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Subject:      RFE/RL Daily Report 11 Jan, 1993

The RFE/RL Daily Report is a digest of the latest developments
in Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia, and Central and
Eastern Europe. It is published Monday through Friday (except
German holidays) by the RFE/RL Research Institute (a division of
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc.). Copyright 1993 RFE/RL,
Inc.


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                   RFE/RL Daily Report

                                      No. 5, January 11, 1993

RUSSIA

RUSSIA SUPPORTS UN ON IRAQ, BUT WILL NOT FIGHT. Russian
Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev said on 9 January that
Moscow intends to respect fully the United Nations strategy
towards Iraq. Kozyrev also warned that Baghdad might face
trouble if it thought UN Security Council resolutions could
be ignored. Russia was included among the group of UN
Security Council permanent members which demanded that
Baghdad withdraw its surface-to-air missiles from positions
north of the 32nd parallel. The Russian Foreign Ministry
said that Russia will play no role in any military
operations against Iraq, Interfax reported on 9 January.
Suzanne Crow, RFE/RL, Inc.

CIS NUCLEAR POWERS TO MEET; UKRAINE REJECTS PLAN. The press
center of the CIS military command told Interfax on 10
January that the Committee for Nuclear Policies will meet on
21 January, on the eve of the CIS Minsk summit. The
committee reportedly consists of the defense ministers of
Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Belarus. According to the
press center, CIS Commander-in-Chief Evgenii Shaposhnikov
hopes to formalize the status of nuclear weapons in the four
CIS states at the meeting. He reportedly expressed
particular concern over the status of nuclear weapons in
Ukraine. (The report stated that Shaposhnikovs presence at
the meeting is uncertain; he was said to be in a hospital
undergoing a medical examination). On 9  January, according
to a Radio Ukraine report, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry
said it had rejected what was described as a draft plan on
strategic weapons submitted by Moscow.  Stephen Foye, RFE/RL,
Inc.

RUSSIANS SAY UKRAINE CONTINUES UNILATERAL FLEET TAKEOVER. A
spokesman for the Black Sea Fleet told ITAR-TASS on 10
January that Ukraine was trying to unilaterally take over
the fleet without waiting for the political solution called
for by last years Yalta agreement. According to the press
center, the commander of the Ukrainian Navy, Rear Admiral
Boris Kozhin, told the commander of a river patrol brigade
at Izmail, a Danube port 80 kilometers from the Black Sea,
that the Yalta agreement was detrimental to Ukraine and his
task was to transfer the disputed units to Ukrainian
jurisdiction. The press center spokesman also charged that
Ukrainian navy officers on 10 January declared that a
medical clinic of the fleet had been transferred to the
Ukrainian Defense Ministry.  Doug Clarke, RFE/RL, Inc.

PROSPECTS FOR RUSSIAN AGRICULTURE. Russian Agricultural
Minister Viktor Khlystun was cautiously optimistic in an
interview with Moscow Radio-1 on 5 January. The provisional
outturn for the 1992 grain harvest was 114 million tons
after excess moisture and dockage had been subtracted. He
estimated that livestock production was down 25% last year,
with losses in the state sector only partially offset by
gains in the private sector, but the culling of livestock
had now virtually ceased. Khlystun reckoned that large farm
enterprises would continue to provide the bulk of farm
output through the end of the century, but that these would
all be joint-stock  or cooperative undertakings.  Keith Bush,
RFE/RL, Inc.

FURTHER RUSSIAN DEFAULT ON US AGRICULTURAL LOANS. The United
States Department of Agriculture announced on 8 January that
Russia had missed the scheduled repayment of a further $20.1
million, Western agencies reported.  This brought the total
default on loans guaranteed by the US government to $147.2
million.  Interfax on  22 and 25 December had carried
assurances by authoritative Russian spokesmen that repayment
of overdue loans would be made "within days. The Christian
Science Monitor of 8 January reported a new congressional
appraisal that was highly critical of the US loan guarantee
program.  Keith Bush, RFE/RL, Inc.

