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Released on 2013-02-13 00:00 GMT
|2010-08-13 12:30:15
1) RSA Airports Company Officials Reflect on 'Mission Accomplished' After
World Cup
Report by Kevin Ritchie: "Mission Accomplished"
2) Interfax Statistical Report for 07 - 13 Aug 10
"INTERFAX Statistical Report" -- Interfax Round-up
3) Interfax Oil & Gas Report for 05 - 11 Aug 10
"INTERFAX Oil, Gas & Coal Report" -- Interfax Round-up
4) Interfax Russia & CIS Presidential Bulletin Report for 11 Aug 10
"INTERFAX Presidential Bulletin" -- Interfax Round-up
5) Ukraine Presid Signs Decree On High Special Civil&Criminal Court
6) Yanukovich Tells Azarov To Complete RF BSF Lands Stocktaking
7) Russian Grain Shortage Has Repercussions in Ukraine
Report by Tatyana Ivzhenko: "Kiev May R estrict Grain Exports"
8) Ukrainian opposition calls for protests, lawsuits against gas price
9) Ukrainian President Dismisses Air Force Commander
10) Finland Reports Normal Radioactivity Levels Despite Smoke From
Chernobyl Region
"Finland Radioactivity Normal Despite Smoke From Russia Fire" -- AFP
11) Ukrainian Lawyer Demands Gazprom's Miller, Golubev, Testify in
RosUkrEnergo, Naftohaz Case
Report by Natalya Grib and Oleg Gavrish in Kyiv, 12 Aug: "Questioning for
Aleksey Miller: Gazprom Chief Wanted in Ukraine as Witness"; accessed via
Kommersant Online
12) Ukraine may impose export quotas for wheat, barley - expert
13) Crimean Prime Minister Talks about Peninsular's Development Needs
Yanina Sokolovskaya interview with Crimean Prime Minister Vasyl Dzharty,
time and place not given: "Crimea Movi ng Towards Europe -- Interview with
Autonomous Republic's New Prime Minister Vasyl Dzharty"
14) Ukrainian president replaces Air Force chief
15) Lithuanian Report Examines Security Agent's Involvement in CIA Prison
Report by Jurga Tvaskiene: "Security Super Agent Not Secure Anymore"
16) 800 Litres Of Honey Leaks On Highway In Ukraine Due To Road Incident
17) Ukrainian Govt May Introduce Wheat, Barley Export Quotas
18) Ukraine Reduces Gas Output By 6.4% in 7 Mths
19) Ukrainian ex-customs chief's lawyer wants Gazprom officials questioned
20) Ukrainian court says security chief lawfully appointed to judicial
21) Ukraine's AMC to Decide on Kyivstar And Vimpelcom Merger Within a
22) Ukraine Press 12 Aug 10
The following lists selected reports fro m the Ukraine Press on 12 Aug 10.
To request further processing, please contact OSC at (800) 205-8615,
(202)338-6735; or Fax (703) 613-5735.
23) Russia's CEC Unlikely To Attend Kyrgyz Elections On October 10-Churov
24) Lithuanian Official Tied to CIA Prison Case To Be Recalled From
Ukraine 17 Sep
"Lithuania: Official Involved in Case of CIA Prison To Finish Duty in
Ukraine in Mid-September" -- BNS headline
25) Lithuanian Prosecutors Question Former VSD Chiefs in Case of Alleged
CIA Prison
"Ex Security Chiefs Questioned in Case of CIA Prison - Lithuanian
Prosecutor" -- BNS headline
26) Details of CIA Prison Probe Not Discussed With VSD
"Recalling of Ex-Security Officer not Related With CIA Prison Probe -
Lithuanian Prosecutors" -- BNS headline
1) Back to Top
RSA Airports Company Officials Reflect on 'Mission Accomplished' After
World Cup
Report by Kevin Ritchie: "Mission Accomplished" - Saturday Star
Thursday August 12, 2010 18:54:19 GMT
For Acsa group manager: com-munications, Solomon Makgale, it's been a
bitter pill."It was a huge disappointment, regardless of who is to blame.
We were desperately disappointed that it happened. Up until that point
everything had been going well and then there was this glitch and people
who'd come to South Africa to see a critically important game could not.
We felt like we'd let the country down."There was nothing else but to pick
ourselves up and carry on, because we still had the third-fourth playoffs
in Port Elizabeth on Satur-day and the finals themselves in Joburg that
Sunday."It still irritates some of the senior executives in what is
proba-bly the country's most suc cessful and well-run state-owned
enterprise, though. In fact, Acsa has already been approached by the
Brazilian authorities ahead of the next World Cup in 2014 to show them how
to manage. Ukraine, which is co-hosting Euro 2012, has been in contact
Between June 1 and July 19, unaudited figures show that Acsa handled more
than 4.5 million passengers and over 52,000 flights to 64 games across the
country. The debacle in Durban affected one game, five scheduled flights
and slightly fewer than 670 passengers for a stadium that was built to
accommodate 70,000.On a normal day, King Shaka handles 140 aircraft and
12,400 passengers. Yet, on the day Brazil played Portugal in Durban, it
handled almost triple that; 324 air-craft and 21,840 passengers with not a
single problem.On the day of the third-fourth playoffs, PE would spike
from an average of 32 flights to 97 arriving and leaving on the day.Acsa
executives put it all down to planning.OR Tambo International Airport's a
ssistant manager: airport operations, Tebogo Mekgoe, agrees.The
straight-talking 35-year-old married dad slept the best he's ever slept
during the World Cup, even though OR Tambo was to be the front line for
the World Cup, with at least 25 percent of all passengers moving through
to other destina-tions and 20 of the 32 teams based in Gauteng."We'd been
planning for this for several years. We had plans in place and when I was
off I was really off because the people on the ground at the airport were
properly trained and totally focused on what had to be done."But Mekgoe,
who was the air-port's 2010 project leader, concedes that the July 7
incident gave every-body, including the private opera-tors, a wake-up
call."We'd always said right from the start that the first two weeks would
be key"The figures back him up: traffic spiked by 40 percent over that
period, even though regional air traffic, specifically by business-people,
plummeted to a fraction of what i t would usually be."We expected a 50
percent drop in normal passengers, which we expected to be replaced by
World Cup fan traffic for domestic and regional flights."The nature of the
passengers changed accordingly."You're now dealing with groups of tourists
and soccer fans; we had 42 additional new operators, non-scheduled
charters, over and above all of this."But the planning and the study trips
to the previous World Cup in Germany in 2006 and the Uefa Cup afterwards
paid off.One of these innovations was the decision to process all arriving
teams separately to avoid interfering with the flow of other
passengers."We knew it might upset the fans waiting to see their heroes,"
said Mekgoe, "but we had to balance this against the needs of other
passen-gers to clear the airport unhindered by whatever else was going
on."With the exception of a fracas involving the police and a press
photographer trying for an elusive picture of an arriving t eam in a
restricted zone, there were no inci-dents.They were lucky, too, with the
weather, because OR Tambo is prone to fog on winter mornings bang in the
middle of the window when intercontinental flights arrive.But, notes
communication man-ager Unathi Batyashe-Fillis, the staff had that covered
too. They'd organ-ised a prayer meeting before the tournament even began
and prayed specifically that they'd get a break for the duration of the
tour-nament. Their prayers were heard.The charters, though, would always
be problematic."Many of them are just chancers," says Mekgoe, "flying in
at the last moment packed with fans in the hope of getting a slot. At
Berlin Tegel in 2006, hundreds of planes were turned away for the day of
the final."At OR Tambo, though, they could find room for the Portuguese
charter winging in with Dutch fans.In May, Acsa had sent out a Notam
(Notice to Airmen) warning all aircrew of chartered flights that they
would be allocated 60 minu tes on the ground and after that be forced to
relocate to hangars or fly off to alternative airports because of the
expected congestion."You can put out a Notam and pilots will read it but
then blame other factors, like fatigue. Some-times, the aircrew are
actually out of their allotted hours by the time they get here. They're
not allowed to fly again anywhere, until they have rested."Then there's
the issue of ownership: they don't own the aircraft, so they can't make
decisions without the owners, and there's' the issue of liabilities for
damages if we send out tractors and physically tow them off the apron and
onto the grass."The answer is you don't want these problems on the ground,
so you try to stop them in the air - but you just can't catch all them.
During the World Cup, we went from handling 650 aircraft a day to 1,000 on
our busiest day."The planning held up though, even on the night after the
final."The Spanish were scheduled to fly out at 1 .30 on Monday morning.
We thought they'd win, so we planned accordingly. We knew they'd take an
extra 45 minutes to an hour celebrating on the field, then change and then
pack. Eventu-ally they left at 3am and we were ready for them.Five other
wide-bodied flights flew out that morning between 1.30am and 3am to
Madrid. The Dutch team were more reasonable; they'd planned to leave at
5.55am and made it on time.OR Tambo had been running on a 24-hour basis
throughout the tournament. The other major air-ports ran on a 24-hour
basis for the day before games, the days of the games and the days after,
but there was no respite in Joburg."The problem is that it isn't
sustainable," laughs Mekgoe. "Dur-ing the World Cup you wouldn't have
found a senior Acsa manager or any senior manager of our service
providers, from airlines to car rental companies, SAPS (South African
Police Service) and Ekurhuleni metro police in their offices, they were
all on the floor of the airport, sorting out problems before they
occurred."The World Cup was always going to be given more resources, but
it was a combination of things too - the staff put their best foot forward
as well. Those who would normally be naughty decided to pull up their
socks in a fit of patriotism; everybody went the extra mile."I think it
was a huge success, we showed the world how good we actually are."Now that
it's all over, I'm proba-bly more stressed than at any time during the
tournament, how's that?"For Makgale, it's simple."We had a solid plan for
all our 10 airports. We executed the plans with passion and dedication.
The mission was accomplished."
