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Action Ukraine Report

"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR"
An International Newsletter
In-Depth Ukrainian News, Analysis, and Commentary

"The Art of Ukrainian History, Culture, Arts, Business, Religion,
Sports, Government, and Politics, in Ukraine and Around the World"

"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR" - Number 494
E. Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
Washington, D.C. and Kyiv, Ukraine, FRIDAY, May 27, 2005

------INDEX OF ARTICLES------
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"

1. UKRAINE: US ENERGY SECURITY REMARKS AT THE ENERGY
SECURITY CONFERENCE IN KYIV
Remarks by U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman
Energy Security Conference, Kiev Polytechnic Institute
Public Affairs Section, United States Embassy Kyiv
Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 26, 2005

2. UKRAINE WANTS TO SEE UNITED STATES AS A RELIABLE
PARTNER, PRESIDENT YUSHCHENKO SAYS DURING MEETING
WITH UNITED STATES' ENERGY SECRETARY
UKRINFORM, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 26, 2005

3. UKRAINE OFFERS US FIRMS TO TAKE PART IN THE DEVELOPMENT
OF URANIUM FIELDS, UPGRADING OF THERMAL POWER PLANTS
GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS AND OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION
ITAR-TASS, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, May 27.2005

4. UKRAINE SEEKING TO ENHANCE ENERGY COOPERATION WITH US
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 27, 2005

5. U.S., UKRAINE SIGN AGREEMENT TO SAFEGUARD NUCLEAR WASTE
By Aleksandar Vasovic, Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, May 27, 2005

6. UKRAINE, US TO DEVELOP NUCLEAR RESEARCH COOPERATION
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 27, 2005

7. U.S. SEEKS TO SPEED UP UKRAINE'S HANDOVER OF SOVIET-
PRODUCED ENRICHED NUCLEAR FUEL TO RUSSIA
Aleksandar Vasovic, AP Worldstream
AP, Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, May 26, 2005

8. VERKHOVNA RADA FIRST DEPUTY CHAIRMAN ADAM MARTYNIUK
MEETS WITH US FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL RICHARD THORNBURGH
Thornburgh represents interests of the Russian Aluminum Company
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 26, 2005

9. SENATOR CHUCK HAGEL TO TRAVEL TO CENTRAL ASIA & EASTERN
EUROPE, INCLUDING UKRAINE, NEXT WEEK TO EXAMINE REGIONAL
SECURITY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ENERGY ISSUES
By The Associated Press (AP), Lincoln Journal Star
Lincoln, Nebraska, Thursday, May 26, 2005

10. MANY POLISH COMPANIES IN UKRAINE THREATENED BY NEW LAW
Ukraine suddenly changed the rules of the game and withdrew tax
allowances and put 20 percent VAT tax on foreign investment
New law breaches provisions of at least three international treaties
Polish News Bulletin, Warsaw, Poland, Friday, May 27, 2005

11. UKRAINE: TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS MINISTER
CHERVONENKIO TO DISMISS HEADS OF ALL SIX RAILWAYS
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 26, 2005

12. RYBACHUK DOUBTS THAT EUROPEAN UNION WILL GRANT UKRAINE
MARKET ECONOMY STATUS DURING JUNE 13 MEETING
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, May 26, 2005

13. EX-SECURITY CHIEF IHOR SMESHNKO STILL CONCERNED ABOUT
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT'S SAFETY
Fakty i Kommentarii, Kiev, in Russian 27 May 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, May 27, 2005

14. ANALYSTS TURN A CRITICAL EYE TOWARD YUSHCHENKO'S
EARLY RECORD
Yushchenko team faces criticism from both members and observers
By Taras Kuzio, Eurasia Daily Monitor
Vol. 2, Issue 104, The Jamestown Foundation
Washington, D.C., Friday, May 27, 2005

15. EBRD APPOINTS IHOR PODOLEV AS DIRECTOR FOR UKRAINE,
ROMANIA, MOLDOVA, GEORGIA AND ARMENIA ON BOARD
Podolev is the first deputy board chairman of Ukreximbank.
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 27, 2005

16. YUSHCHENKO WANTS TO PUBLISH ALBUM WITH HIS PHOTOS
CALLED "PRESIDENT'S VISION OF UKRAINE"
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 26, 2005

17. THE BLACK SEA - OIL OVER TROUBLED WATERS
A great game unfolds between America and Russia
The Economist, London, UK, Saturday, May 28-June 3, 2005
===============================================================
1. UKRAINE: US ENERGY SECURITY REMARKS AT THE ENERGY
SECURITY CONFERENCE IN KYIV

Remarks by U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman
Energy Security Conference, Kiev Polytechnic Institute
Public Affairs Section, United States Embassy Kyiv
Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, May 26, 2005

As prepared for delivery:

Thank you, Dr. Stogniy. It is an honor for me to be here this afternoon,
and to visit your country. I was proud to meet with President and Mrs.
Yushchenko during their historic visit to Washington last month. I’m proud
to be in Ukraine to strengthen the cooperation of our two nations on energy
and nuclear security issues. And I’m proud because many of us in the United
States see a number of parallels between the events that unfolded here this
past winter, and the American Revolution of 1776.

In both instances, I think, what is exciting is not so much what those
revolutions accomplished – significant though that was – but the promising
future they offered the peoples of our two nations.

Two and a quarter centuries after our nation threw off the shackles of a
foreign government, Americans continue to celebrate that event as the most
important in our history – because the liberty and freedom it sowed have
reaped untold blessings.

It is the hope of President Bush and all Americans that similar blessings
will flow to this region as a consequence of the heroic events of Christmas
2004 … and that centuries from now historians will look back at that moment
as a defining one in Ukrainian history.

