I have worked as Belarus’ ambassador to the Czech Republic, Sie vakia, and Hungary. | had almost settled down in Prague and plunged into my new activities, when—all of a sudden—it was proposed that | occupy this post. I admit that it was very difficult for me to make this decision, and I did not accept this proposal at first. But President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and his team persuaded me that I—with my knowledge and expertise in foreign trade—should head this ministry. [Shymanskiy] Our Republic is currently trying to pene- trate into foreign markets. What are the reasons for such a situation? [Marynich] First of all, our economy is very specific. It has an open nature, more than half of our goods are produced for export. Therefore, we should, no, we simply must have reliable and stable partners abroad. The second reason is the geopolitical location of Belarus. We are, in fact, situated in the center of Europe, on the crossing point of the most important trade routes. It would have been illogical to fail to take advantage of this situation. [Shymanskiy] Foreign trade is an entirely new sector of Belarus’ economic activity. How does our Republic cope with new tasks? [Marynich] Having acquired its independence and having begun to build its own statehood, Belarus faced many new problems. One of these problems stems from the necessity to handle our national foreign trade more efficiently, and to trade with the states of both the far and near abroad. We need appropriate laws. Figuratively speaking, we must feel at ease in foreign trade business as This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 48 WESTERN REGION soon as possible. It is clear. Moscow alone handled foreign trade in the former USSR. Well, there is nothing to conceal: Belarus’ task was to produce goods, while Moscow handled foreign trade. All the goods—produced by Belarus—were exported through the foreign trade network of the former USSR. Moscow had numerous state organs—including the Foreign Trade Ministry— and a sprawling network of trade missions and foreign trade offices located in more than 90 countries of the world. In addition, there were over 60 foreign trade associations and organizations in the former USSR. Three large research institutes, a variety of special cen- ters and colleges drafted general concepts and strategies for managing foreign economic activity. It is natural that Beiarusian economic entities could not enter foreign markets. Therefore, we lack qualified per- sonnel. The State Committee for Foreign Economic Relat.ons (a current ministry) was established less than four years ago. {Shymanskiy] What about the current situation in our foreign trade sector? [Marynich] We have stable econmic relations with virtually all countries of Europe, as well as with the United States and Japan. Not to mention the new CIS states. In a word, our Republic is present on the markets of all continents. Bilateral intergovernmental agree- ments—covering trade and eccnomic cooperation—as well as agreements on the mutual protection of invest- ments have been signed with the majority of these states. So, a legal and normative basis for economic cooperation has been established. {[Shymanskiy] Is the change of ‘he committee into a ministry a mere change of signooards? Or was this change of a more profound and fundamental nature? {[Marynich] First, this change implies a higher level of responsibility for regulating and developing foreign eco- nomic relations. To increase the efficiency of the coor- dinated foreign economic policy of Belarus, the ministry provides necessary conditions for its development and implementation. We are also coordinating and regu- lating the foreign economic activity of ministries, depart- ments, economic entities, and other organizations of the Republic. The most important issue for us is to achieve the dynamic development of our foreign trade more quickly. This task will be fulfilled when every economic entity of Belarus feels at home on both foreign and domestic markets. Has Belarus established an appropriate basis for this process? I assume, that we have such a basis. | am going to develop my viewpoint on this issue. All Belarusian enterprises have received an opportunity to independently enter foreign markets. Belarus has chosen the correct course by liberalizing its foreign trade. We have moved from licensing all our goods to licensing only a few hundreds. Some 40,000 economic entities are FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 independently operating on foreign markets. About 1,360 joint ventures have been organized. In addition, 443 enterprises based on 100-percent foreign capital have been registered. Their charter funds total some $1.265 billion. Foreign investments account for almost half of this sum. Two hundred fifty four representatives of foreign companies have been accredited in Belarus. Advisers on trade and economic issues, as well as our embassies’ employees handling financial issues, are working in 12 foreign countries. [Shymanskiy] To make it short, Belarus is currently trading on the markets of all continents. Do foreign countries recognize Belarus as a reliable and stable partner? [Marynich] I have to admit that much should be done to force foreign states to recognize us, to make Belarusian goods competitive on foreign markets. This is an extremely difficult task. World markets were divided long ago, and it is very difficult to enter these markets with our goods because they lose quality and other parameters as compared with foreign goods. We should pursue a flexible policy. Belarus should operate on the “fields” of foreign markets, should constantly improve its performance to make our foreign trade maximally efficient. We should run experiments and specify our priority tasks. [Shymanskiy] Have you already specified our priority tasks? [Marynich] Of