(Description of Source: Johannesburg Saturday Star in English -- Weekend
version of popular regional daily, The Star, which carries credible and
balance reporting and is privately owned by leading South African
newspaper group, Independent Newspapers)
Material in the World News Connection is gener ally copyrighted by the
source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the copyright
holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US Dept. of
2) Back to Top
Interfax Statistical Report for 07 - 13 Aug 10
"INTERFAX Statistical Report" -- Interfax Round-up - Interfax
Thursday August 12, 2010 13:31:37 GMT
(Description of Source: Moscow Interfax in English -- Nonofficial
information agency known for its extensive and detailed reporting on
domestic and international issues)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by the
source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the copyright
holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US Dept. of
3) Back to Top
Interfax Oil & Gas Report for 05 - 11 Aug 10
"INTERFAX Oil, Gas & Coal Report" -- Interfax Round-up - Interfax
Thursday August 12, 2010 08:11:27 GMT
(Description of Source: Moscow Interfax in English -- Nonofficial
information agency known for its extensive and detailed reporting on
domestic and international issues)
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by the
source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the copyright
holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US Dept. of
4) Back to Top
Interfax Russia & CIS Presidential Bulletin Report for 11 Aug 10
"INTERFAX Presidential Bulletin" -- Interfax Roun d-up - Interfax
Thursday August 12, 2010 07:54:38 GMT
No 148 (4637)
Radiation level in Belarus normal, not affected by Russia wildfires
Law enforcement agencies must have a clear scope of responsibilities,
Kazakh President instructs Accounts Committee to check performance of
state funds
Kyrgyz security agencies put on alert amid destabilization concerns
Kyrgyz deputy Prime Minister Beknazarov to monitor election camp aign
Kyrgyz deputy prime minister criticizes CSTO, SCO
Kyrgyz politician doubts OSCE intl police mission will be impartial
Chisinau urges Moscow to boycott Transdniestria anniversary events
Russia ready to help Ukraine combat wildfires
Federal aid to Dagestan will depend on quality of local govt work
Putin criticizes lack of integrated approach in applying navigation
technologies in Russia
Russia to invest 48 Bln rubles in GLONASS in 2010-11 - Putin
Russian grain harvest to be 60 mln tonnes at worst, grain to suffice -
Yanukovych says he will protect the independence of journalists
Tigipko: No alternative to immediate and decisive reform
Coart proceedings in Ukraine to be held in Ukrainian language, says
presidential administration
Radiation level in Belarus normal, not affected by Russia wildfires
Wildfires in Russia's Bryansk region, which borders Belarus, have not
resulted in changes in background radiation in Belarus, the country's
center for radiation control and environmental monitoring said.
"Our laboratories have not registered any changes in radiation levels in
regions of Belarus bordering on Bryansk region," Interfax was told on
"Background radiation in Belarus remains unchanged with high figures of
gamma radiation recorded by permanent control posts in areas of
radioactive pollution - Bragin, Narovl, Slavgorod, Chechersk and Khoiniki
(Gomel region)," th e center said.
Earlier, the Russian weather service reported that no major fires were
registered in Bryansk region, which was badly contaminated by the 1986
Chornobyl nuclear disaster.
Law enforcement agencies must have a clear scope of responsibilities,
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev advised the Cabinet to introduce the
justice reform bill to the parliament by the end of the year.
"We need to eliminate duplications, make the work of security services
effective based on world practices and get rid of the burdening legacy of
the Soviet era," the president said as quoted in a statement.
"We have made a good progress over these years. International experts can
confirm that. Now we have to carry out this reform. We want better
protection of our citizens and businessmen. We want to see the law
enforcement system to eradicate corruption in its own ranks. It is
important to increase the responsibi lity and make sure that each agency
has a well-defined scope of duties to attend to," said the President in
The head of state pointed out to the need of decriminalization of the
justice system.
"The system of justice must be more reparative. Imprisonment may be
substituted in some cases by fines or community service," said Nursultan
Kazakh President instructs Accounts Committee to check performance of
state funds
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev met Wednesday with the head of the
Kazakh Accounts Committee for Control and Implementation of the State
Budget (AC), Omarkhan Oksikbayev, the president's press office says in a
press release.
"The President instructed the Accounts Committee to devise, together with
the Ministry of Finance, budget planning techniques. In addition, the
president instructed to check all the state funds of Kazakhstan for their
efficiency," Mr Oksikbaev was quoted as say ing.
Mr Oksikbaye briefed the president on the national budget implementation
in the first half of the year. "He noted that thanks to the positive
tendencies in the economic development of the country tax revenues rose 2%
as compared to the same period of 2009," the press release says.
Kyrgyz security agencies put on alert amid destabilization concerns
Kyrgyzstan's security agencies have been put on alert amid concerns that
the situation there could be destabilized, the interim government's press
center told Interfax.
"Analysis of information coming from government bodies and appeals by
civil society members shows that there are threats of possible
destabilization of the sociopolitical situation in the country,
provocative sorties by destructive forces, and increased activities of
extremist and criminal groups aimed at spurring a recurrence of mass
unrest," a directive signed by President Roza Otunbayeva says, which the
press center cited.
"The situation has been complicated by the fact that the people possess a
significant amount of weapons and ammunition," it says.
Therefore, all law enforcement and security agencies have been put on
alert "in order to maintain peace and tranquility in society, ensure the
essential preconditions for an election campaign, neutralize threats to
national security, and use the executive bodies' resources as efficiently
as possible," it says.
Law enforcement and security agencies will focus their efforts on the
Chon-Alai, Kara-Kulja, and Uzgen districts of the Osh region and the Suzak
district of the Jalal-Abad region.
"The security and other government agencies will perform their duties in
this manner until the president issues the next directive," it said.
Kyrgyz deputy Prime Minister Beknazarov to monitor election campaign
Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister Azimbek Beknazarov is de termined to
personally monitor the parties that will run in the upcoming parliamentary
elections to see whether they violate election laws.
"One of our missions is to hold fair and transparent parliamentary
elections, which I will do by watching everybody so that they do not
violate the election code," Beknazarov said at a press conference on
As a government official supervising the prosecution and judicial
authorities, Beknazarov said he would curb any violations committed by
parties, regardless of "whether they are ours or opposition ones."
Most political organizations planning to run in the parliamentary
elections have already violated certain campaign regulations, he said.
Meanwhile, members of a number of parties signed a code of ethical conduct
for the elections in Bishkek on Wednesday.
"The initiative of developing the code came from the parties themselves,"
Roza Aknazarova, the head of the so -called Parliament of Political
Parties, said at the signing ceremony.
The code provides rules of conduct during the election race that all the
contenders are supposed to honor, Aknazarova said, adding that she hopes
that party members "will adhere to this document and the elections will
pass fairly and honestly, which would reflect the level of democracy in
the country."
Lilian Darii, the acting head of the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe Center in Bishkek, said the signing of the code
"demonstrates a constructive and responsible approach to democratic
politics, and proves that compromise and consensus are possible even in
the heat of intense political competition."
He said rivalry in the elections will be bitter, but the OSCE expects the
voting will meet international standards.
The parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan are slated for October 10.
Kyrgyz deputy prime minister criticizes CSTO, SCO
Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister Azimbek Beknazarov has criticized the
Collective Security Treaty Organization's and the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization's position on the situation in Kyrgyzstan.
"When the tragic events in the southern part of the republic began
happening on June 11, we appealed for help to the CSTO and the SCO through
official channels the same day, but we were ignored," Beknazarov said at a
press conference on Wednesday.
First responses from these two organizations came only "on June 16, when
the republic's authorities started to deal with the mass unrest and
interethnic clashes on their own," he said.
The incumbent Kyrgyz authorities will not "indiscriminately accuse the
Bakiyev family" of responsibility for all instances of unrest in the
republic. "Not all the bad things happening in the country should be
associated with the Akayev and Bakiyev families," he said, referring to
former Kyrgyz P residents Askar Akayev and Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
"Before publicly accusing the Bakiyevs, we will carefully checked this
information," he said.
Beknazarov said that after he decided to remain a member of the Kyrgyz
government, he "will toughen the control and coordination of the
activities of law enforcement agencies."
The relatives of the former president "can no longer act openly against
the new authorities," Beknazarov said.
Kyrgyz politician doubts OSCE intl police mission will be impartial
An international police mission the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe plans to send to the south of Kyrgyzstan will most
likely support one of the sides in the conflict between the local Kyrgyz
and Uzbek communities, Azimbek Beknazarov, deputy chairman of the Kyrgyz
interim government, said at a news conference on Wednesday.
"The information available to me confirms that the OSCE policemen who are
expected to arrive in Kyrgyzstan will make a decision in favor of only one
side," Beknazarov said.
The way the visit of the OSCE international police mission to the area of
ethnic conflicts in the southern towns of Osh and Jalal-Abad has been
arranged "confirms that a certain result should be expected," he said.
All lawyers representing those affected by the conflict, as well as
employees of international missions working under the auspices of the OSCE
and other international organizations are people of Uzbek ethnicity, he
"Consequently, how can we expect their answers and their conclusions
regarding the reasons behind the mass riots and ethnic clashes in June to
be objective?" Beknazarov said.
The OSCE's policemen are not needed in Kyrgyzstan because "two neighbors
and fraternal peoples, the Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, have already restored their
previous relations through people's diplomacy," he said.
T he members of the OSCE's planned international police mission will have
to decide whether they will work only in Osh or all over the Fergana
Valley, the territory of which is shared by three states - Kyrgyzstan,
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, Beknazarov said.
* * *
The sending of an Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
police force to the area of a recent interethnic conflict in southern
Kyrgyzstan could further destabilize the situation in the region, former
Kyrgyz Foreign Minister and former Kyrgyz Ambassador to the OSCE Alikbek
Dzhekshenkulov said.
"The sending of policemen to Osh and Jalal-Abad will certainly provoke
more interethnic clashes and worsen the situation in the region,"
Dzhekshenkulov said at a rally in Osh on Wednesday.
Dzhekshenkulov cited the example of Kosovo, where, he said, OSCE police
advisors entered and later presented a report surpassing their mandate on
an interethnic situation, which was later trea ted as the basis for the
OSCE activities in Kosovo. A similar scenario is possible in Kyrgyzstan as
well, Dzhekshenkulov said.
The participants in the Osh rally are protesting against the bringing of
OSCE police forces to Kyrgyzstan. They said they would collect people's
signatures in protest against this idea.
The rally organizers also told Interfax that their event would be peaceful
and they would not block strategic roads and the Osh Airport.
A rally against the presence of an OSCE police force in southern
Kyrgyzstan was also held in Bishkek on Wednesday.
Chisinau urges Moscow to boycott Transdniestria anniversary events
Moldova's Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry has criticized
comments offered by Moscow regarding Moldovan Acting President Mihai
Ghimpu's decision to give the state's highest awards to the so-called
Ilascu group, the members of which killed several politicians in the
breakaway province of Tr ansdniestria in the early 1990s.
"The Kremlin's comments addressing the decoration of the Ilascu group
confirm its biased and mistaken opinion on the dramatic events on the
Dniestr River in 1992," the Moldovan ministry said.
Furthermore, the measures taken by Moldova's authorities and ordinary
citizens in 1992 to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
their country were dismissed by Russia as an act of "Moldovan
nationalism," it said.
"Those who follow this logic in order to objectively assess the tragic
events of 1992, which influenced Moldovan society on both banks of the
river, need to give an appropriate assessment of the separatist forces who
rebelled against the constitutional authorities in the Transdniestrian
region of Moldova. Appropriate documents should be signed such as
Moldovan-Russian agreements and decisions adopted by prestigious European
forums investigating the Ilascu group's case, including decisio ns adopted
by the European Court of Human Rights," the ministry said.
Mentioning events and heroes of modern-day Moldova "should not be viewed
as a dangerous tendency or a matter of concern," it said.
"We confirm that the Moldovan leadership is committed to settling the
Transdniestrian conflict through political methods. Moldova hopes that all
of the sides participating in the '5+2' format, including Russia, will
continue contributing to this process," the ministry said.
The Moldovan authorities also called on Russia to boycott festivities
marking the Day of the Self-Proclaimed Republic of Transdniestria "in
order to prove its commitment to the principles of international law and
good neighborly relations between states."