President Bush asked me to come to Ukraine because of the shared bonds
we hope to strengthen … and because of the similarities between our nation
and all the nations of this region.

Chief among those, it seems, are the similar energy and economic challenges
we share as we embark upon the 21st century.

The next few decades promise to be an exciting time for this region.
Democracy is taking hold, economies are growing, and because of the
increasing flow of Caspian oil to world markets, Ukraine and the other
nations of this region have the opportunity for greater prosperity because
of the prospect of greater energy independence.

But the abundance of opportunity should not obscure the fact that there are
serious energy challenges looming over these next few decades. These are
problems that face not just your nation, or my nation, but every nation on
the planet that is interested in economic growth … in improving the lives of
its citizens … in raising standards of living.

The emergence of free economies, coupled with affordable supplies of energy,
has led to amazing economic growth around the planet. We are witnessing it
in Asia – particularly in China and India – and we have great hopes for
Central and South America, Africa, and Eurasia. And we are seeing
impressive growth in the countries of this region, like Ukraine.

Global economic growth is a blessing for all people. But with the blessing
of worldwide economic expansion comes a corresponding jump in the world-
wide demand for energy.

At present, the world consumes 82 million barrels of oil each day, a number
that global oil markets are straining to meet. Our experts anticipate that
this figure will jump by 50 percent in the next two decades. Consider that -
by the year 2025, the world is slated to consume 120 million barrels of oil
each day.

We have all heard it said that energy is the lifeblood of any economy. Oil,
gas, and electricity are critical to a functioning and growing nation. For
all nations, economic and social well-being depend on safe, affordable, and
dependable supplies of energy.

It becomes very clear, then, that the question of energy security is not
just a question of economic security, but of national security as well.

So in a world that can expect to see a massive jump in demand for energy
over the next two decades, what steps must be taken to ensure this security?

There seems to be a simple answer – to ensure energy security, a nation
needs to maintain a diversity of fuels from a multiplicity of sources. In
my view, it is unwise for a nation to become overly dependent on one type
of fuel, or to become overly dependent on one supplier. Doing so is an
invitation to economic difficulty, political instability, or both.

A diversity of fuels and a multiplicity of sources is the simple answer,
but, of course, it is really not so simple to accomplish. Achieving
diversity of supply is long, hard work, involving diplomacy and requiring
investment. Diversity of energy supplies involves traveling the world,
seeking suppliers and encouraging exploration.

The opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline yesterday, for instance, is
the culmination of many years of work and negotiation by many parties, by
many countries … and will add to overall energy security and market
stability. I am very proud of my government’s involvement in the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project. Our participation is just one of
many, many steps we are taking in a bid to ensure our own energy future.

We are looking to diversify our supplies of traditional energy sources like
oil and natural gas by boosting domestic production, such as President
Bush’s proposal to allow oil and gas exploration in a small portion of the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in our state of Alaska. And we are looking
for ways to increase our imports of liquefied natural gas, and have sought
cooperation with potential suppliers in Russia, Australia, Africa, and the
Caribbean, as well as the Middle East.

But in order to meet our growing energy needs, we are looking beyond
traditional sources to the energy sources of the future. Technology holds
the key to new sources of energy that are both highly efficient and
environmentally responsible by reducing the level of greenhouse gas
emissions. For example, we are investing heavily in hydrogen fuel cell
technologies in a bold attempt to transform our automotive sector and lessen
our dependence on oil. We are pushing forward with a new generation of
nuclear power that can safely deliver power to homes and businesses with
zero emissions.

We are pursuing advanced technologies that will capture the pollutants and
greenhouse gases from coal, allowing us to continue to use that fuel in an
environmentally friendly fashion. We are encouraging conservation and
pursuing research into renewable energies, like wind and solar power. And
we are moving to upgrade our aging energy infrastructure to more effectively
deliver energy and prevent future electricity blackouts.

No single one of these efforts is a cure for our energy problems. But taken
together, they add up to a comprehensive plan that, we feel, will deliver
added measures of security and stability for decades to come. I encourage
all of you to take similar steps in your countries, and to work with us to
develop and deploy these new technologies on a global scale.

As many of you know, Presidents Bush and Yushchenko agreed last month to
work cooperatively on energy issues. President Bush is very committed to
helping Ukraine increase its energy independence, diversify its energy
trade, and restructure its energy sector into a more-robust part of the
economy. It is one of the reasons I am here this week.

But if I may, I’d like to suggest that there is something broader at stake.
Ultimately, the best path to energy security and independence is that path
of freedom. President Bush has made spreading the light of freedom a
beacon of his Presidency. Upon being sworn in to a second term, President
Bush declared that “the survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends
on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our
world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.”

He added, very eloquently, I think, “Across the generations we have
proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is fit to be a
master, and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these ideals is the
mission that created our Nation. It is the honorable achievement of our
fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation's security, and the
calling of our time.”

The President consistently and forcefully speaks about the foundations that
sustain human freedom and support successful democracies – freedom of
speech, freedom of assembly, a free economy, an independent judiciary, the
rule of law, and freedom of worship.

As many of the countries in this region are discovering … freedom is the key
to progress, stability, and prosperity in the 21st century world.

And free markets, free economies, entrepreneurship, regulatory certainty,
the rule of law are essential ingredients for true prosperity to grow. A
favorable business climate naturally attracts the investment to develop
resources …to benefit the entire economy … indeed, to elevate and benefit
an entire society.