CHANGES IN THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT. Russian President Boris
Yeltsin has released Aleksei Golovkova close associate of
former State Secretary Gennadii Burbulis and Acting Prime
Minister Egor Gaidarfrom the post of head of the government
apparatus, according to ITAR-TASS on 10 January. At the
suggestion of Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, Golovkov
was replaced by Vladimir Kvasov. Yeltsin also appointed Igor
Shurchkov to be chairman of the State Committee for
Industrial Policy, and Magomedtagir Abdulbasirov to be head
of the State Committee for Food and Processing Industry. RIA
reported on 9 December that the present head of the Tyumen
administration, Yurii Shafrannik, is supposed to become
Deputy Prime Minister for the energy complex.  Alexander
Rahr, RFE/RL, Inc.

CHERNOMYRDINS NON-STATEMENT. Opening a meeting in Omsk with
his Kazakh counterpart on 9 January, Chernomyrdin delivered
a non-forecast for 1993, according to ITAR-TASS. The
relevant sentence contained three qualifiers. "The new year
should become, in our opinion, a year of economic
stabilization, which would lay foundations for growth in
output and an  improvement  in living standards.  Keith Bush,
RFE/RL, Inc.

MANY MOSCOW KIOSKS TO BE CLOSED.  Possibly reflecting Prime
Minister Viktor Chernomyrdins evident distaste for the
"bazaar, Moscow City Council plans to close many of the
citys kiosks, according to Moscow News, as cited by AFP on 9
January. One third of the citys more than 6,700 kiosks have
been declared illegal, and 500 will be closed during the
initial phase of the crackdown.  Moscows director for
administration and technical services is quoted as saying
that the city is not opposed to private enterprise but wants
the capital to present a more "appropriate face. He said
that  Moscow now  resembles  a  "huge  bazaar.   Keith  Bush,
RFE/RL, Inc.

KOZYREV TO THE KOLA PENINSULA. Interfax reported on 9
January that Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev had
left Moscow for a visit to the cities of Murmansk and
Severomorsk. While there he was scheduled to brief military
personnel at Russias strategic naval bases on the
significance of the START-2 treaty. He also planned to visit
a defense plant in Murmansk and several naval vessels of the
Northern Fleet at its main base in Severomorsk. The Foreign
Ministrys Yurii Fokin said that the trip was meant to signal
the end of the Cold War in northern Europe and that Kozyrev
was also scheduled to visit Norway on 10 and 11 January and
Finland on 12 January. In Norway Kozyrev will meet with
commanders of a NATO naval airbase and attend a conference
of foreign ministers devoted to discussion of cooperation in
the region. The conference is expected to produce a
declaration of cooperation and the creation of a regional
council.  Stephen Foye, RFE/RL, Inc.

DEFENSE MINISTRY MADE "UNPRECEDENTED DISCLOSURES IN 1992.
Interfax on 10 January carried a report from the Russian
Ministry of Defense saying that more than 500
defense-related documents had been declassified in 1992. The
report described these disclosures as unprecedented and said
that as much information had been revealed last year as in
the previous few decades. The public now has access to such
things as a once-secret book on the Soviet Unions first
atomic bomb test, material on the shipment of Soviet
missiles to Cuba, and on Swedish diplomat Raul Wallenburg.
The press report promised further disclosures in 1993,
including information on Soviet involvement in the Korean
War, and the deportation of Finns and Germans from the
Leningrad region early in World War II.  Doug Clarke, RFE/RL,
Inc.