Russia ready to help Ukraine combat wildfires
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev thanked his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor
Yanukovych for Kyiv's assistance in tackling the wil dfires raging across
Russia over the phone on Wednesday, the Kremlin said.
"Medvedev thanked the president of Ukraine for (Kyiv's) assistance in
battling fires on the territory of the Russian Federation," it said.
"It was noted that the situation is gradually normalizing, and that Russia
is ready to contribute to firefighting efforts on Ukrainian territory
should such a need arise," the Kremlin said.
"The heads of state also discussed the prospects of cooperation in
countering natural disasters and agreed to issue all of the necessary
instructions to the Emergency Situations Ministries of the two countries,"
it said.
Medvedev and Yanukovych also discussed "the agenda for upcoming bilateral
contacts at the highest level, as well as certain key issues of trade and
economic cooperation," it said.
Federal aid to Dagestan will depend on quality of local govt work
President Dmitry Medvedev has urged the government of the North Caucasus
republic of Dagestan to step up its fight against corruption.
"One must combat corruption in earnest instead of selling out seats in
government. If the work continues the way it does now, no results will be
achieved," Medvedev said during a meeting with Dagestani President
Magomedsalam Magomedov on Wednesday.
"I want the local government to understand that the federal authorities
are ready to help in every possible way, but we must see the wish to meet
us halfway. Therefore the amount and nature of federal support will depend
on the quality of the work being done by the local government," Medvedev
Dagestan's President Magomedsalam Magomedov has asked Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev to bolster the security force deployed in the North
Caucasus republic.
"The situation in the republic remains complex, especially as far as
security problems are concerned," Magomedov said during a meeting with
Medvedev on Wednesday.
"There has been an upsurge in terrorist activity. Their goal is to
destabilize the situation in the republic and to disorganize the
authorities. They have been attacking public figures, trying to sow panic
among the population," the Dagestani president said.
Magomedov also proposed "setting up units to conduct operations in
forested and mountainous areas, increasing the existing group of forces
and means in the republic and strengthening the material and technical
base of law enforcement services."
The extremists are now operating in a larger area and are extorting money
from local businessmen, he said.
"This disrupts the normal functioning of the economy and business, forcing
the republic's investment appeal to plunge to critically low levels, which
could lead to capital flight," Magomedov said.
The Dagestani government is unhappy with the results reported by t he
republic's law enforcement services, he said.
"About 300 people have been affected by extremism-linked activities since
the start of the year, which is nearly twice as many over the same period
last year," he said.
The number of police officers killed during counter-terrorism operations
has doubled, while the number of militants killed has dropped by
one-third, he said.
Police efforts to investigate terrorism-related crimes have become less
effective, he said.
However, Magomedov expressed confidence that the situation could be
improved if police officers are offered better social and financial
Putin criticizes lack of integrated approach in applying navigation
technologies in Russia
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has criticized the fact that there
is no integrated approach toward the application of navigation
technologies in Russia.
"You can often see the absence of an integrated approach t oward the
application of navigation technologies in regions. Everybody does it in
their own way," Putin said at a conference dealing with the use of the
Glonass satellite navigation system in regions.
This approach leads to incompatibility of technological and software
solutions at the level of regional and municipal agencies, Putin said.
"All navigation and information systems at the municipal, regional, and
federal levels should be integrated in the near future, and urgent
operative services must have a unified format for interaction," Putin
Russia has spent 60 billion rubles on the development of the Glonass
satellite navigation system, Putin said at a conference.
The principal amount of work on the system's development has been done,
Putin said. "We should complete the system's equipment in the near future.
It will be full-fledged and really global," Putin said.
BOTh the economic and military sectors need Glonass, Putin said.
"The development of modern weapons is impossible without such systems," he
The project is developing successfully on the whole, Putin said.
"The Glonass system is high technology in direct and indirect senses,
without which the country's modernization is impossible," he said.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov on Tuesday proposed that
Russia levy duties on imports of navigators linked to the U.S.'s Global
Positioning System (GPS) effective from January 1, 2011.
"The time has come to consider levying, not prohibitive duties but at
least some kind of import duty on GPS navigation equipment, which is still
imported into Russia at zero duty," Ivanov told a conference in Ryazan.
"We have been working on such proposals, and I believe that this can be
done as of January 1," he said.
He also backed plans for all motor vehicles manufactured in Russia to be
fitt ed with Russian-made navigators.
Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Sobyanin supported a proposal for a law to
prescribe that all motor vehicles that governmental bodies at all levels
buy with state money be fitted with navigators linked to Russia's Global
Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS).
He said it was feasible to bring out such a law before the end of 2010.
Russia to invest 48 Bln rubles in GLONASS in 2010-11 - Putin
Russia will invest about 48 billion rubles in the "space and ground
infrastructure" of its Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) in
2010-2011, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told a conference on Tuesday in
Ryazan. in
Russia plans to launch six more Glonass satellites into space by the end
of 2010 and will start flying trials of a new-generation satellite,
Glonass-K, in December, Putin said.
"Glonass signals already fully cover Russia. We plan to launch six more
satellites by the end of the year, wh ich will complete the building of
our space constellation," Putin said.
Glonass's civilian navigation signals will be available for free and
without restrictions to consumers in other countries with which Russia has
concluded agreements on cooperation in this area, Putin said.
Russia is actively entering foreign markets where there are promising
niches, Putin said.
"For instance, agreements on cooperation on the Glonass system have
already been concluded with Ukraine, Belarus, India, Cuba, Kazakhstan, and
some other countries. Naturally, civilian navigation signals will be
available to consumers for free and without restrictions," Putin said.
Russian grain harvest to be 60 mln tonnes at worst, grain to suffice -
Russia's grain harvest will be 60 million tonnes at worst this year, but
the country will have enough grain, Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik
said at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.< br>
"The forecast made jointly with the Russian met office is pessimistic, if
you like. The best case is 65 million-67 million tonnes and the worst is
60 million tonnes," Skrynnik said.
"But all these measures that are being taken as of today give us hope that
we'll have enough grain for our country," she said.
Skrynnik said the harvest was under way in all federal districts except
"Around half of the area under grain has been cleared and 40 million
tonnes of grains have been brought in," she said. Farmers in the Krasnodar
territory in southern Russia are leading the way - they have harvested
500,000 tonnes more than last year. The Stavropol territory is not doing
quite as well, but it has still harvested 150,000 tonnes more. The harvest
isn't going badly in the North Caucasus either, Skrynnik said.
The situation is more complicated in the central and Volga regions, she
The ongoing drought is preventing many farmers from sowing winter grains,
and spring sowing next year might have to be increased 30% as a result,
Skrynnik said.
"It all depends on the weather. If we don't get any rain by September 5
we'll have to rely on the spring campaign, and increase sowing 30%. We'll
need the necessary seeds, fuel, machinery and credit resources," she said,
requesting Putin's support in this matter.
"Our efforts have to be concentrated to support our farmers. Our farmers
need help and support with winter and spring sowing," Skrynnik said.
Yanukovych says he will protect the independence of journalists
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said that he will not allow the
return of censorship and other methods of pressurizing journalists.
"I state one more time: the process of development and the widening of the
freedom of the media is irreversible in Ukraine. And I will never allow
the return of cen sorship or any other methods of putting pressure on
journalists," the president said in response to an open letter from the
International Press Institute on Wednesday.
Commenting on the situation around the TVi and the Fifth TV Channels,
Yanukovych emphasized that as a citizen and the guarantor of the
Constitution of Ukraine, he cannot influence the courts. The head of state
said that in this case journalists should support his principled position.
Yanukovych again assured that he was and remains open to the press.
"I do everything for Ukrainian journalists to feel free," Ukrainian
president said.
The president also noted that the standard of journalism was varied in
"Among our publications there are obviously (articles) written to order,
unprofessional, and with unchecked facts," Yanukovych said.
"The standards of journalism will improve together with the development of
democratic processes in Ukraine," the president said.
He also said that after Independence Day public discussion of a concept
for public television, "which I am trying to create," will start in
The president of Ukraine invited experts from the International Press
Institute to join this process giving their suggestions.
"Let's work together in a friendly atmosphere. Because that is how we can
help Ukraine to move a democratic way," Yanukovych said.
Tigipko: No alternative to immediateand decisive reform
Ukraine needs the urgent modernization of its economy, as otherwise it
will find itself in the situation currently seen in Greece, Romania and
Hungary, Deputy Prime Minister Sergiy Tigipko has said.
"These countries, which delayed reforms, now have to resort to very tough
measures, among them reductions in wages and pensions," he said at a
briefing in the Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday.
Tigipko said that t he rapid growth of foreign debt and the deficits of
the budgets of the Pension Fund and Naftogaz Ukrainy currently posed the
greatest threat to the financial stability of the country.
"The foreign debt was 12% of GDP in 2007, while in early 2010 it reached
36% of GDP. This is a critical figure for Ukraine, and it will be
difficult for us to service such a debt without changing anything in the
economy," he said.
He noted that Ukraine would meet all of its commitments to creditors.
"If not, then who will regard us as a serious state? What trust could we
get from investors who want to invest in this country?" Tigipko said.
The politician also said that the loan recently allocated by the IMF would
be used for the development of the country. Tigipko said that Ukraine had
no alternative to taking a loan from the IMF, because otherwise, in his
opinion, the country would have to get loans at much higher interest
rates. Moreover, the ab sence of external funding could have led to crisis
in the economy and in the social sphere, he added.
Coart proceedings in Ukraine to be held in Ukrainian language, says
presidential administration
Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Andriy Portnov has said
court proceedings in Ukraine are held in the Ukrainian language, but
participants in the legal process, representatives of the national
minorities and people who don't speak Ukrainian have the right to speak
another language in the courts.
"Court proceedings in Ukraine are held in the Ukrainian language - this is
a clear basic principle and the law stipulates this," Portnov said in an
interview with the Kommersant-Ukraine newspaper, commenting on the
realization of the law on the judicial system and the status of judges.
"As for national minorities and people who don't speak Ukrainian, they
have the right to speak any language they know and the court is to provide
all means to translate their testimony professionally," he explained.
As reported, on July 7, the Ukrainian parliament passed a law on the
judicial system and the status of judges. Ukrainian President Viktor
Yanukovych signed the law on July 27.
According to Article 12 of the law, the language of trial proceedings and
business correspondence is the national language, Ukrainian. But part four
of this article foresees the possibility to use regional language and the
language of national minorities along with the national language.
Earlier, Head of the Supreme Court of Ukraine Vasyl Onopenko asked the
head of state to veto the law as the law has some contradictions and
violations. In particular, the law contradicts Article 10 of the
Constitution, under which the national language in the Ukrainian language,
while the regulations of the law envisage that regional languages and the
languages of national minorities can be used during trial proceedings.