This has been the experience in my country. For all the problems we
Americans have – like our growing dependence on imported oil – the United
States still has one of the strongest energy positions in the world. In part
this is because of our policy of seeking a diversity of supply and
suppliers.

But it is also because our policy of diversifying supplies relies on
commercial investment in energy projects. We don’t tell our companies
where to invest or where to buy oil. It is up to them. Just as it is up to
them to assess risks and determine the economic feasibility of investment,
whether in infrastructure, exploration, or new technologies. Neither do we
set the prices that consumers pay. We feel the market can do a better job
of establishing and changing prices than any government entity could.

The United States discovered this the hard way.

In the early 1970s, our government instituted price controls on gasoline.
The hope was that it would keep a lid on inflation and protect consumers.
The policy failed utterly.

Instead of low-priced gasoline for our citizens, there was no gasoline. The
policy led to shortages, hoarding, rationing. Instead of stability, we got
panic. It was a painful lesson to learn and live through, but we learned it,
and learned from it.

And I think that a large part of the credit for the economic expansion the
United States experienced in the 1980s and 90s is due to the fact we put
those notions behind us and put more faith in letting the free market
determine prices.I mention this story to make the broad point that energy
security is best achieved if societies and economies are free. If there is
any message I want to leave with you this afternoon, it is that.

I encourage you to continue down the path to greater freedom and democracy.
I know you will. When President Yushchenko visited America, he was welcomed
as a courageous hero. The people of my nation were thrilled by his words as
he concluded his address to our Congress: “Ukraine is free,” he said, “and
will always remain free.”

Those words are an inspiration, not only for Ukrainians, but for people in
all the nations of Central Asia.

Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for the invitation to join with you today.

Thank you for the goodwill you have shown my countrymen and me on our visit.

And may I conclude by saying that I look forward to working with Ukraine as
a friend and partner, now, and in the future. -30-
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://usembassy.kiev.ua/infocentral_eng.html
Public Affairs Section, United States Embassy Kyiv
4 Hlybochytska St.. Kyiv 04050 Ukraine
(380 44) 490-4026, 490-4090, Fax (380 44) 490-4050
http://usembassy.kiev.ua, info@usembassy.kiev.ua
===============================================================
2. UKRAINE WANTS TO SEE UNITED STATES AS A RELIABLE PARTNER,
PRESIDENT YUSHCHENKO SAYS DURING MEETING WITH UNITED
STATES' ENERGY SECRETARY

UKRINFORM, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 26, 2005

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko met with the United States' Energy
Secretary Samuel Bodman on Friday, the presidential press service has
reported. Messrs. Yushchenko and Bodman discussed cooperation between
Ukraine and the United States in the area of energy.

According to Mr. Yushchenko, Ukraine's next step in the area of energy
should involve creation of structures for effective management of the energy
sector, protection of the country's energy security, diversification of the
sources of energy supplies, and creation of an attractive investment
climate.

Mr. Yushchenko said that Ukraine would like to see the United States as a
reliable partner in this area. Mr. Bodman said Ukraine should determine its
route in this area and that the United States was prepared to assist Ukraine
on this route.

According to him, Ukraine can already count on the United States'
technological and consultative assistance in the energy sphere. State
Secretary Oleksandr Zinchenko, First Deputy State Secretary Oleksandr
Motsyk, and the Naftohaz Ukrainy national joint-stock company's Board
Chairman Oleksii Ivchenko were present at the meeting. -30-
===============================================================
3. UKRAINE OFFERS US FIRMS TO TAKE PART IN THE DEVELOPMENT
OF URANIUM FIELDS, UPGRADING OF THERMAL POWER PLANTS
GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS AND OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION

ITAR-TASS, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, May 27.2005

KIEV - Ukraine offered U.S. companies to take part in the development of
uranium fields, the upgrading of thermal power plants, geological surveys
and oil and gas production, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko said
at a meeting with U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman on Friday.
Ukraine has already received more than 280 million dollars for implementing
the program to improve safety at its nuclear power plants, according to
Timoshenko.

For his part, Bodman, expressed readiness to provide technical assistance in
developing Ukraine's energy strategy. He also expressed an interest in plans
of works at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which are funded by donor
countries, including the United States.

Ukraine's uranium industry is based on large deposits in the Kirovograd
region. The country is developing three uranium fields: Vatutinskoye,
Michurinskoye and Tsnetralnoye.

In 2003, it began to develop the fourth uranium field. The project costs
some 300 million dollars. Uranium is produced by the Vostochny ore dressing
works, which supplies it to Russia’s TVEL corporation. In 2004, Russia
planned to buy about 1,000 tonnes of uranium in Ukraine. -30-
===============================================================
4. UKRAINE SEEKING TO ENHANCE ENERGY COOPERATION WITH US

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 27, 2005

KYIV - Ukraine is seeking to enhance cooperation in the area of energy with
the United States. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced this at a
meeting with US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. "We do count on the
prospect that our cooperation will be build in all spheres of the fuel and
energy life of Ukraine," Tymoshenko said.

She thanked the US for its participation in the projects at the Chornobyl
nuclear power plant, and noted that Ukraine highly estimates US's assistance
in improving nuclear safety at Ukrainian NPPs. Tymoshenko added that Ukraine
has already received over USD 280 million from the US for these purposes.

She also said it is very important for Ukraine today to diversify supply of
energy resources and she hopes to cooperate with the US in this area.
On his part, Bodman said his country, being a donor in the Chornobyl NPP
project, is uncertain about the project because it does not know who is
responsible for its implementation in Ukraine.