TRANSCAUCASIA & CENTRAL ASIA

NAGORNO-KARABAKH ROUNDUP. Meeting in Moscow on 10 January,
Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrossyan and Russian
President Boris Yeltsin discussed ways of circumventing the
current Azerbaijani economic blockade in order to ensure
deliveries of Russian oil and gas to Armenia. While Yeltsin
affirmed Russias readiness to continue mediating the
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian presidential press
spokesman Ruben Shugaryan told Interfax that the CSCE
initiative on Karabakh has reached deadlock because of
Azerbaijans intransigence. In a separate interview with
Interfax, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Tofik Guseinov stated
that Azerbaijan requires security guarantees before
embarking on negotiations with Armenia. He proposed that the
US, Russia and Turkey act as guarantors and agree to impose
economic sanctions should an eventual agreement be violated.
 Liz Fuller, RFE/RL, Inc.

BORDER OBLASTS OF KAZAKHSTAN AND RUSSIA TO COOPERATE.  A
conference of heads of administration of oblasts in Russia
and Kazakhstan adjoining the common border of the two
countries has resulted in an agreement on cooperation in a
wide range of fields, Interfax and ITAR-TASS reported on 9
January.  The conference, held in Omsk on 8 and 9 January,
discussed the highly sensitive issue of the demarcation of
the border between Russias Orenburg Oblast and Kazakhstan.
The conference was attended by the prime ministers of both
countries, who used the occasion to sign agreements on
relations between Russias Central Bank and its equivalent in
Kazakhstan and to call for the removal of trade barriers.
Bess Brown, RFE/RL, Inc.

KAZAKHSTANS CONSTITUTIONAL COURT INVESTIGATES 1986 EVENTS.
The Kazakh nationalist Azat and Jeltoqsan Parties have filed
suit in Kazakhstans Constitutional Court for rehabilitation
of persons who were imprisoned or dismissed from educational
institutions for having participated in the demonstrations
in Alma-Ata in December 1986, when young people protested
the selection of a Russian from outside the republic to head
Kazakhstans Communist Party organization. Interfax reported
on 9 January that the court has suspended its hearing of the
case pending the  questioning  of  more witnesses, the
acquisition of a transcript from Moscow of a meeting of the
Politburo, and the declassification of KGB documents in
Alma-Ata.  Bess Brown, RFE/RL, Inc.

TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS IN OSH OBLAST.  Restrictions have been
placed on travel into Kyrgyzstans Osh Oblast, Interfax
reported on 9 January, in order to prevent weapons and drugs
being brought into the region, which is still under a state
of emergency imposed during violent clashes between Uzbek
and Kyrgyz residents in 1990.  According to the report,
refugees from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are making their way
into Osh Oblast, aggravating the already-volatile situation
in the region.  In the summer of 1992, the head of the Osh
Oblast administration was dismissed because his management
style was deemed by the authorities in Bishkek to be
exacerbating tensions in  the  region.   Bess  Brown, RFE/RL,
Inc.

TENTATIVE STEPS TOWARDS PRIVATIZATION OF UZBEK FARMS?
President Karimov has signed a decree on the privatization
of 700 unprofitable state farms, according to Interfax on 10
January. The loss-making farms are to be turned into private
farms, joint stock societies or cooperatives. The farms
capital assets will be handed over free to the new owners,
but the latter will have to take on the farms debts to the
state, although the repayment period is to be extended to 20
years. The private farmers will be further limited by the
fact that the share of agricultural produce going to state
orders will remain high; the state order for cotton is
currently 85% of total production and is to be reduced only
to 80%. According to the Uzbek agriculture ministry, 12,537
small farms covering 96,000 hectares of land have already
been established. It is planned to allocate a total of
200,000 out of the republics 4.3 million hectares of arable
land to small holdings.  Sheila Marnie, RFE/RL, Inc.

US GRANTS GEORGIA $10 MILLION IN AID. The United States has
granted Georgia medical and food aid to the value of $10
million, a Georgian parliament spokesman told AFP on 9
January following a meeting in Tbilisi between an advisor to
US Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger and Georgian
parliament chairman Eduard Shevardnadze.  Liz Fuller, RFE/RL,
Inc.