Compile d by
Andrei Petrovsky, Maya Sedova ###
(Description of Source: Moscow Interfax in English -- Nonofficial
information agency known for its extensive and detailed reporting on
domestic and international issues)
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source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the copyright
holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US Dept. of
5) Back to Top
Ukraine Presid Signs Decree On High Special Civil&Criminal Court -
Thursday August 12, 2010 23:41:11 GMT
KIEV, August 13 (Itar-Tass) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has
signed a decree on the establishment of the High Specialised Civil and
Criminal Cases Court. The corresponding doc ument was published on
Thursday on the website of the head of state.According to the decree, the
court is to created before October 1, 2010 and is to be located in
Kiev.(Description of Source: Moscow ITAR-TASS in English -- Main
government information agency)
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holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US Dept. of
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Yanukovich Tells Azarov To Complete RF BSF Lands Stocktaking - ITAR-TASS
Thursday August 12, 2010 23:31:08 GMT
KIEV, August 13 (Itar-Tass) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has
charged Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov with the task to complete before
January 1, 2011 th e stocktaking of lands where facilities of the Russian
Black Sea Fleet are located, the press service of the Ukrainian head of
state reported on Thursday.The president gave the corresponding
instruction after a working trip to the Crimea on August 3. Besides, the
government has been told to draft proposals on the methods of calculation
of the size of losses of the local budgets in connection with delayed
payment for land and provision of subventions for the compensation of
losses of local budgets.Yanukovich also instructed the cabinet "to ensure
before April 1, 2011 the stocktaking of the lands of the natural reserve
and water funds in the Crimean territory and complete the
normative-monetary evaluation of the lands of the autonomy' s populated
localities."(Description of Source: Moscow ITAR-TASS in English -- Main
government information agency)
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holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US Dept. of
7) Back to Top
Russian Grain Shortage Has Repercussions in Ukraine
Report by Tatyana Ivzhenko: "Kiev May Restrict Grain Exports" -
Nezavisimaya Gazeta Online
Thursday August 12, 2010 20:51:14 GMT
The Ukrainian government justly fears that the increase in grain prices in
the world market provoked by the Russian side will lead to an increase in
grain exports. This threatens a repeat of the grain crisis that took place
for the first time in 2007, when President Viktor Yanukovych was prime
minister. Three years ago a deficit of grain in the domestic market forced
up prices for bread, and the government was only able to get the situation
under control with enormous difficu lty. Later Yuliya Tymoshenko,
recalling the crisis, took restrictive administrative measures annually to
control export volumes and price levels in the domestic market.
This year the situation with bread prices is complex even without an
increase in exports. Higher natural gas and electricity prices are
increasing producer costs, and this means an increase in the price of
bread, the director of the Institute of Economic Research and Political
Consultations, Igor Burakovskiy, believes. The managers of bread combines
predict a fall price increase of 10-15 percent. According to them, if the
government resorts to manual price formations and forces the producers to
work at a loss, then this will either end in the bankruptcy of the
enterprises or a reduction in the volume of production. Experts see only
one way out of the situation: in granting the poorer strata of the
population directed "bread aid". But such expenses have not been included
in this year's state b udget, the execution of which is strictly
controlled by Ukraine's creditor -- the IMF.
Limiting or prohibiting grain exports could be another way out of the
situation. Recently the leader of the Communist Party, which belongs to
the ruling coalition in the Supreme Council, Petr Simonenko, made such an
appeal to the government. He said that grain traders who used the increase
in prices for grain in the world market are buying up products on the
cheap from agricultural enterprises in order to export the
maximally-possible volumes and make super-profits. Exporters announced for
the first time at the end of July that customs services have artificially
slowed grain-export operations. Vice-Premier Sergey Tihipko demanded that
all government bodies adhere to market principles and not allow
administrative interference in the work of the exporters. But at the
beginning of this week, President Yanukovych summoned Tihipko in order to
discuss the situation and firmly remind him t hat bread must not become
more expensive in Ukraine. At a meeting with General Procurator Aleksandr
Medvedko, the head of state asked him to block the attempts of grain
traders to "force producers to sell their grain cheaply and export
high-quality wheat under the guise of industrial grades".
Experts note that it is extremely difficult for government bodies to
oppose the grain traders. Indeed, international organizations that are
interested in compensating the ban on Russian exports with Ukrainian
deliveries are on the side of the businessmen. In contrast to Russia,
Ukraine is vulnerable in this situation, an economist at the investment
company Astrum Investment Management, Aleksey Blinov, believes. According
to him, the ban on grain exports could turn into sanctions by the World
Trade Organization, to which Ukraine belongs; by the European Union, with
which Kiev plans to sign an agreement by the end of the year on a
free-trade zone; and also by the IMF and other financial organizations
that give loans to the country.
Recently the situation has taken an unexpected turn: it seems that
businessmen are no less interested than the governm ent in temporary
restrictions on grain exports. The matter is that in the face of the price
increases, former contracts have become unprofitable, and changing them is
possible only by virtue of a force majeure of the circumstances, such as a
decision by the government to limit exports. This is not said publicly,
although both government officials and businessmen confirm that on the day
after the decision of the Russian government, a ton of wheat in the
Ukrainian market became about $20 more expensive. And the price will
continue to grow, although not at such an impressive rate.
The situation is such that the government and grain traders had to find an
acceptable solution together. A conference recently took place, at which
an intermediate variant was found: the government agreed with the
exporters that the latter would reduce their activity in the market and
permit grain purchases in the Agrarian Fund. First Vice-Premier Andrey
Klyuyev explained that this would permit the creation of reserves that
would ensure the needed level of food security for Ukraine. A memorandum
between the government and the businessmen will be signed in the near
future for this purpose, which, according to the plan, will impose
temporary quotas on grain exports.
Earlier Yanukovych had instructed the government to buy 4.5 million tons
of grain for the Agrarian Fund, and for this more than $600 million was
allocated from state-budget funds. However, state purchases have not yet
been effective, since business reacted more flexibly to the price
situation in the market. Therefore, it was not possible to buy more than
40,000 tons of wheat for the Agrarian Fund, and the government has started
to fear a deficit of bread and a rapid increase in the price for it right
on the eve o f the elections for local government bodies planned for
The situational coincidence of interests of the government and business
has allowed solving this problem. Several experts assert that the state
will be able to buy up a volume of grain not only sufficient for
saturating the domestic market, but for deliveries to Russia should the
neighboring state need such help. However, businessmen are also looking at
the neighbor's market.
(Description of Source: Moscow Nezavisimaya Gazeta Online in Russian --
Website of daily Moscow newspaper featuring varied independent political
viewpoints and criticism of the government; owned and edited by
businessman Remchukov; URL: http://www.ng.ru/)
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source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the copyright
holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US Dept. of
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Ukrainian opposition calls for protests, lawsuits against gas price rise -
Thursday August 12, 2010 19:15:31 GMT
price rise
The opposition Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc has urged Ukrainian citizens to
protest against the latest 50-per-cent increase in household gas prices
and plans to increase them further - a call that has been criticized as
provocative by the pro-presidential Party of Regions.The Ukrainian news
agency UNIAN on 12 August quoted the Tymoshenko bloc as saying in a
statement that "the authorities have no right to introduce market
household gas prices during the financial crisis when the income of our
citizens is much lower than in the neighbouring European states".It said
that people should file lawsuits against the recent decision by the
National Commission for Energy Regulation to rai se the prices and invited
all those affected by the increase to take part in a rally by the
parliament building on 7 September."The authorities are afraid of our
unity. Together we will force them to take the interests of citizens into
account and will not let them rob the state and the people," the bloc
said.Meanwhile, Party of Regions MP Volodymyr Rybak criticized the
statement, accusing Tymoshenko, a former prime minister, of stirring
social unrest, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported later the same
day."She does everything the other way round. She needs protests,
disturbances, alarm and discontent," Rybak was quoted as saying.The
lawmaker added that Tymoshenko's calls were "revenge for her defeat" in
the 2010 presidential election.(Description of Source: Kiev Unian in
Ukrainian -- major independent news agency, considered a fairly reliable
source of information)
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holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US Dept. of
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Ukrainian President Dismisses Air Force Commander - ITAR-TASS
Thursday August 12, 2010 19:05:25 GMT
DONETSK, August 12 (Itar-Tass) - President Viktor Yanukovich of Ukraine
has fired Colonel-General Ivan Rusnak from the post of Commander of the
Ukrainian Air Force.A decree on Gen Rusnak's dismissal has been published
at the official presidential website.Lieutenant-General Sergei
Onishchenko, who has been First Deputy Commander, has been promoted to the
Commander's position.Gen Rusnak has been transferred to the Defense
Ministry's staff.(Description of Source: Moscow ITAR-TASS in English --
Main gover nment information agency)
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holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US Dept. of
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Finland Reports Normal Radioactivity Levels Despite Smoke From Chernobyl
"Finland Radioactivity Normal Despite Smoke From Russia Fire" -- AFP
headline - AFP (North European Service)
Thursday August 12, 2010 19:41:46 GMT
(Description of Source: Paris AFP in English -- North European Service of
independent French press agency Agence France-Presse)
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source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the copyright
holder. Inq uiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US Dept. of
11) Back to Top
Ukrainian Lawyer Demands Gazprom's Miller, Golubev, Testify in
RosUkrEnergo, Naftohaz Case
Report by Natalya Grib and Oleg Gavrish in Kyiv, 12 Aug: "Questioning for
Aleksey Miller: Gazprom Chief Wanted in Ukraine as Witness"; accessed via
Kommersant Online - Kommersant Online
Thursday August 12, 2010 19:05:58 GMT
On Tuesday Yuriy Sukhoy, the attorney for Anatoliy Makarenko, who is the
former head of Ukraine's state customs service and who was arrested within
the context of a criminal case under pt. 2, Art. 367 of the UK (Criminal
Code) (official negligence entailing serious consequences), has petitioned
the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU). In his petition the Ukrainian
attorney asks t o question as witnesses Gazprom's top managers, Aleksey
Miller and Valeriy Golubev, regarding the circumstances and conditions
surrounding the drawing up of agreements involving RosUkrEnergo's natural
On 8 June, the SBU instigated criminal proceedings over the
misappropriation by NAK Naftohaz Ukrayiny employees of transit gas
belonging to RosUkrEnergo (Gazprom owns 50%, Dmitriy Firtash 45%, Ivan
Fursin 5%). Mr. Makarenko, in particular, is accused of the illegal
customs clearance in spring 2009 of 11 billion cubic meters of natural gas
belonging to RosUkrEnergo. According to various estimates, the value of
this gas is between $1.7 billion and $4 billion.
Yesterday Yuriy Sukhoy issued a statement which says that Gazprom, in the
person of its deputy chairman of the board, Valeriy Golubev, was the
initiator of Gazprom's transfer of the right to demand the debt from
RosUkrEnergo to Naftohaz Ukrayiny and the drawing up of purchase
agreements. At the same tim e the attorney cited the publication in the
local press of the text of his letter No. 06-2188, dated 10 October 2008,
addressed to the NAK's deputy chairman of the board, Igor Didenko. Within
the framework of the criminal case, Mr. Didenko is also under arrest, as
is Taras Shepitko, deputy department head of Kyiv Regional Customs.