He mentioned that just recently the responsibility was delegated from one
ministry to another. Bodman recalled his meeting with the Minister for
Emergency Situations and Protection of Population from Chornobyl Accident
Consequences, David Zhvania, from whom he learned about the necessity to
expand the list of works to be performed at Chornobyl NPP.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Bodman is visiting Ukraine for official
meetings May 26-27. He and President Viktor Yuschenko met about bilateral
cooperation in the energy sector on May 26.

The Group of Eight leading industrial countries (G8) decided in May to
provide an additional USD 185 million for implementing the Chornobyl Shelter
project. Earlier, donor-countries had raised about USD 750 million for the
Chornobyl Fund and planed to make a decision to increase the fund to USD 1
billion.

The law on the national budget for 2005 envisages UAH 34.687 million as
Ukraine's contribution into the Chornobyl Shelter fund. Chornobyl NPP was
shut down at the demand of the world community on December 15, 2000.
===============================================================
5. U.S., UKRAINE SIGN AGREEMENT TO SAFEGUARD NUCLEAR WASTE

By Aleksandar Vasovic, Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, May 27, 2005

KIEV, Ukraine The United States and Ukraine signed an agreement Thursday
to safeguard nuclear waste in the former Soviet Republic that could be used
by terrorists to make a dirty bomb, pledging to work together to upgrade
security at storage facilities.

The deal was signed by Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman during a two-day
visit in which the United States is expected to press for improved nuclear
security and cash-strapped Ukraine is expected to push for more funding.

The agreement "is a significant step forward in our partnership to safeguard
these radioactive materials and advance the security of the region," Bodman
said after signing the document with Ukrainian Minister for Emergency
Situations David Zhvaniya.

A dirty bomb combines conventional explosives with radioactive material to
disperse the waste over large areas. It is estimated that a medium-size bomb
could contaminate several city blocks.

Under the agreement, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration's
Office of Global Radiological Threat Reduction will work with local
officials to upgrade security at the six Ukrainian nuclear waste facilities.

Bodman said President Bush and Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko had
pledged to cooperate to promote nuclear safety, security of nuclear
materials, and nonproliferation after meeting in Washington earlier this
year.

Bodman, who met Yushchenko on Thursday, was to also use his visit to
encourage the handover of Soviet-produced, enriched nuclear fuel to Russia,
the U.S Embassy in Kiev said.

He was also expected to review the conversion of Ukraine's research reactors
to the use of low-enriched uranium. Such a conversion would lower the risk
of accidents and possible leakage of nuclear components to terrorists.

Cash-strapped Ukraine needs additional financial resources for the expensive
task of sending used fuel rods back to Russia for reprocessing and
converting its reactors to low-enriched fuel.

Ukraine's Soviet-built reactors are fueled by high-enriched uranium that
could also be used for the production of weapons-grade nuclear material.
Ukraine doesn't have the capacity to reprocess the used fuel itself.

At a recent conference in London, Western donors including the United States
pledged more funds for the upgrade of Ukrainian nuclear power plants and for
the handling of nuclear waste.

The West also offered additional money for building a new structure that
will cover crumbling concrete and steel shelter hastily erected over the
destroyed reactor at Chernobyl, which exploded and burned in 1986 in the
world's worst nuclear disaster. -30-
===============================================================
6. UKRAINE, US TO DEVELOP NUCLEAR RESEARCH COOPERATION

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 27, 2005

KYIV - Ukraine and the US are going to develop cooperation in the area of
nuclear research. Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council
(NSDC) Petro Poroshenko reported this to the press, following his meeting
with US Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman.
"We have agreed on cooperation in nuclear research," Poroshenko said.

According to him, they discussed wider participation of the US in financing
the Shelter facility at the Chornobyl NPP, and cooperation in Ukrainian
state border protection. Poroshenko and Bodman reported that the US
secretary arrived in Ukraine upon the commission of U.S. President George
Bush to improve the level of energy cooperation between the two countries.

Bodman said he arrived in Ukraine to debate two key sets of issues: nuclear
safety and bilateral relations in the issue, and development of Ukrainian
economy with emphasis on the energy sector.

Moreover, Bodman discussed with Poroshenko investment climate in Ukraine.
The US official noted the increase in transparency and market orientation of
the Ukrainian economy. -30- [Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
===============================================================
7. U.S. SEEKS TO SPEED UP UKRAINE'S HANDOVER OF SOVIET-
PRODUCED ENRICHED NUCLEAR FUEL TO RUSSIA

Aleksandra Vasovic, AP Worldstream
AP, Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, May 26, 2005

KIEV - U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman met President Viktor
Yushchenko on Thursday as he began a two-day visit to Ukraine aimed
at encouraging the handover of Soviet-produced, enriched nuclear fuel
to Russia, the U.S. Embassy in Kiev said.

Bodman will also review the conversion of Ukraine's research reactors to the
use of low-enriched uranium, the U.S. embassy said in a statement. Such a
conversion would lower the risk of accidents and possible leakage of nuclear
components to terrorists.

For their part, Ukrainian officials are expected to press for more funding.
Cash-strapped Ukraine needs additional financial resources for the expensive
task of sending used fuel rods back to Russia for reprocessing and
converting its reactors to low-enriched fuel.

Ukraine's Soviet-built reactors are fueled by high-enriched uranium that
could also be used for the production of weapons-grade nuclear material.
Ukraine doesn't currently have the capacity to reprocess the used fuel
itself. There were no immediate statements after Bodman's meeting with
Yushchenko.

But the U.S. embassy said earlier that the Energy Secretary would focus on
"using technology to enhance energy resource development in the most
efficient and environmentally responsible manner, and the benefits of
transparent markets that attract foreign investment."