course, this is our ministry's task. The retention of our markets in the CIS states—mainly in Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan—is our primary concern. By the way, we are already challenged by Germany, Austria, France, and other states on these markets. Every entity—from ordinary producers to enterprise managers and politicians—should realize this problem. The most important task is net to produce goods but to sell them on a permanent basis to maintain our position in our traditional markets. We should always remember that we have not been granted these markets once and for all; there are tough challengers. Our fight for markets and for our presence on them is based on the quality of our gonds, as well as on proper servicing, and, of course, on sane prices. Belarus—with more than half of the goods produced for export—should not differentiate between the near and far abroad. This task is currently of particular impor- tance because raw materials are purchased at world prices. Our state is beginning to implement economic levers to regulate our foreign trade. Administrative methods—licensing, quoting, and so on—will be cur- tailed. This approach is supported by Belarusian Presi- dent Alyaksandr Lukashenka, so it is a state policy. Economic relations with East European states—former members of the former Council for Mutual Economic This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 Assistance—are our second priority task. I realized this when I worked as an ambassador to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. Our common trouble is a lack of hard currency. Therefore, we should look for new approaches together, and should not be afraid to begin trading on a barter basis. This implies an exchange of goods, the establishment of joint ventures, and other activities. | am sure that the future of our Republic—as well as of other CIS states—is connected with this region. [Shymanskiy] Will the East European states trade with us? What goods can they buy in Belarus? How will they satisfy their needs? {[Marynich] This is a logical question. Let us recall that both the East European states and we were eager to have specialized enterprises in Western markets not long ago. This euphoria is over and we are feeling that govern- ments and business circles are showing an ever- increasing interest in trading with Belarus. Their interest in the revival of trade and economic relations with Belarus has increased. I can provide you with sufficient examples of such cooperation. The size of our interview, however, does not allow for citing all of them. {Shymanskiy] Our enterprises should also be more active and resourceful. As the saying says, no pain, no g7in.... {[Marynich] You are absolutely correct. Both our nter- prises and organizations should come up with ore initiatives. They should be more courageous in i” tro- ducing goods into the markets of East European states, especially since they have free production capacities. As for the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, they also have a high level of technological production. We should not forget that a number of businessmen from East European states speak Russian; they have expertise in cooperating with us; they are familiar with our situa- tion and with the requirements of our market. They are showing interest in cooperating with Belarusian enter- prises. The proximity of our states—resulting in minimal expenditures on transportation—is also an argument for widening export and import of goods, labor, and services among our states. To make it short, we should operate actively. This will prompt an active response. The states of the Mediterranean Region, the Near East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia are our third priority task. Regrettably, we are strangers to these states. Anal- ysis of these regions shows that we could sell our goods there and make considerable profits. [Shymanskiy] Mikhail Afanasyevich, how do we find access to overseas markets. I am primarily referring to the United States. [Marynich] The Us.ited States is an international finan- cial center, therefore it is very important for little Belarus to develop our trade and economic relations with this state. Both our states are enjoying the most- favored-nation trading status and we have worked hard to achieve such results. This situation, however, could WESTERN REGION 49 accelerate the adoption of similar decisions by other members of the international community. According to statistics, the U.S. markets are open to Belarusian goods, and our bilateral trade is developing dynamically. The United States holds third place in trading with Belarus after Germany and Poland, on the markets of which we are selling the largest amount of our goods. We have exported goods for a total of some $20 million to Germany and Poland in the first half of 1994 (this amount accounts for half of our exports in 1993). I would like to apeak about our economic relations with Germany which holds first place among our trade part- ners. Our trade turnover with Germany is growing with each year: It stood at $103 million in 1991, while in 1993 it was $227 million. The volume of Belarusian export deliveries to Germany is also increasing: The rates of export growth stood at 18.3 and 56.6 percent in 1991 and 1993, respectively. If we interpret these dry figures along practical lines, every sixth dollar in the overall value of Belarusian exports is in our trade relations with Ger- many. {[Shymanskiy] What are the primary tasks of the foreign economic relations sector, let us say, in the immediate two to three years? [Marynich] Let us discuss three large groups of such tasks. They are as follows: Foreign trade, direct invest- ments and attracting credits, and development of the normative-legal basis. Regarding the first group, it is necessary to stimulate the development