In the letter, which Kommersant has had a chance to look at, Mr. Golubev
confirms the readiness of the Russian natural gas monopoly to switch to
direct gas supplies between Gazprom and Naftohaz, that is, to cut the
middleman -- RosUkrEnergo -- out of the supply scheme. Attached to the
letter is a list of documents: "Draft purchase contract for natural gas in
the amount of up to 11 billion cubic meters on the western border of
Ukraine between OAO (open joint-stock company) Gazprom and NAK Naftohaz
Ukrayiny"; "Draft agreement to cede the right of monetary demand to
RosUkrEnergo AG (joint-stock company) for supplies of natural gas under
contract 2107-03/06," dated 29 July 2004, between Gazprom Eksport,
RosUkrEnergo, and NAK Naftohaz Ukrayiny, and three other analogous draft
concession agreements totaling as much as $3 billion. However, Kommersant
does not know whether it was these documents that were eventually signed.
"Since the gas is from PKhG (underground gas storage) Ukrainy, the
initiative evidently came from the Ukrainian side. If some deal is made,
there are signatures there from the two parties, and both parties can
consider this a profitable decision for them," Aleksey Miller told
reporters on 26 July, referring to the sale of 11 billion cubic meters of
RUE natural gas.
Let us point out that Mr. Makarenko was arrested for two months
immediately after giving witness testimony on 25 June. And since his term
ends on 24 August, his attorney is taking every measure to make sure it is
not extended. If the Ukrainian attorney is able to prove that Ukrainian
offic ials were not independent in making the decision and illegally
cleared the gas through customs under pressure from Gazprom, then in this
way he will shift all responsibility onto the Russian natural gas
companies. In Yuriy Sukhov's opinion, questioning Aleksey Miller and
Valeriy Golubev will help clarify the real relationship between Gazprom
and RosUkrEnergo, as well as the approval of the procedure to cede the
right of demand and the further acquisition by Naftohaz of the right to 11
billion cubic meters of natural gas.
Actually, so far no one, with the exception of former Ukrainian Prime
Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko, has taken responsibility for the debt transfer
deal. And Mrs. Tymoshenko says that she is "prepared to sign every decree
of mine, inasmuch as they were all legal."
Yesterday SBU press secretary Marina Ostapenko had her cell phone turned
off. The SBU press service never did tell Kommersant whether they would be
calling Mr. Miller and Mr . Golubev in for questioning. Meanwhile Roman
Marchenko, a lawyer with Ilyashev and Partner, believes that this is
possible. "Bearing in mind that Russia and Ukraine have signed an
international agreement on collateral relief within the CIS (Commonwealth
of Independent States) framework, this decision could be handed over as an
international order to the Russian General Prosecutor's Office, and it is
quite logical that the top managers would be called in for questioning
within the framework of a criminal investigation," lawyer Marchenko
reasons. "There are procedural resources for this. This is normal practice
for Ukraine, to call in for questioning the director of a cooperating
company if it is a matter of a business-related crime."
The Gazprom press service refused to comment. However, Kommersant's
high-ranking source in the monopoly explained that "there are no
procedural bases for subpoenaing Aleksey Miller and Valeriy Golubev to
give witness testimony." According to Kommersant's source, the
investigation does not care who the initiator of the debt transfer right
was. "We held extended talks with the NAK, examined a million diagrams,
and signed legal agreements," he said. If Ukrainian officials illegally
cleared this gas through customs, then we bear no responsibility for this
whatsoever." According to him, Aleksey Miller as head of Gazprom has to
this day never appeared as a witness in trials hearing of economic or
criminal cases.
An official in Ukraine's Fuel and Energy Ministry confirmed for Kommersant
that right now "it makes no sense" to call in Mr. Miller and Mr. Golubev.
"The SBU has sufficient grounds as it is to hold all three criminally
liable even without the Gazprom managers' testimony," Kommersant's source
believes. However, the Ukrainian official believes that bringing in the
Gazprom managers as witnesses makes sense in the trial to confi rm the
legality of returning12 billion cubic meters of RosUkrEnergo gas. The
decision to return it was taken by the Stockholm Arbitration Court, where
RUE sued Naftohaz. In August this decision is supposed to be upheld or
struck down by Ukraine's arbitration court. Mikhail Korchemkin, head of
East European Gas Analysis, believes that in this case the Kyiv judges
will uphold the decision of Stockholm arbitration since it is politically
(Description of Source: Moscow Kommersant Online in Russian -- Website of
informative daily business newspaper owned by pro-Kremlin and
Gazprom-linked businessman Alisher Usmanov, although it still criticizes
the government; URL: http://kommersant.ru/)
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12) Back to Top
Ukraine may impose export quotas for wheat, barley - expert - ITAR-TASS
Thursday August 12, 2010 16:57:11 GMT
Excerpt from report by Russian state news agency ITAR-TASSKiev, 12 August:
The Ukrainian government may introduce a combined quota of 5m tonnes for
the export of wheat and barley, the president of the Ukrainian Grain
Association, Volodymyr Klymenko, said today."The Cabinet of Ministers is
to hold a meeting devoted to grain export quotas on 13 August. We don't
know what the decision is going to be, but a figure at the level of 5m
tonnes of wheat and barley is being discussed," he said.Klymenko said that
this measure may be introduced from 15 September. By this time around 3m
tonnes of wheat and barley will have been exported and together with the
expected 5m tonne quota, the export volume will be ar ound 8m tonnes."A
decision on a quota for corn export will be taken after the harvest is
gathered," he said.Klymenko does not rule out that the government quotas
may change according to resources.In late July, Agrarian Policy Minister
Mykola Prysyazhnyuk did not rule out that the government would have to
introduce a quota on the export of food wheat after the harvest.However,
on 4 August, Deputy Prime Minister for the Agro-Industrial Complex Viktor
Slauta said that Ukraine was not planning to limit grain exports. "There
are no grounds to limit the export of grain. We have 42m-43m tonnes - our
gross grain production," said Slauta.(Passage omitted: grain export
statistics)(Description of Source: Moscow ITAR-TASS in Russian -- Main
government information agency)
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13) Back to Top
Crimean Prime Minister Talks about Peninsular's Development Needs
Yanina Sokolovskaya interview with Crimean Prime Minister Vasyl Dzharty,
time and place not given: "Crimea Moving Towards Europe -- Interview with
Autonomous Republic's New Prime Minister Vasyl Dzharty" - Izvestiya Online
(Moscow Edition)
Thursday August 12, 2010 17:02:14 GMT
President Viktor Yanukovych to hold a meeting on the peninsular with
leaders of Muslim organizations. The head of state said something that is
unlikely to have pleased the Crimean Tatars: the land seizures they have
made will not be legalized. All citizens of Ukraine, including Muslims,
will live exclusively within the framework of the law. Vasyl Dzharty, the
head of the Crimean Council of M inisters, spoke to Izvestiya
about the situation on the peninsula, whether Crimea's autonomous status
will be retained, Ukrainianization, and much else besides. Yanina
Sokolovskaya spoke to him.
(Sokolovskaya) When introducing you to Crimean politicians, Viktor
Yanukovych made it clear that everything would be different now on the
peninsula. How will this difference manifest itself?
(Dzharty) When introducing me here in the Supreme Soviet, the president
said he wanted to see the Crimea become the pearl of Ukraine. We are
trying to achieve this. The president gave instructions for a blueprint
for Crimea's development to be drawn up, a strategy, a vision. The last
government did a very large amount of such groundwork as well, but the
presidential will to deal with it was lacking. Today it is present.
We want to understand what Crimea will look like in 5-10-20 years' time.
It is possible to talk about short-term issues, about closing beaches, but
we need to understand where the autonomous region is going. We are not
only involving the government and parliament of Crimea in drawing up the
blueprint, but also scholars and strategists from Russia and Europe. They
will create the program with their Ukrainian colleagues, taking into
account the positive aspects and the problems of Crimea.
We have already defined the priorities. The first of them is not holidays
and it is not tourism. They are not year-round and we must create the
conditions for constantly providing services to people. The main focus
will be the health-improving industry.
A large part of Crimea's territory is used for agriculture, so we must
also engage in developing agriculture. The climatic conditions are
difficult here, so the task needs to be approached like in the Soviet
Union - from the point of view of science.
To achieve all our ambitious aims, we must adopt a law on Crimea. It will
set out what is stipulated in the constitution. The authority of the
structures must be defined, the sources of financing for the projects, the
individuals responsible.
(Sokolovskaya) Mustafa Jemilev, the leader of the Majlis, did not go to
the meeting with Crimean Tatar organizations announced by Mr Yanukovych.
Did he ignore the invitation from the president or did he not receive one?
(Dzharty) The president has started an open dialogue with all the
political and ethnic movements. Understanding it all and anticipating the
result beforehand, I personally sent Jemilev official notification of the
meeting by recorded delivery. Sergey Levochkin, the head of the
Presidential Staff, did the same thing. But Jemilev made a very serious
mistake by not going to see the president. The head of the Majlis has
shown that he is protecting his own personal interests and I think that
the Tatar people will express their dissatisfaction with him at the
kurultay (congress). Especially since the so-called Jemilev law on deporta
tions, which the president has suggested modifying, was discussed at the
(Sokolovskaya) The main issue disturbing the ethnic peace in Crimea is the
legitimization of the land seizures carried out by the Tatars. There is
land that has been seized both near Simferopol and throughout the whole of
Crimea. Neither public nor private construction is taking place on it. Who
will Yanukovych distribute this land to - Slavs, or Tatars?
(Dzharty) The President has said that all those who have illegally seized
land must give it up themselves. Otherwise we will take it away anyway and
we will return it to the people. No- one will legalize land seizures. In
what way are Russians and Ukrainians worse than Tatars: are they also
supposed to engage in land seizures?
The land will be returned to state ownership and the general plans for
land development will be able to be implemented. If there is a hospital in
the plan a hospital will appear, if there is a private sector in the plan
a private sector will appear. Whereas today we cannot develop our towns
because of the land seizures, we do not understand where we are going, and
we have been looking at Tartar tents and squatter camps for years. Every
boss thinks: why do I need the headache of demolishing them. And waits for
the next election. But the president has now drawn a line under it and
everyone needs to ponder what he has said.
(Sokolovskaya) The current Interior Minister of Ukraine Anatoly Mohylyov
carried out an operation to demolish a Tatar squatter camp on Mount
Ai-Petri when he was head of the Crimean police. Armoured personnel
carriers went up onto the plateau and razed homes to the ground. Will this
operation be repeated throughout the Crimea?
(Dzharty) Mohylyov was on his own at the time, the previous regime did not
support him. Whereas now there is the president and the government, and
the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, who maintain: everyone must live accordi ng
to the law. There is no other option.