At a recent conference in London, Western donors including the United States
pledged more funds for the upgrade of Ukrainian nuclear power plants and for
the handling of nuclear waste.

The West also offered additional money for the construction of a new
structure that will cover crumbling concrete and steel shelter hastily
erected over the destroyed reactor at Chernobyl, which exploded in 1986 in
the world's worst nuclear disaster.

Ukraine's Soviet-built reactors are fueled by high-enriched uranium that
could also be used for the production of weapons-grade nuclear material.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said that Ukraine, which
currently operates 15 reactors, wants to build 11 more by 2030. The
statement reflected Ukraine's ambition to achieve energy independence from
Russia, its key supplier.

Tymoshenko ordered the state-run Energoatom, which is responsible for
overseeing the operations of Ukrainian nuclear plants, to conduct a
feasibility study for a domestic nuclear fuel reprocessing program. She also
ordered the company to boost domestic production of uranium and zirconium,
both components of nuclear fuel rods.

If Ukraine were to succeed in developing its own fuel reprocessing program,
it would be able to produce its own fuel from locally produced uranium,
which would open up opportunities for selling the very expensive final
product all over the world.

Bodman was also scheduled to be a principal speaker at an annual energy
conference that focuses on world energy security, development of energy
resources and investment in Ukraine's fuel and energy sector. -30-
===============================================================
8. VERKHOVNA RADA FIRST DEPUTY CHAIRMAN ADAM MARTYNIUK
MEETS WITH US FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL RICHARD THORNBURGH
Thornburgh represents interests of the Russian Aluminum Company

Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 26, 2005

KYIV - Verkhovna Rada First Deputy Chairman Adam Martyniuk met with US
former Attorney General Richard Thornburgh on Thursday.

As the Verkhovna Rada press service told Ukrinform, Adam Martyniuk noted
that on the part of the USA "moral and political support prevails, although
earlier a possibility was considered of abolishing the Jackson-Vanick's
amendment by the US Congress, improvement of investment climate, etc."
He underscored that such policies with regard to Ukraine will not be of
benefit to the newly elected President.

The First Vice Speaker noted that the Ukrainian Government has not yet
demonstrated the necessary conditions for supporting business, in particular
it concerns the problem of revising results of privatization. According to
him, the present power has not a single opinion with regard to those
processes. Prime Minister's proposals are well apprehended by the society,
but they are not well interpreted by business, he said.

Adam Martyniuk underscored that the Government and the President are
interested in flow of investments to Ukraine, and the Parliament is ready to
support any bills, which will stimulate development of business.

Richard Thornburgh, who is presenting interests of the Russian Aluminum
Company, noted that investors give preference to "predictability and
stability in the country". According to him, a reason why investors are
worried and have a wait-and-see-attitude toward Ukraine is uncertainty with
regard to a list of enterprises, where privatization would be revised.

In his turn, Adam Martyniuk noted that as distinct from relations with other
countries "not a single agreement with the USA is ratified and not a single
agreement is under consideration in the Parliament". -30-
===============================================================
9. SENATOR CHUCK HAGEL TO TRAVEL TO CENTRAL ASIA AND EASTERN
EUROPE, INCLUDING UKRAINE, NEXT WEEK TO EXAMINE REGIONAL
SECURITY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ENERGY ISSUES

By The Associated Press (AP), Lincoln Journal Star
Lincoln, Nebraska, Thursday, May 26, 2005

LINCOLN - Sen. Chuck Hagel [R-NE] will travel to Central Asia and Eastern
Europe next week to examine regional security, economic development and
energy issues.

Hagel will visit Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine during a
six-day tour with Gen. Charles Wald, deputy commander of the U.S. European
Command.

"As we face ongoing security and economic challenges in Afghanistan, Iraq
and the greater Middle East, Central Asia will continue to play a critical
role in the peace and stability of the region," Hagel said. The Nebraska
Republican is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. -30-
===============================================================
10. MANY POLISH COMPANIES IN UKRAINE THREATENED BY NEW LAW
Ukraine suddenly changed the rules of the game and withdrew tax
allowances and put 20 percent VAT tax on foreign investment

New law breaches provisions of at least three international treaties

Polish News Bulletin, Warsaw, Poland, Friday, May 27, 2005

WARSAW - There are 942 companies with Polish capital present on the
Ukrainian market, which so far have invested over $200m in the country.
Presently, these companies could lose millions of zlotys, as on 1 April 2005
the Ukrainian government adopted an act withdrawing tax allowances for
enterprises operating in special economic zones. At the same time, foreign
investment has become subject to 20 percent VAT.

While on 26 May the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Anatolij Kinach admitted
that the introduction of the tax was a mistake which needs to be redressed,
there was no mention of any future restoration of the allowance.

In early June, a group of politicians and entrepreneurs are going to Ukraine
to secure the businesses with Polish capital. In the opinion of Groclin
vice-president Wojciech Witkowski, the recent amendments to the Ukrainian
law breach the provisions of at least three international treaties. -30-
===============================================================
11. UKRAINE: TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS MINISTER
CHERVONENKIO TO DISMISS HEADS OF ALL SIX RAILWAYS

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 26, 2005

KYIV - Transport and Communications Minister Yevhen Chervonenko is
going to dismiss directors of all six railways upon the results of the
audit.

Chervonenko made the statement to the press. "All directors of railway
administrations will be dismissed in the near time. We have carried out the
audit and I am pleased with the outcome," he said.

Speaking about criminal and legal conclusions Chervonenko said they are
within the competence of courts. As Ukrainian News reported earlier, the
Security Service of Ukraine instituted 11 criminal proceedings on facts of
funds embezzlement and money laundering in the system of the Transport
and Communications Ministry.