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL GUNNED DOWN. On 9 January,
Bosnias Deputy Prime Minister Hakija Turajlic was
assassinated by a Serbian gunman according to Radio Serbia
and international media. Turajlic was under UN forces
protection when he was shot repeatedly at close range.
Bosnian Interior Minister Jusuf Pusina told reporters in
Sarajevo that his government will bring criminal charges
against the UNPROFOR in connection with the assassination,
but did not specify the charges other than saying these
would be of negligence. On 10 January the UN commander in
Bosnia, Gen. Philippe Morillon, admitted that his troops
failed to provide adequate security for Turajlic. Bosnian
Serb leader Radovan Karadzic formally apologized for the
slaying and Gen. Morillon told reporters that the gunman was
arrested by Serb forces. Bosnian Serb officials said the UN
armored-vehicle carrying Turajlic was heading into a
Croatian-controlled area for negotiations. The Serbs claim
the UNPROFOR vehicle had not been announced beforehand and
that Turajlic had  insulted  the  gunman.  Milan Andrejevich,
RFE/RL, Inc.

BOSNIAN PEACE TALKS RESUME. The internationally-mediated
peace talks on Bosnia-Herzegovina resumed 10 January with
the Bosnian Serb delegation presenting their new eight-point
plan. According to Radio Serbia and international media, the
Serb plan in some ways resembles the UN-EC plan proposed
last week, but the Serbs are refusing to give up their
demand for the division of the republic into three ethnic
states. The cochairmen of the Geneva peace conference, Cyrus
Vance and Lord Owen, told reporters that the talks narrowed
some areas of dispute and cleared up some other issues, but
they said that there are still some substantive differences.
Leaders of Serbia-Montenegro and Croatia are expected to
arrive in Geneva on 11 January with formal talks resuming on
the 12th. Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic, who left
Geneva to address an OIC meeting in Senegal, is expected to
take part in  the  Geneva  talks.  Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL,
Inc.

HOXHA WIDOW PLEADS NOT GUILTY. The trial of Nexhmije Hoxha,
widow of Albanias long-time communist strongman Enver Hoxha
who died in 1985, commenced on 8 January. AFP reports that
the 72-year-old Hoxha, along with codefendant Kino Buxheli,
former head of government services, have been charged with
misappropriating and misusing funds. Both denied the
charges. It is the first trial of a senior official from the
former communist regime.  Duncan Perry, RFE/RL, Inc.

BULGARIAN ENERGY PROBLEMS. Ukraine has cut off all coal
deliveries to Bulgaria, a Bulgarian energy official told
Reuters on 8 January. Dyanko Dobrev, the chairman of the
National Electric Company, said Ukraine informed Sofia it is
stopping exports in order to cover domestic coal shortages.
Unless Ukraine resumes deliveries within 10 days, Dobrev
noted, Bulgaria may have to consider buying replacement fuel
on the international market. In late December Russian energy
exports were temporarily reduced due to a pipeline failure
that caused a one-third reduction in natural gas deliveries.
On 10 January, however, the situation in Bulgarias energy
sector appeared to improve somewhat through the restart of
reactor no. 2 at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. The unit
was shut down last week after radioactive steam emitted from
the main circulation pump. On 10 January Reuters also quoted
Dobrev that cost considerations have forced Bulgaria to
start planning for storage of the nuclear waste produced at
Kozloduy.   Kjell Engelbrekt, RFE/RL, Inc.

POLISH-IRANIAN TALKS IN WARSAW. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali
Akbar Velayati ended a two-day visit to Poland on 8 January.
Bilateral trade was the focus of his talks with President
Lech Walesa, Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka, and Foreign
Trade Minister Andrzej Arendarski. Iran supplies almost
one-third of Polands imported oil, and Velayati pledged to
maintain oil deliveries at current levels. The trade
turnover between the two countries amounts to more than $500
million, but Poland imports four times more than it exports
to Iran. To improve this trade balance, the Polish side
proposed the employment of Polish firms in rebuilding Irans
infrastructure. Talks on this issue are to be held "in the
near future in Teheran, PAP reported.  Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL,
Inc.