(Sokolovskaya) Serhiy Tsekov, the first deputy speaker of Crimea and
co-chairman of Russian Unity, told Izvestiya that it was better for Crimea
to be with Russia than with Ukraine. What is your assessment of what he
(Dzharty) Fortunately, Tsekov is not the whole parliament. I am sure that
many deputies do not want to stand aside and they will engage in the new
development strategy for Crimea. It became an autonomous entity for
various reasons, but so far it has not received anything apart from the
trappings. It is being given powers that it does not now have. Crimea is
an integral part of Ukraine, which is moving towards Europe. But at the
same time there is Russia, which is we understand psychologically and
which is open to us. We are all Slavs but Crimea is not a separate state,
it is part of Ukraine.
Separatist statements are only needed to win points before the elections.
What is behind the words "w e are with Russia"? What program? The Party of
Regions has a prescribed relationship with Russia, Russian language rights
have been agreed, we have assumed responsibility, and confidence in us
today is very high. We are ready to live up to it.
(Sokolovskaya) How will you extend the autonomy of Crimea?
(Dzharty) Crimea's Supreme Soviet will not only acquire representative
functions but also the right to present legislative initiatives. At the
moment, it cannot draw up the laws according to which Crimea should
develop. We will strengthen the powers of the peninsular's Council of
Ministers, we will split the functions between all the branches of power.
Politicians say that such independence is dangerous. But when powers are
not spelled out and overlap with one another, you get a bit of a mess,
which actually suited the previous regime here.
(Sokolovskaya) Chechnya's President Kadyrov has stated that Wahhabism is
not now moving from Chechnya to Crimea b ut in the opposite direction. Is
that true?
(Dzharty) Our task is to keep the peace at any price. There are the secret
services which deal with these matters, but they have not reported
anything alarming to me.
(Sokolovskaya) Local elections will take place in Ukraine in October. What
results do you predict in Crimea?
(Dzharty) The Party of Regions will be in first place, and there is no
doubt about this. Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Tyhypko's Strong Ukraine
will be in second place. The Communists will be in third place. The
Russian Bloc will not be among the group of leaders.
(Sokolovskaya) Its spokesmen talk about the total Ukrainianization of
Crimea. What language will Crimean children be taught in?
(Dzhart y) We must educate children at institutions, which will give them
an opportunity to develop further. Whether they are Ukrainian or Russian
is a matter of parental choice. I think we will get to a point where
Russian will become a regi onal language for Crimea. It has already had
that status here, it is time to get it back. The issue will be resolved
(Sokolovskaya) Previously, Russian politicians were not allowed into
Crimea because they were accused of anti-constitutional statements. What
will happen now?
(Dzharty) If they do not start to encroach upon the integrity of the
Ukrainian state, we will be pleased to see them. If they start to do so,
we will take a decision barring them from the territory of Ukraine so as
not to stir up political unrest.
(Sokolovskaya) Are Russians still Crimea's main investors?
(Dzharty) Not only Russians, but China and the EU as well. There are a lot
of proposals and we chose major projects. Crimea should become a territory
that attracts investment, it should get special status as a priority
development zone. Otherwise we will never catch up with Turkey and Russia
let alone the countries of Europe.
(Sokolovskaya) Will the large-scale R ussian-Ukrainian project to build a
bridge from Kerch to Krasnodar Kray be implemented?
(Dzharty) I believe in this project. If it does happen then I can say that
I have not lived my life in vain. There is the desire on the Russian side,
there is the intention on the Ukrainian side, there is a working group of
representatives of the ministries, and there is also the construction
(Sokolovskaya) Will the experience with the dam, which the Russians built
from Krasnodar Kray to Ukraine's Tuzla Spit, not be repeated again now?
(Dzharty) I think this episode is now part of the past. There is no point
in such political projects now. Izvestiya Note
Vasyl Dzharty was born in Donetsk Region in 1958, he has been mayor of the
town of Makeevka, first deputy head of the Donetsk Region State
Administration, and Ukraine's minister of the environment. Since March
2010 he has been chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea.
(Description of So urce: Moscow Izvestiya Online (Moscow Edition) in
Russian -- Website of Moscow Edition of large-circulation daily that is
majority-owned by Yuriy Kovalchuk's National Media Group and usually
supports the Kremlin; URL: http://izvestia.ru/)
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14) Back to Top
Ukrainian president replaces Air Force chief - Interfax-Ukraine
Thursday August 12, 2010 16:29:58 GMT
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has issued a decree dismissing
Col-Gen Ivan Rusnak from the post of Air Force commander, the
Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on 12 August, quoting the
presidential pr ess service.By his another decree, Yanukovych appointed
Lt-Gen Serhiy Onyshchenko to the job.(Description of Source: Kiev
Interfax-Ukraine in Russian -- Service provided by the Russian news agency
Interfax focusing on events in Ukraine)
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15) Back to Top
Lithuanian Report Examines Security Agent's Involvement in CIA Prison
Report by Jurga Tvaskiene: "Security Super Agent Not Secure Anymore" -
Lietuvos Zinios
Thursday August 12, 2010 15:07:43 GMT
Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis dared to do something his
predecessors, who liked to boast abo ut their efforts to fight the
"statesmen," did not do.
"The Foreign Ministry confirms the information that the foreign minister
has signed an order to recall Dabasinskas from the post of adviser to
minister at the Lithuanian Embassy in Kiev. The Foreign Ministry had a
fixed-term contract with Dabasinskas, the end of the contract was
determined by the foreign minister's decision to recall the official. In
other words, the minister had the right to recall Dabasinskas at any
time," Rolandas Kacinskas, director of the Information and Public
Relations Department of the Foreign Ministry, confirmed to Lietuvos Zinios
yesterday. A Blow to Lithuania's International Prestige
Even though Azubalis, who is on vacation at the moment, refused to comment
on his decision, unofficial information suggest that the decision may have
been influenced by the results of the audit of the pre-trial investigation
conducted by the Prosecutor General's Office on the ac tivities and
possible abuse of power by former State Security Department (VSD)
Directors Mecys Laurinkus and Arvydas Pocius and Deputy Director Dainius
In January, after two months of investigation, the Seimas (parliament)
announced its conclusions that the aforementioned persons created all the
necessary conditions for the existence of a secret CIA prison on
Lithuanian territory and that they did not inform the Lithuanian leaders
about that. The existence of such a prison dealt a blow to Lithuania's
international prestige. Immediately after that the Prosecutor General's
Office launched a pre-trial investigation, which is still ongoing. The
prosecutors claim that all the persons who were supposed to be questioned
in this case have already been questioned. However, no conclusions have
been made public yet.
Nevertheless, it looks like the fundamental reforms President Dalia
Grybauskaite (who made sure that the CIA prison story, the topic that was
unpleasant for some individuals, was not "forgotten") has initiated in the
law enforcement and other institutions seem to bear fruit. Darius Valys,
who became prosecutor general just two months ago, has ordered an audit of
the pre-trial investigation. At the same time, as Lietuvos Zinios reported
a week ago (EUP20100802070008), the new VSD Director Gediminas Grina has
decided to cross out Dabasinskas, who for many years was perceived as the
factual VSD director, from the VSD reserve list.
Even though the VSD announced that it would not provide any information on
its personnel, unofficial information suggests that such a step would not
be made without a serious reason verified by the pre-trial investigation.
Was Waiting for Conclusions
Azubalis has confirmed on a number of occasions that he would not make
crucial decisions without a serious reason verified by the law enforcement
"I definitely want to receive the results of the investigation carried out
by the Prosecutor General's Office and will make a decision after that. If
I decided to recall Dabasinskas from the embassy now, after a pre-trial
investigation has been launched, it would have been an indirect signal to
the law enforcement institutions. I better stay on the sidelines and wait.
I will take appropriate action when I receive the results," Azubalis said
in February.
Thus, it is clear that the foreign minister's decision to recall
Dabasinskas from the embassy in Ukraine is clearly a signal that soon the
public will receive information from the law enforcement institutions,
confirming how the &qu ot;statesmen" had again sacrificed Lithuania in
exchange for their own gain when they were negotiating with the CIA. The
Deal Made Him Rich?
ABC News reported about the existence of a secret CIA prison in Lithuania
exactly a year ago -- on 20 August (2009). The report alleged that the
prison existed in Lit huania in 2004-2005.
Soon afterward, the parliamentary National Security and Defense Committee
(NSGK) initiated a parliamentary investigation. (passage on the
conclusions of the parliamentary investigation omitted)
Perhaps it is a coincidence, but the year 2005, when Lithuania allegedly
hosted a CIA prison, was the year when the VSD top-ranking officials
enjoyed sudden financial prosperity. Dabasinskas purchased a brand-new
American-made Chrysler, and then he purchased a cottage in the prestigious
Turniskes area (Vilnius) for more than 0.5 million litas (LTL). Hasty
The career of Dabasinskas, who was delegated to the VSD by the Foreign
Ministry in 2001 and who was seen as the VSD grey cardinal, did not suffer
even after the Turniskes property scandal (purchase of property at a much
lower than the market price), or after his role in the scandal related to
the death of VSD Colonel Vytautas Pociunas in Belarus was made public.
In August 2 009, two weeks before the publication of the story on the CIA
prison in Lithuania, Dabasinskas's decision to withdraw from the VSD was
seen by many as extremely unexpected. Especially since Darius
Jurgelevicius, another VSD deputy director and Dabasinskas's friend,
submitted his letter of resignation to the president several days before
The latter already had a job in Georgia. Reportedly, the "statesmen" from
the Foreign Ministry helped Dabasinskas receive the then Foreign Minister
Vygaudas Usackas's nomination and he was immediately sent to the
Lithuanian Embassy in Ukraine, where another "statesman" Petras
Vaitiekunas, former (foreign) minister, took Dabasinskas under his wing.
Dabasinskas Not Likely To Return
Why did these individuals, who remained in their posts after the
parliamentary investigation of Pociunas's death and after the requests by
civic activists to restore justice in the country, became suddenly so
eager to go to t he countries that were friendly to Lithuania but were not
members of the EU? Already then politicians argued that the high-ranking
VSD officials -- Jurgelevicius and Dabasinskas -- received information
that the US press had started digging and that it would soon make public
the information about a CIA prison in Lithuania, and that they received
this information much earlier than the public. It seems that these two VSD
officials, who enjoyed some kind of support of the previous Lithuanian
Administration, understood that this time they would not manage to escape
responsibility. And this is why they chose to go to the countries that
were actively seeking membership in NATO and thus were ready to do many
things to achieve that, and these countries became perfect places for them
to hide during difficult times.
Azubalis has been actively working to restore the prestige of the Foreign
Ministry; he has dismissed Dabasinskas, which means that the latter is not
likely to ret urn to Lithuania. Reportedly, one of the leaders of the
"statesmen" clan has already secured himself a new job in Ukraine.
It is not clear when Lithuanian Ambassador to Ukraine Petras Vaitiekunas
will ask Dabasinskas to leave the embassy. Yesterday, despite the embassy
referent's promises, the ambassador did not show up at the embassy. And
today, he reportedly went on a long-planned visit to another city.