Earlier, the Prosecutor's General Office instituted criminal proceedings
against officials of the state railway transport administration
Ukrzaliznytsia and six railways on the fact of abuse of office. -30-
===============================================================
NOTE: Letters-to-the-Editor are welcome, send in one today
===============================================================
12. RYBACHUK DOUBTS THAT EUROPEAN UNION WILL GRANT UKRAINE
MARKET ECONOMY STATUS DURING JUNE 13 MEETING

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, May 26, 2005

KYIV - Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Oleh Rybachuk
doubts that the European Union will grant Ukraine the status of a market
economy during the meeting of the Ukrainian-European Union Cooperation
Council that will take place in Luxembourg on June 13. Rybachuk announced
this to journalists.

"I am not ruling out the possibility of securing the status, but this issue
has become more complicated now," Rybachuk said. According to him, this
issue is presently not included on the agenda of the council because of
insufficient information about problematic issues.

Rybachuk said that the European Union is not increasing the number of
problematic issues and that their number remains the same: resolution of
the issue of refunding value-added tax to exporters from the state budget,
improvement of enterprise bankruptcy procedures, and government
interference in pricing policy.

If the European Union does not grant Ukraine the status of a market economy
in June, Rybachuk says the next probable date for granting the status to
Ukraine is October during a Ukrainian-European Union summit.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Ukraine previously expected to be
granted the status of a market economy before June 13. The first results of
the implementation of the Ukrainian-European Union action Plan that was
approved on February 21 will be considered at the meeting of the
Ukrainian-European Union Cooperation Council. -30-
===============================================================
13. EX-SECURITY CHIEF IHOR SMESHNKO STILL CONCERNED ABOUT
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT'S SAFETY

Fakty i Kommentarii, Kiev, in Russian 27 May 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, May 27, 2005

KIEV -The former head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Ihor
Smeshko, has described the continued spotlight on his alleged involvement
in the poisoning of the then presidential candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, in
2004 as a diversion to attract attention away from two other serious
attempts on the president's life.

Interviewed by the Ukrainian tabloid Fakty i Kommentarii on 27 May, Smeshko
suggested that Yushchenko could still be in danger if the incidents are not
investigated properly. He said: "If those who ordered those crimes went this
far, what can stop them? Failure to establish the truth in this case is
fraught with more than just speculation..."

As an example, he recalled the arrest of two Russian citizens with 3 kg of
explosives on 21 November 2004 on suspicion of plotting to blow up
Yushchenko's election HQ on polling day in the presidential election runoff.

Smeshko said that, although the detained men said they had arrived "to
imitate a terrorist act against a presidential candidate to boost his
rating", the threat to Yushchenko was quite real, given the large amount of
explosives and a professionally made and tested
radioelectronically-controlled explosive device found in their possession.
He said the men also named the person who ordered the attack.

Smeshko also rejected accusations of blocking the investigation into the
murder of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze in 2000 voiced recently by
Prosecutor-General Svyatoslav Piskun. Piskun had said Smeshko telephoned
him in 2003, telling him to slow down in investigating the murder.
Smeshko said he had never phoned Piskun about the Gongadze probe.

He said he wants Piskun to apologize and has already filed a lawsuit against
Piskun. He described Piskun's statement as a publicity stunt intended to
earn him "political dividends". Meanwhile, it was the SBU that played a key
role in gathering key evidence against Gongadze's murderers, Smeshko said.
(The interview will be processed as text by 2100 gmt 28 May 05.) -30-
===============================================================
14. ANALYSTS TURN A CRITICAL EYE TOWARD YUSHCHENKO'S
EARLY RECORD
Yushchenko team faces criticism from both members and observers

By Taras Kuzio, Eurasia Daily Monitor
Vol 2, Issue 104, The Jamestown Foundation
Washington, D.C., Friday, May 27, 2005

Ukraine watchers are abuzz about a May 25 article in Lvivska Hazeta, in
which the paper's Moscow correspondent called upon Ukrainian President
Viktor Yushchenko to dismiss Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

According to an eyewitness account published in Zerkalo Tyzhnia/Nedeli on
May 21, Yushchenko did call for Tymoshenko's resignation in front of Russian
oil executives that same week. His request came after she had questioned his
authority on three occasions during the meeting held to negotiate a way out
of Ukraine's fuel crisis (see EDM, May 18). Yushchenko later denied that he
had called upon her to resign.

Whatever the particulars of this incident, Yushchenko seems to no longer be
the media darling he was during the Orange Revolution.

On May 18 the Washington Post ran an editorial by Anders Aslund, head of
the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace, entitled "Betraying a Revolution." Aslund outlined his criticism
further at a seminar held in Carnegie's Moscow Center. "Betraying a
Revolution" comes six months after Aslund's highly optimistic articles in
the Moscow Times (December 1, 2004) and Weekly Standard (December
27, 2004) that had applauded the Orange Revolution.

Other Western and Ukrainian commentators have provided mixed reviews on
Yushchenko's first 100 days in office. One author described this mood swing
as an "Orange Depression" leading to "post-revolutionary apathy" (Ukrayinska
pravda, May 18). Nevertheless, Aslund's article was by far the most scathing
attack to date on the record of the Yushchenko presidency and Tymoshenko
government.

Aslund is co-author of a Blue-Ribbon Commission report drawn up by the
United Nations Development Programme and the Carnegie Endowment that
proposes an extensive array of "new wave" reforms under Yushchenko
(carnegieendowment.org/publications). The Commission's proposals were
outlined in the Financial Times (January 12) under the title, "Reform in
Ukraine Must be Swift and Sweeping." With constitutional reforms reducing
presidential power set to go into effect in September, Yushchenko had a
six-month window of opportunity to introduce a radical reform agenda.