SOLIDARITY CANCELS GENERAL STRIKE IN LODZ. Solidarity
unionists in the depressed Lodz region called off a
threatened general strike on 10 January after successful
talks with the government. The union had demanded the
appointment of a government plenipotentiary for regional
industrial restructuring, along with compensation for
cost-of-living increases. Negotiators from the labor
ministry rejected the creation of any new post, which they
argued would lead to jurisdiction conflicts, but they did
agree to buttress the powers of the current Lodz voivodship
chief, the governments representative in the region. Deputy
Labor Minister Michal Boni called the agreement a model for
areas like Lodz where political infighting has impeded
restructuring. Preparations for a general strike in Lodz
began on 21 December.  Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL, Inc.

NO IMMEDIATE PLANS TO DIVIDE COMMON CZECH-SLOVAK CURRENCY.
Speaking to reporters on 8 January after the first meeting
of the joint Czech-Slovak monetary committee in Brno, Josef
Tosovsky, the governor of the Czech National Bank, said that
the independent Czech and Slovak states will probably
continue using common currency until summer or fall 1993. He
said separate currencies will eventually be set up and
confirmed that the Czech authorities have been putting
special stamps on millions of banknotes to prepare for a
possible monetary split. Tosovsky also said that the Czech
side is not prepared for a monetary separation yet. Marian
Tkac, the vice governor of the National Bank of Slovakia,
said Slovakia wants to maintain common currency as long as
possible.  Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL, Inc.

VOUCHER PRIVATIZATION IN SLOVAKIA WILL CONTINUE. In an
interview with CTK on 9 January, Slovak Privatization
Minister Lubomir Dolgos said that Slovakia will not
discontinue the so-called voucher privatization launched by
the Czechoslovak government in 1992. Both Slovakia and the
Czech Republic participated in the first wave of voucher
privatization, during which more than 8.5 million Czechs and
Slovaks first purchased investment vouchers and later traded
them for shares in some 1,400 joint-stock companies. On 27
December 1992, Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar said
that Slovakia, unlike the Czech Republic, will not launch
the second wave of voucher privatization, which was to take
place in 1993. However, Dolgos told CTK that he and Meciar
recently decided to continue voucher privatization in
Slovakia.  Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL, Inc.

HDF POPULIST-NATIONAL WING MEETS. The populist-national
wing, one of the three major wings of the Hungarian
Democratic Forum (HDF), the largest governing party, held
its second national meeting in Budapest on 9 January, MTI
reports. Prime Minister Jozsef Antall, Minister of Culture
Bertalan Andrasfalvy, and Minister of Interior Peter Boross
spoke at the meeting. Antall emphasized that the values of
the three wings (the other two are the national-liberal and
the Christian-democratic) are equally important for the
party and called for party unity at the HDFs upcoming
congress. HDF presidium member and leader of the
populist-national wing, Sandor Lezsak, told the meeting that
the HDF will never become a right-wing party and will
continue to represent the interests of the center and the
right-of-center. Another HDF presidium member and leader of
the wing, Istvan Csurka, urged "self-conscious Hungarians to
take a resolute stance . . . to carry out a new and total
change of regime. Csurka warned that "we will be swept away
unless a resolute stance is taken. Csurka, who has been
widely criticized for publishing a tract fraught with
anti-Semitic remarks, told the meeting that he will not be a
candidate for party chairman at the HDFs January national
congress.  Edith Oltay, RFE/RL, Inc.