of both exports and imports. We are going to decrease the share of barter deals, develop and imple- ment the system of registering foreign trade operations. Such measures will toughen control over the prompt return of hard currency profits to Belarus. We have also outlined a variety of other important measures. Foreign investments are of specific importance for the development of our economy. The system of control over the use and settlement of foreign loans—in partic- ular, of those the repayment of which has been guaran- teed by the government—should be developed. Proce- dures for specifying the participation of foreign investors in the privatization of state property should be simpli- fied. The reliability of guarantees for foreign investors should, of course, be increased. I will not discuss in detail the third group of our tasks. We should work hard to develop the normative-legal basis for our foreign economic activities. [Shymanskiy] What moral qualities, in your opinion, should the officers of your ministry have? [Marynich] Honesty and decency. High professional qualities are also required. Foreign states primarily form an opinion about Belarus based on the activities our ministry officers. Therefore, we should observe honor and dignity of our state. This report may contain copyrighted material. Copying and dissemination is prohibited without permission of the copyright owners. 50 WESTERN REGION Ministry Issues Directive on Short-Term Bonds WS$2511091894 Minsk Radio Minsk Network in Belarusian 0800 GMT 25 Nov 94 {[FBIS Translated Text] According to a directive of the Belarusian Cabinet of Ministers, the Finance Ministry has been instructed to issue the fourth parcel of short- term state bonds worth 20 billion rubles [R] with an 85-day circulation term. The nominal value of each bond is R10,000. The directive states that only the Belarusian Stock Exchange and the Interbank Foreign Currency Stock Exchange are authorized to handle short-term state bonds on the secondary [druhasny] market. Lukashenka Meets With Trade Union Activists LD2411174494 Minsk Radio Minsk Network in Belarusian 0500 GMT 24 Nov 94 [Report on address by Belarusian President Alyaksandr Rygoravich Lukashenka by Svyatlana Ilyushenka at the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus on 23 Novem- ber—Lukashenka remarks recorded, in Russian] {FBIS Translated Excerpt] [Ilyushenka] [passage omitted] A report was delivered by Alyaksandr Rygo- ravich Lukashenka, president of the Republic of B!crus, Here are some excerpts from the recording: [Lukashenka] Today all of us politicians, economists, theoretical and practical scientists, and managers are convinced that the establishment of statehood is not a one-off phenomenon, but an extremely complicated pro- cess. It is not a question of giving independence to the state, but to ensure its secure and independent develop- ment, and to implement the principles of sovereignty boii in the sphere of policy and the economy. [passage omitted] Profound transformations have come about in the world that have changed the disposition of forces and the directions of their interaction. The main lesson of history is that our people won the Second World War, but lost the contest for leadership that is being waged by economic methods. These are objective facts, so to speak. [Ilyushenka] The president of the Republic of Belarus went on to note subjective mistakes, as a result of which disintegration processes arose in the political and eco- nomic spheres in the former republics of the USSR. [passage omitted] We are building our foreign policy on the basis of consent and mutual understanding with our neighbors. We are searching for ways of implementing our own views and approaches to ensure peace and international security and mutually advantageous coop- eration, noted Alyaksandr Rygoravich Lukashenka. [Lukashenka] Nobody has any doubt that our main partners are in the East. Interstate forms of cooperation have been formed and signed already. Links have been maintained between enterprises and industries. I want to note that our relations with the countries of the Com- monwealth of Independent States are not now the same FBIS-SOV-94-227 25 November 1994 as relations between former republics of the Soviet Union. The last conference of heads of state of the Commonwealth in Moscow confirmed that we must not live by illusions and promises. We must live in the real world, and best of all be guided by the interests of the state. Russia today is too drained of blood to continue being the selfless donor for countries of the near abroad as a result merely of the inertia of proletarian internation- alism. However, in our relations with the CIS countries, including with Russia, the destructive role of economic nationalism is shown convincingly. [passage omitted] We are gradually reaching the stage of forming our national foreign policy doctrine, the essence of which should be to overcome the external economic depen- dence of the government of the state of Belarus with equal opportunities taking consideration over the geopo- litical position. Actually, we have already started on its elaboration and implementation. [Ilyushenka] It was noted in the report that there is great potential for Belarus to cooperate with Ukraine. Mutual relations are successfully developing between our republic and Uzbekistan, and there is an agreement by the leadership of that country on supplies to Belarus of about 35,000 tonnes of cotton. The president of the Republic of Belarus went on to say: {Lukashenka} Speaking about priorities in foreign policy, in no way do we forget about the western direction. The present Cabinet of Ministers has already conducted a series of meetings with leading representatives of inter- national financizi organizations, and the president of Belarus is to nold a series of important meetings at summit lev