A Stratfor (May 20) commentary agreed with the main economic arguments
outlined by Aslund, bluntly noting, "The government has undertaken no
economic reforms." Stratfor points to divisions in the Ukrainian leadership
between supporters of free market policies and state regulation. Zerkalo
Tyzhnia/Nedeli (May 14) places Yushchenko in the free-market category,
while Tymoshenko, "is in favor of the government's dominating role in the
country's economy."

The lack of economic reforms is compounded, Stratfor and Aslund believe,
by high inflation, declining economic growth, fears of re-privatization, and
extravagant social spending. A higher tax burden is also forcing some small
and medium businesses to again operate in the shadow economy. Yushchenko
has promised to deal with this issue and demanded that governors reduce
regulatory measures for registering new businesses.

Ukraine's economic growth of 12% last year was the highest in Europe and
was unlikely to continue at such a record pace. As polls showed during the
election year, most Ukrainians did not personally feel any improvement in
their living standards as a consequence of this high growth and did not
therefore give credit to the Viktor Yanukovych government.

The criticism of high social spending is misplaced on
political-institutional grounds. The Yushchenko team inherited very high
pensions and state salaries, which the Yanukovych government had
deliberately increased as an election bribe. By increasing state salaries
still further the government seeks to compliment a widespread
anti-corruption drive by making it no longer necessary for state officials
to steal to survive.

Yushchenko's team also must take into consideration the upcoming 2006
parliamentary elections. They must secure a pro-Yushchenko parliamentary
majority if the reforms at to work in the near term. This, in turn, will
have a great influence on the success of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration
during a second Yushchenko term, which would begin in 2009.

The authorities in eastern and southern Ukraine in particular may need
higher social spending between now and the elections to secure popular
support. Different polls show the Yushchenko-Tymoshenko team supported
by around half the population, with only 16-24% opposed (Zerkalo
Tyzhnia/Nedeli, May 14; Ukrayinska pravda, May 26). On its own, Yushchenko's
People's Union-Our Ukraine party can only muster a maximum of 30-35% of
the vote. This figure is forcing him to ally with Tymoshenko and People's
Party leader Volodymyr Lytvyn in the 2006 election campaign to secure a
parliamentary majority.

The Orange Revolution dramatically improved Ukraine's international image.
A growing number of foreign investors are interested in Ukraine but have
stopped short of moving from intent to actual investment (Financial Times,
May 13). They remain unclear about whether the threat of re-privatization is
across the board or officially restricted to a limited number of companies.
Yushchenko and Deputy Prime Minister Anatoliy Kinakh have spoken of 29
re-privatizations, a figure that Tymoshenko was publicly contesting until
Yushchenko's threat to remove her.

Other areas of concern reflect impatience with certain reforms not having
been undertaken yet. These include land reform, which is unlikely with a
Socialist agricultural minister, and a neo-Soviet commercial code, which
Justice Minister Roman Zvarych has called to be changed. These reforms
are more likely to be adopted by next year's parliament; that is, if it has
a pro-Yushchenko majority.

Yushchenko has launched a challenging agenda, and his second 100 days
in office may determine its chances of success. -30-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taras Kuzio is Visiting Professor at the Institute for European Russian
and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
tkuzio@gwu.edu, www.ieres.org, www.taraskuzio.net, www.jamestown.org
===============================================================
15. EBRD APPOINTS IHOR PODOLEV AS DIRECTOR FOR UKRAINE,
ROMANIA, MOLDOVA, GEORGIA AND ARMENIA ON BOARD
Podolev is the first deputy board chairman of Ukreximbank.

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 27, 2005

KYIV - The shareholders of the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development [EBRD] have relieved Yuri Poluneev of the post of director
for Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia on the bank's board
of directors and appointed Ihor Podolev to replace him.

A representative of the EBRD's Kyiv representative office disclosed this to
Ukrainian News. Poluneev held the post for about 8 years.

Podolev is the first deputy board chairman of Ukreximbank. Podolev was
Ukraine's ambassador to Finland before joining Ukreximbank in
May 2004. Podolev served as Ukrainian deputy minister and minister of
foreign economic relations during the 1994-1997 period.

There are presently 23 directors on the EBRD's board of directors. Each of
the EBRD's major shareholders (the United States, Great Britain, and Japan)
is represented by a director while groups of smaller shareholders are
represented by one director. -30-
===============================================================
16. YUSHCHENKO WANTS TO PUBLISH ALBUM WITH HIS PHOTOS
CALLED "PRESIDENT'S VISION OF UKRAINE"

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 26, 2005

KYIV - President Viktor Yuschenko is taking photos himself and wants to
publish and album out of them under the name "President's Vision of
Ukraine." He disclosed this to journalists.

Yuschenko explained that he began to photograph during the time of the
election campaign, and he now has nearly 700 of his works.
The president said that he makes photos using a Nikon digital camera, and
his personal photographer Mykola Lazorenko renders him consultations.

"So robust [camera], I try myself to set my focus. But he [photographer]
somewhat corrects me," Yuschenko said. The plots of his photos are mainly
gravel-mounds, which make up nearly 80% of the entire collection. "I would
say they are very sorrowful. But I still selected where our barbarism..."
Yuschenko said.

He also said that he photographs people. "Faces are interesting," the
president said. He explained that as he was returning from the Sorochynskyi
Fair he stopped to photograph an old man, who was shepherding his goats.
"He has such an appearance, such a wonderful humble and kind appearance,"
Yuschenko said.