(Description of Source: Vilnius Lietuvos Zinios in Lithuanian -- National,
centrist, privately-owned daily of general interest with limited
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16) Back to Top
800 Litres Of Honey Leaks On Highway In Ukraine Due T o Road Incident -
Thursday August 12, 2010 14:26:22 GMT
LVOV, August 12 (Itar-Tass) - The number of road accidents increased
considerably over the abnormal heat wave in Ukraine. More than 800 litres
of honey leaked on the express Kiev-Odessa highway near the district
centre of Lyubashevka as a result of a road incident, reported on Thursday
the press service of the local branch of the Ministry for Emergencies for
the Odessa Region.The driver of a Ford car who did not observed distance
and rammed into a truck with honey barrels in front of him, was the
culprit of the "sweet" incident. As a result of the crash, barrels rolled
away from the truck, covering the road with their sweet content. Wheels of
following cars skidded immediately on honey.No new accidents took place
only thanks to sheer luck. Rescuers of the Lyubashevka district section of
the Ministry for Emergencies were summoned to ensure safe passage of motor
vehicles on the highway. The speed at this section of the highway was cut
to 40 km/hr.In the city of Makeyevka, Ukraine, a truck loaded with water
melons skidded at a turn and turned over. Melons rolled all over the
highway, stopping the traffic for several hours. According to the road
traffic service, the driver failed to wield steering at this dangerous
turn and on overheated road asphalt.He could not get out of the warped
cabin, and rescuers had to extricate him. The man received only scratches.
Local residents readily picked up undamaged melons.The road traffic
department of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry recorded a 30-percent rise
in the number of road accidents and attributed them to a lengthy heat
spell. While temperatures surged to 36-39 degrees Celsius, the highway
cover heats to 70 degrees, making the driving difficult. The speed of
truck traffic was limited at daytime.As many as 574 road accid ents took
place in Ukraine over the past 24 hours alone, killing 14 people and
injuring 137.(Description of Source: Moscow ITAR-TASS in English -- Main
government information agency)
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17) Back to Top
Ukrainian Govt May Introduce Wheat, Barley Export Quotas - ITAR-TASS
Thursday August 12, 2010 13:41:42 GMT
KIEV, August 12 (Itar-Tass) -- The Ukrainian government may impose a quota
for the export of wheat and barley at five million tonnes on the
aggregate, the president of the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA),
Vladimir Klimenko, said on Thursd ay.On August 13 the Cabinet of Ministers
is to hold a meeting on grain export quotas. What sort of decision is to
be taken, we do not know. A likely figure being considered is five million
tonnes of barley and wheat," he said.The measure, said Klimenko, can be
introduced as of September 15. At that time, about five million tonnes of
wheat and barley will have been exported, he said. With the expected
five-million-tonne quota grain export will amount to about eight million
tonnes."The decision on the export quotas of corn will be accepted after
the harvest is over," the expert explained.Klimenko does not exclude that
the government quota will vary depending on resources.In late July,
Agrarian Policy Minister of Ukraine Nikolai Prysyazhnyuk did not rule out
that the government would introduce a quota on the export of wheat after
the harvest season. However, on August 4, Deputy Prime Minister for the
agri-industrial complex Viktor Slauta, said that Ukraine had no plans for
restricting grain export."There is no reason to limit the export of grain.
We have 42-43 million tonnes, that is our gross production of grain," said
Slauta.Ukraine by the end of the previous marketing year (July 2009 - June
2010) exported 21 million tonnes of grain harvested in 2009 and 46 million
tonnes of cereals and leguminous crops, which is 13.7 percent lower than
in 2008.In 2010, Ukraine plans to collect 42 million tonnes of
grain.(Description of Source: Moscow ITAR-TASS in English -- Main
government information agency)
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18) Back to Top
Ukraine Reduces Gas Output By 6.4% in 7 Mths - Interfax
Thursday August 12, 2010 12:35:52 GMT
KYIV. Aug 12 (Interfax) - Ukraine's gas output went down by 6.4%
year-on-year, or by 801.2 million cubic meters, to 11.686 billion cubic
meters in January-July 2010, the Ministry of Fuel and Energy told
Interfax.Production of natural gas went down by 6.2% (739.6 mcm) to 11.195
bcm.The ministry said that national company Naftogaz Ukrainy reduced gas
output by 5.9% (669.5 mcm) to 10.747 bcm, including natural gas - by 5.4%
(594.5 mcm) to 10.383 bcm.Ukrgazvydobuvannya, for example, reduced gas
production by 3.1% to 8.672 bcm, including natural gas - by 3.3% to 8.623
bcm, OJSC Ukrnafta - 17.8% to 1.46 bcm including natural gas - 16.5% to
1.148 bcm and Chernomornaftogaz - 10.6% to 612.8 mcm.Other oil and gas
companies reduced gas output by 12.3% (131.67 mcm) to 939.04 mcm,
including natural gas - 15.2% (by 145.14 mcm) to 811.2 mcm.For instance,
CJSC Naftogazvydobuvannya lowered gas pr oduction by 25.4% to 359.25 mcm,
JV Poltava Gas and Oil Company - 2.1% to 251.4 mcm, Nadra Ukrainy - 73% to
29.7 mcm, CJSC Plast - 15.6% to 22 mcm and Eastern Geological Union -
43.8% to 9.84 mcm. At the same time, CJSC Natural Resoruces raised gas
output by 36.1% to 74.85 mcm and Regal Petroleum - 66.1% to 56.08 mcm.Gas
production in Ukraine increased by 0.8% to 21.182 bcm in 2009, including
natural gas - 1.3% to 20.238 bcm.Ih(Our editorial staff can be reached at
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19) Back to Top
Ukrainian ex-customs chief's lawyer wants Gazprom officials questioned -
Thursday August 12, 2010 12:31:46 GMT
Excerpt from report by Interfax-Ukraine news agencyKiev, 12 August: Yuriy
Sukhov, lawyer of former State Customs Service head Anatoliy Makarenko,
has asked the investigator working on the case on damage done to Ukraine
due to the Stockholm court of arbitration ruling to question
representatives of (Russian state gas company) Gazprom."I believe that
this case cannot be dealt with objectively without questioning them
(Gazprom representatives). And if they are not questioned, I will be
thinking that the guilt of the accused has not been proved and the
investigation was not objective as Gazprom's role in this case was not
established," he said at a news conference in Kiev today.Also, Sukhov
expressed surprise over the fact that Russia had signed the gas agreements
while considering them invalid. Moreover, Sukhov said that he also sent a
motion to this effec t to a senior investigator working on this case in
the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine).(Passage omitted: background)(For
more details, see "Former Ukrainian customs chief held over disputed gas -
source"; Ukrayinska Pravda website, Kiev, in Ukrainian 23 Jun 10;
"Ukrainian court orders former customs chief remanded in custody"; UNIAN
news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1709 gmt 24 Jun 10)(Description of Source:
Kiev Interfax-Ukraine in Russian -- Service provided by the Russian news
agency Interfax focusing on events in Ukraine)
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20) Back to Top
Ukrainian court says security chief lawfully appointed to judicial body -
Interfax-Ukrain e
Thursday August 12, 2010 12:09:18 GMT
Text of report by Interfax-Ukraine news agencyKiev, 12 August: The Supreme
Administrative Court has refused to rule in favour of the Television
Company "Teleradiosvit" (TVi) in its lawsuit against President Viktor
Yanukovych demanding that it rule unlawful and revoke his decree
appointing the chief of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Valeriy
Khoroshkovskyy, member of the Supreme Council of Justice.The board of
Supreme Administrative Court judges passed a ruling to this effect at its
sitting on Thursday (12 August) after hearing the plaintiff. Neither the
defendant nor the third party (Khoroshkovskyy - Interfax-Ukraine) were
present.The court made public only the substantive part of its ruling. The
full text will be made public in five days.It was reported earlier that
the TVi television channel had filed a lawsuit with the Supreme
Administrative Court appealing against Yanukovych's decree appointing
Khoroshkovskyy member of the Supreme Council of Justice. In the lawsuit,
the channel insisted that this decision was unlawful as it contradicted
the provision in the Law "On the Supreme Council of Justice" saying that a
member of the Supreme Council of Justice has to have a degree in law and
at least 10 years of working experience in the legal field. Khoroshkovskyy
was the third party in the case.The media news website Telekrytyka
reported that the Supreme Administrative Court on 5 August asked the
Ukrainian president to produce proof of state security chief
Khoroshkovskyy's 10-year working experience in the legal
field.(Description of Source: Kiev Interfax-Ukraine in Russian -- Service
provided by the Russian news agency Interfax focusing on events in
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21) Back to Top
Ukraine's AMC to Decide on Kyivstar And Vimpelcom Merger Within a Month -
Thursday August 12, 2010 11:24:38 GMT
KYIV. Aug 12 (Interfax) - Ukraine's Antimonopoly Committee (AMC) will
decide on the merger of Ukrainian cellular provider CJSC Kyivstar and
Russia's OJSC VimpelCom (RTS: VIMP) in a month, AMC chairman Alexei
Kostusev told journalists on Thursday."We have received new reports that
are changing out view of this issue. We planned to make this decision by
the end August but the period could be extended slightly. But I promise: a
decision will be made," he said.Media reports surfaced last week that the
AMC was interested in Russia's Alfa-Bank's (that owns 44.6% in Vimpelcom
Ltd) increase of its stake in Turkey's Turkey, which owns 55% in the
cellular provider, OOO Astelit.Kyivstar GSM is Ukraine's largest mobile
communications operator. It is also developing a project for the
development of fixed communications services - access to the broadband
Internet and cable TV. The number of its subscribers (SIM-card holders) is
22 million out of a total number of SIM cardholders of 55.37
millionVimpelCom in Ukraine owns CJSC Ukrainian Radio Systems and Golden
Telecom Ltd. (operating under the Beeline brand). Both hold a mobile GSM
communications license, although Golden Telecom Ltd.'s core business is
fixed communications, and it is developing its broadband Internet access
services in the retail segment, with over 100,000 subscribers as of the
end of 2009.The AMC said that Kyivstar, Ukrainian RadioSystems and Golden
Telecom use 58% of radio frequencies designated for GSM-900 and over 50%
of GSM-1800 frequencies.The assets of Kyivstar GSM and VimpelCom in 2009
accounted to 53.4% of the overall assets of the Ukrainian cellular
communications market.Altimo, which manages Alfa-Group's
telecommunications assets, and Telenor announced in the autumn of 2009
that they would sign an agreement for the merger of their respective
stakes in VimpelCom and Kyivstar.Ih(Our editorial staff can be reached at
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22) Back to Top
Ukraine Press 12 Aug 10
The following lists selected reports from the Ukraine Press on 12 Aug 10.