HDF STEERING COMMITTEE DISCUSSES CONGRESS. The steering
committee of the HDF met on 10 January to discuss
preparations for the HDFs national congress scheduled to be
held on 22,23,24 January, MTI reports. The HDF chairman and
the 20-member presidium will be elected by the congress
delegates on the first day. Steering committee chairman
Agoston Szekelyhidi said that the goal is to renew the HDF
with a view to promoting internal democracy and "smoother
operation. A steering committee report said that HDF leaders
and the presidium are also responsible for the "deepening of
internal conflicts and for lack of coordination between the
work of the HDF parliamentary group and the government. It
also criticized the presidium for "misinterpreting the
political mood and intentions of the rank and file and for
not consulting enough with the steering committee.
Szekelyhidi said that Csurkas name is on the list of
candidates proposed for the post of HDF chairman, and Csurka
will have to declare in writing that he does not wish to be
a candidate.  Edith Oltay, RFE/RL, Inc.

ROMANIAS DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION CRITICIZES GOVERNMENT. The
centrist Democratic Convention, which groups the main
opposition forces, launched a harsh attack on the cabinet of
Nicolae Vacaroiu. The government is dominated by the leftist
Democratic National Salvation Front (DNSF), the party which
backed President Ion Iliescu in the September 1992
elections. In a statement broadcast by Radio Bucharest on 10
January, the DC said the cabinet lacks a serious ruling
program for the short and the long run, and accused it of
trying to pack the administration with its own political
clients. It also charged the DNSF and Iliescu with
deliberately trying to slow down reforms. In view of the
current crisis, the DC suggests that the cabinet should
implement the conventions own emergency program.  Dan
Ionescu, RFE/RL, Inc.

ROMANIA ENFORCES TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS. Stringent restrictions
for travelers from all former Soviet republics except
Moldova went into effect on 10 January. Future visitors from
CIS countries and Georgia will need a notarized invitation
from a Romanian guaranteeing room and board. In addition,
visitors from these countries will need to prove at border
points that they have the equivalent of $40 for each day
they intend to stay in Romania. The restrictions are meant
to stop a possible mass influx of visitors from the former
USSR as a result of the elimination of exit visa
requirements in all CIS states.  Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL, Inc.

FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT ROMANIA. Roland Dumas will
visit Romania on 11 and 12 January. He is expected to meet
President Ion Iliescu, Prime Minister Nicolae Vacaroiu, and
Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu. Romanian TV reports that
discussions will likely focus on bilateral ties and the
situation in former Yugoslavia. Iliescu made a one-day visit
to France last November.  Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL, Inc.

RUSSIAN MILITARY ACTIVITIES IN LATVIA IN 1992. The Latvian
Defense Ministry has issued a survey of alleged illegal
Russian military activities from 1 February to 31 December
1992, BNS reported on 8 January. The survey claims that 2630
soldiers were brought to Latvia in 54 troop transports; air
regulations were violated 392 times, 350 railroad cars were
used for unsanctioned shipment of military equipment, and 9
aviation training raids were made on the base at Zvarde. The
survey does not claim to be complete, because it is not
possible for the Latvian specialists to document all of the
activities of the Russian military in Latvia. Since June,
Russia has removed some 42,000 submachine guns, 3900
pistols, 55 tanks, large amounts of ammunition and other
military equipment from Latvia.  Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL, Inc.

TWELVE-MILE TERRITORIAL LIMIT FOR ESTONIA? The Estonian
Government on 8 January approved a draft bill setting
territorial waters at 12 miles, BNS reports. The territorial
limit has been the topic of bitter domestic debate for
several weeks, with Pro Patria supporters unexpectedly
supporting a 12-mile limit and the opposition favoring a
4-mile limit. Finland currently has a 4-mile limit in the
Gulf of Finland. If both Estonia and Finland were to declare
a 12-mile limit, the Russian port of St. Petersburg would
effectively be closed.  Riina Kionka, RFE/RL, Inc.