He also explained that on May 25 while returning from work he stopped in
order to photograph flowerless dandelion at sunset.

As Ukrainian News reported previously, Leonid Kuchma, who served as
president from July 1994 to January 2005, wrote books. His book "I Believe
in the Ukrainian People" was published in 2000, another book "About the Most
Important Thing" came out in 2001, "Ukraine - is not Russia" was published
in 2004 and his book entitled "On our own. Reflection on Economic Reforms
in Ukraine" came out in 2004. -30-
===============================================================
17. THE BLACK SEA - OIL OVER TROUBLED WATERS
A great game unfolds between America and Russia

The Economist, London, UK, Saturday, May 28-June 3, 2005

IN CLASSICAL times, the Black Sea was perversely known as the Euxeinos
Pontos, a sea friendly to strangers, even though its notoriously turbulent
waters were nothing of the kind. The hope was that if you gave the place a
nice name, the invisible powers who governed its towering waves might feel
placated and behave more calmly. To this day, it remains a temperamental
stretch of water that can generate sudden squalls and treat outsiders in
unpredictable ways, even when efforts are being made to appease its
restless spirits.

In 1992, the late Turkish president, Turgut Ozal, thought he could assuage
those spirits for ever and turn the sea into a zone of peace and
co-operation, where ancient trade routes would thrive anew. The fruit of
that post-cold war vision is the Istanbul-based organisation for Black Sea
Economic Co-operation. For over a decade, its members (all the littoral
states, plus near neighbours Greece, Moldova, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan
and, as of recently, Serbia) have trundled along to meetings without ever
realising Mr Ozal's vision. The fact that Armenians and Azeris were locked
in armed confrontation, backed respectively by Russia and Turkey, has
hardly helped.

About a month ago, and entirely unnoticed by the world, BSEC suddenly did
something rather unfriendly to a stranger. It flatly turned down a request
from the United States for observer status. While the brush-off was
explained in arcane procedural terms, it was an open secret that Russia had
blocked the application­to the embarrassment of the group's other
ex-communist members. In fact, eight of them issued a separate statement
saying Uncle Sam's presence would have been a welcome boost, and they
regretted his exclusion. (If NATO members Greece and Turkey had any
feelings on the matter, they did not air them.)

What America would have done if it had attained its lofty ambition may
never be known. But to judge by the word on the think-tank circuit, there
is a strong feeling in Washington that the Black Sea region is ripe for
transformation into a new sort of security club, whose members co-operate
to keep ports and pipelines safe from terrorists and other undesirables.

As steadily increasing amounts of energy flow into, and out of, the Black
Sea, the stakes are certainly high. This week saw the formal opening, in
Azerbaijan, of one of the world's most important energy conduits, a
1,770-km (1,010-mile) oil pipeline linking Baku in Azerbaijan with the
Turkish port of Ceyhan via the mountains of Georgia. Gas from Azerbaijan,
Iran and possibly east of the Caspian will soon be flowing along a similar
route into Turkey, and thence to south-eastern Europe. The pipeline
promises to bring a bonanza for Azerbaijan, and a modest boost to the
hard-pressed finances of Georgia.

While America has taken the lead in lobbying for the construction of
pipelines which bypass Russia, and therefore deny the Russians any chance
to use energy as a political weapon, it is the European consumer who will
be most affected by these emerging routes. On present trends, Europe's
reliance on Russian energy will increase sharply, whatever happens; the new
pipelines will ease that dependence.

But a complex pattern of interests is already emerging. A recently
constructed gas pipeline has started bringing energy across the Black Sea
from Russia to Turkey. That has reinforced a burgeoning economic
relationship between those two historic competitors and made it harder for
the Turks to side unequivocally with the Americans if the contest for
influence in the Black Sea ever becomes a straight fight between America
and Russia. Indeed one school of thought in Washington regards the "old
NATO" partners, Turkey and Greece, as less reliable than the eagerly
pro-American countries that have only recently emerged from the grip of
communism, and are poor and vulnerable enough to be grateful for anything
they get.

One reason for heightened American attention to the region is the sense
that the future of many countries is still a wide-open question: they could
follow Central Europe into the warm embrace of western institutions or they
could slide back into authoritarianism or stagnation. Bruce Jackson, an
influential American lobbyist for NATO's expansion, put the point
dramatically in some congressional testimony in March: "The democracies of
the Black Sea lie on the knife-edge of history which separates the politics
of 19th-century imperialism from European modernity."

The very fact that some parts of the region are quite advanced on the road
to "European modernity" could be a divisive factor. One of the BSEC's more
effective bits is its financial arm, the Black Sea Trade and Development
Bank, which issues credits for export finance and cross-border projects.
Its strategy director, Panayotis Gavras, says much the biggest factor
driving investment in the region is proximity to the European Union;
investors look eagerly at Bulgaria and Romania, which stand on the Union's
threshold, and view other places far more warily.

As Britain prepares to take over the EU's rotating presidency, many people
are expecting a fresh Black Sea initiative: something that would give heart
to countries doing "well" in western eyes without dashing the hopes of the
laggards and, if possible, without alienating Russia.

As Foreign Office mandarins ponder their options, they can take heart from
some of the region's pleasant surprises. On June 6th, BSEC members will
gather in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, for a meeting of their affiliate
bank. According to Turkish data, trade between Armenia and Turkey is
precisely zero; the border is sealed, out of solidarity with Azerbaijan. As
the delegates will observe, every shop in Yerevan brims with Turkish goods.
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