To request further processing, please contact OSC at (800) 205-8615,
(202)338-6735; or Fax (703) 613-5735. - -- OSC Summary
Thursday August 12, 2010 10:45:53 GMT
Fakty i Kommentarii, 12 August1. Despite the cabinet's statements that
there are no grounds for any increases in bread prices in Ukraine, by
October they will have grown by 50 per cent across Ukraine and by 70 per
cent in Kiev, the Kiev-based tabloid says, quoting various experts. They
say that prices of bread will grow inevitably as a consequence of growing
demand on world markets coupled with this summer's increase in prices of
utilities and gas for Ukrainian households. The paper says that, according
to the Ukrainian Industrial Policy Ministry, from 6 June to 6 July, the
price of one tonne of wheat has grown by 22.8 per cent; p 7; 700 words;
npp.Holos Ukrayiny, 12 August2. The official paper of the Ukrainian
parliament says that Cherkasy regional governor Serhiy Tulub was quick to
react to an attempt to increase prices for bread in the r egion by 10
kopiykas (around 1.2 cents). Following the governor's order, the regional
price control inspectorate looked into the matter, convinced bread
producers to lower the price and apologised to residents of the region; p
1; 170 words; npp.Ekonomicheskiye Izvestiya, 12 August3. Oleksandr
Nechayev, who is believed to be a close business partner of Ukrainian
tycoon Dmytro Firtash, is going to be appointed head of the state-run
holding Tytan Ukrayiny (Titanium of Ukraine), a business daily says in an
article entitled "Tytan Ukrayiny to be handed over to Firtash". The paper
recalls that Nechayev has headed the Krymskyy Tytan (Crimean Titanium)
company controlled by Firtash. The paper says that "the most popular
player on the gas market" will also control Ukraine's market of titanium
dioxide; p 1; 650 words; npp.Flot Ukrayiny, 4 August4. An air defence
battalion of the South air defence command has held an anti-terror
exercise, Pavlo Oleksandrov says in a n article entitled "Law-enforcers of
Odessa Region are ready to counter terrorist threats". The main goal of
the exercise was to improve cooperation among all law enforcement bodies
and local authorities in case of a terrorist attack; p 4; 530 words;
text.Vecherniye Vesti, 12 August5. The daily supportive of the opposition
Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc publishes a "special report" about the life of
President Viktor Yanukovych's wife Lyudmyla. The report notes that since
the 2010 presidential election Lyudmyla Yanukovych has been keeping a low
profile and that the couple has not been seen in public together for a
couple of years. It says that Lyudmyla refused to move to Kiev and that
she has devoted herself to charity work, culture and religion; pp 8-9;
1,500 words; excerpt.Negative selectionUryadovyy Kuryer, Silski Visti,
Narodna Armiya, Den, Ukrayina Moloda, Izvestiya v Ukraine, Segodnya,
Gazeta Po-Kiyevski, Kommersant Ukraina - 12 AugustFlot Ukrayiny - 7 Augus
t(Description of Source: Caversham BBC Monitoring in English -- Monitoring
service of the BBC, the United Kingdom's public service broadcaster)
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23) Back to Top
Russia's CEC Unlikely To Attend Kyrgyz Elections On October 10-Churov -
Thursday August 12, 2010 09:18:30 GMT
MOSCOW, August 12 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian Central Election Commission
(CEC) is unlikely to send its representatives to the October 10
parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan even in case of official invitation,
since the date coincides with a common election day in Russia, CEC
chairman Vladimir Churov told a news conference on Thursday.The CEC,
however, might send its observers from a CEC public consultative board, he
said.According to Churov, Russia's Central Election Commission pays great
attention to the development of international observer contacts. In his
words, in 2010 alone, CEC observers attended the presidential elections in
Ukraine, parliamentary elections in Iraq, Sudan and the Philippines, and
the constitutional referendum in Kyrgyzstan.Churov also said the CEC will
invite international observers to attend Russia's local elections on
October 10, although Russia's international commitments provide for
international observers' presence only at federal-level elections. "In
this case, foreign observers will be invited to Russia's Chelyabinsk and
Kaluga Regions to inspect ballot processing equipment," Churov said,
adding that a total of 100 pieces of such equipment will be employed in
the Chelyabinsk Region alone.&qu ot;Russia's CEC is actively developing
international ties," he said. In his words, he has "not just businesslike,
but friendly relations" with director of the OSCE Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) Janez Lenarcic, who is soon
arriving in Moscow.Moreover, the Russian Central Elections Commission is
cooperating with election bodies from Asia-Pacific countries, he said and
added that a meeting of heads of such bodies is scheduled for this
November.(Description of Source: Moscow ITAR-TASS in English -- Main
government information agency)
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24) Back to Top
Lithuanian Official Tied to CIA Prison Case To Be Recal led From Ukraine
17 Sep
"Lithuania: Official Involved in Case of CIA Prison To Finish Duty in
Ukraine in Mid-September" -- BNS headline - BNS
Thursday August 12, 2010 07:32:49 GMT
The diplomat claimed that Dabasinskas is being recalled because his term
agreement expires but would not comment whether the minister's decision
was related with the pre-trial investigation over potential abuse of
powers in the case of CIA prisons.
"The term agreement expired, the minister signed the decision to recall
him. That is the minister's decision. Because the term agreement can be
terminated at any time, that is just that was done," the vice-minister
told the media.
When asked if the decision has been affected by the pre-trial
investigation, Ignatavicius said: "You should ask the minister that. I can
only comment on what has been done."
The Prosecu tor General's Office reported on Wednesday (11 August) it is
not associating the recalling of Dainius Dabasinskas, former Deputy
Director of the State Security Department from his post at the embassy in
Kiev with the pre-trial investigation of the possible existence of a CIA
prison in Lithuania.
"The foreign minister's order to recall Dabasinskas from his advising post
and the decision of the SSD's director to strike him out of the reserve
lists were not made at the initiative of the prosecutor's office and no
such matters have been discussed or approved," the press release from the
prosecutor's office reads.
The findings of the parliamentary investigation mention Dabasinskas's role
repeatedly. They say that Dabasinskas permitted US officials to access
aircraft associated with the CIA at least twice, and that Arvydas Pocius,
then director of the SSD (VSD) new (knew) about it.
The findings say that the partners' representatives would never be al one
in one of the facilities listed "and would always be accompanied by
Dabasinskas or another SSD official".
This January the parliament suggested that the Prosecutor General's Office
should investigate if the actions by Mecys Laurinkus, Pocius and
Dabasinskas involved any elements of abuse of powers as those persons had
been suspected of not having notified state leaders of cooperation with
the CIA properly.
(Description of Source: Vilnius BNS in English -- Baltic News Service, the
largest private news agency in the Baltic States, providing news on
political developments in all three Baltic countries; URL:
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source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the copyright
holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US Dept. of
25) Back to Top
Lithuanian Prosecutors Question Former VSD Chiefs in Case of Alleged CIA
"Ex Security Chiefs Questioned in Case of CIA Prison - Lithuanian
Prosecutor" -- BNS headline - BNS
Thursday August 12, 2010 06:59:25 GMT
The prosecutor's office has said that "certain premises" were inspected
but has not revealed if former leaders of the state testified.
President Valdas Adamkus told BNS he had not been questioned by the
Algimantas Kliunka, Chief Prosecutor at the organized crime and corruption
investigations department of the Prosecutor General's Office told a press
conference that "there are no persons classified as suspects in the
pre-trial investigation."
The prosecutor also would not answer the question of whether former
President Valdas Adamkus or other top-ranking leaders of the state had
been questi oned in the investigation.
"A lot of individuals were questioned in the process of the pre- trial
investigation, and those who had to be questioned were in fact
questioned," Kliunka said.
"Many facts were known beforehand and required conducting no actions in
the pre-trial investigation," said the prosecutor.
In his words, the pre-trial investigation has involved the questioning of
more people than had been questioned during the parliamentary inquest.
"I can only say this much: we have questioned much more officials than
were questioned during the parliamentary investigation," said the
Adamkus told BNS that he had not been contacted by the prosecutors
conducting the investigation.
"No, there has been no such contact," the president said Wednesday.
In Kliunka's words, in the process of the pre-trial investigation over
abuse in the case of possible existence of a CIA prison in Lithuania, the
prosecutors have visited the buildings that, according to the findings of
the parliamentary investigation, could have been used to hold individuals
apprehended by the CIA.
"The prosecutors have looked through all of the necessary documents and
all of the other properties, including certain premises," Kliunka said.
In his words, airport officials and surroundings were also investigated.
Kliunka said that the recalling of former SSD (State Security Department;
VSD) Deputy Director Dabasinskas from the embassy in Ukraine had nothing
to do with the pre-trial investigation. The prosecutors launched the
investigation in response to the findings of the parliamentary probe into
possible transportation and imprisonment of individuals apprehended by the
US Central Investigations Agency on the territory of Lithuania.
The parliament-approved findings state that former directors of the SSD
Laurinkus, Pocius and Dabasinskas have not pro vided the necessary
information to the state leaders about the cooperation of their service
with foreign partners.
The pre-trial investigation has been going on to this day. Having resigned
from the post at the SSD, Dabasinskas started working at Lithuania's
embassy in Kiev about one year ago.
(Description of Source: Vilnius BNS in English -- Baltic News Service, the
largest private news agency in the Baltic States, providing news on
political developments in all three Baltic countries; URL:
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by the
source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the copyright
holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US Dept. of
26) Back to Top
Details of CIA Prison Probe Not Discussed With VSD
"Recalling of Ex-Security Officer not Related With C IA Prison Probe -
Lithuanian Prosecutors" -- BNS headline - BNS
Thursday August 12, 2010 07:16:32 GMT
"The foreign minister's order to recall Dabasinskas from his advising post
and the decision of the SSD's (VSD) director to strike him out of the
reserve lists were not made at the initiative of the prosecutor's office
and no such matters have been discussed or approved," the press release
from the prosecutor's office reads.
The prosecutor's office also stressed that no details of the pre- trial
investigation that could have caused the making of any decisions with
regard to recalling Dabasinskas or striking him out of the SSD reserve
lists have been presented either to the Foreign Ministry or the SSD.
The press release states that the prosecutor's office has not received any
requests to issue pre-trial investigation information about Dabasinskas or
other pers ons.
In the prosecutors' words, the pre-trial investigation is still in
progress and no procedural decisions have been made.
On Wednesday (11 August), the Lietuvos Zinios daily reported that Foreign
Minister Audronius Azubalis had signed an order to recall Dabasinskas from
his post at the Lithuanian embassy in Kiev.
Unofficial sources say that this decision could have been caused by the
outcome of the pre-trial investigation over possible abuse of powers by
former SSD directors Mecys Laurinkus, Arvydas Pocius and Deputy Prosecutor
General Dabasinskas that is currently being carried out at the Prosecutor
General's Office.
Following a two-month parliamentary probe, in January 2010 the parliament
pronounced an opinion that former directors of the SSD, Dabasinskas
included, had permitted the functioning of a secret CIA prison on the
country's territory without informing the country's leaders. Shortly
afterwards, the Prosecutor General's Office declare d it had launched a
pre-trial investigation, which has been going on ever since.
Dabasinskas, who had resigned from the State Security Department, took the
position in Kiev about a year ago.
(Description of Source: Vilnius BNS in English -- Baltic News Service, the
largest private news agency in the Baltic States, providing news on
political developments in all three Baltic countries; URL:
Material in the World News Connection is generally copyrighted by the
source cited. Permission for use must be obtained from the copyright
holder. Inquiries regarding use may be directed to NTIS, US Dept. of