LEBED FAVORS MILITARY ACTION TO RESTORE ORDER. Interviewed
in Rossiiskaya gazeta of 6 January, Lt. Gen. Aleksandr
Lebed, commander of Russias 14th Army in Moldova, denounced
what he portrayed as governmental mismanagement, corruption,
and "the merger of state and mafia structures in both Russia
and the "Dniester republic, and urged that compromised
officials "resolutely be removed from their posts. He
concluded, "it is precisely the army which must fight the
mafia structures. Enough of pretending that the army is
destined for external functions only. Once a decision has
been made to use the troops, we have to abandon diplomatic
somersaults and monkey-like grins in order to save the state
from the unbridled rascals and adventurists, who ought to
clearly know that there is an authority over them.  Vladimir
Socor, RFE/RL, Inc.

UKRAINIAN OFFICIAL REASSURED AFTER WASHINGTON VISIT. Deputy
Foreign Minister Boris Tarasyuk, chairman of the national
disarmament committee, said on Ukrainian TV on 9 January
that his recent discussions in Washington concerning
Ukraines ratification of START-2 are reassuring and leave
"no doubts in anyones mind that the question of security
assurances for Ukraine in exchange for becoming nonnuclear
will be resolved. Reuters on 8 January quoted American
officials as saying that Tarasyuk, who met with President
George Bush, was given a letter describing, in general
terms, the sort of security assurances Ukraine could expect
once the treaty is ratified and Ukraine adheres to the
Non-Proliferation Treaty. These officials said Tarasyuk was
seeking a formal, high-level declaration, but was told such
a commitment is impossible. On 10 January Reuters quoted
Aleksandr Tarasenko, a conservative senior member of the
parliaments defense commission, as saying he has little
confidence in Tarasyuks assurances.  Doug Clarke & Bohdan
Nahaylo, RFE/RL, Inc.

UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS GIVE THEIR VERSION OF US TALKS. At a
press conference in the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on 10
January, Tarasyuk and other Ukrainian officials sought to
set the record straight about last weeks talks in
Washington. They stated that Tarasyuks visit was a "planned
one and not extraordinary, and that Kiev had not been
"pressured. Tarasyuk also said that the Ukrainian side had
not advanced any new conditions but had stuck to the
position that Parliament approved in April 1992, namely that
the question of nuclear disarmament be linked with
guarantees for national security. Officials at the press
conference and Ukrainian TV complained that the coverage of
the visit was "distorted by both the Western and Russian
press.  Bohdan Nahaylo, RFE/RL, Inc.

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT BEGINS VISIT TO ISRAEL. On 11 January
Leonid Kravchuk began a three-day visit to Israel aimed at
fostering bilateral ties and cooperation, Ukrainian and
Western agencies report. Kiev is seeking to pursue a
balanced Middle East policy, and the visit comes less than
three weeks after a similar visit by the Ukrainian president
to Egypt. Kravchuk is under some pressure to raise the case
of the Ukrainian-born John Demjanjuk, who was sentenced to
death by an Israeli court in 1988 for allegedly being a
former Nazi death camp guard but who claims that he is the
victim of mistaken identity and is appealing the verdict. On
9 January Western agencies reported that several dozen
demonstrators protested in defense of Demjanjuk outside the
Israeli mission in Kiev.  Bohdan Nahaylo, RFE/RL, Inc.

EC LOANS FOR ESTONIA, LATVIA. Western agencies report that
on 8 January the European Communitys Executive Commission
signed loan agreements with Estonia and Latvia that are
worth up to 120 million ecus (about $140 million). Latvia is
scheduled to get 80 million ecus and Estonia,40 million.
Half of the money will be released now and the remainder
will be paid in the second quarter of this year. The loans
are part of a financial assistance package totaling $300
million for the two countries.  Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL, Inc.

[As of 1200 CET]
Compiled by Hal Kosiba and Charles Trumbull
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Internet: RI-DC@RFERL.ORG

or in Europe:

Ms. Helga Hofer
Publications Department
RFE/RL Research Institute
Oettingenstrasse 67
8000 Munich 22
Telephone: (+49 89) 2102-2631 or -2642
fax: (+49 89) 2102-2648
Internet: PD@RFERL.ORG

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