[06.06.03]

Political Developments

Ukrainian President Asks Parliament to Approve Troops For Iraq. President Kuchma has requested that parliament approve sending a Ukrainian peacekeeping contingent to the Polish-administered stabilization sector in Iraq. Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council last week adopted the decision to dispatch a brigade of 1,700 troops to Iraq that include two motorized infantry battalions. The 448-strong decontamination battalion currently deployed in Kuwait might also be moved to Iraq.

U.S. Ambassador Carlos Pascual in an interview late last week welcomed the National Security and Defense Council’s decision and indicated the U.S. was ready to defray parially costs of Ukrainian Military’s participation in Iraq.

The leaders of the Opposition, Yulia Timoshenko of Yulia Timoshenko bloc and Alexander Moroz of the Socialist Party and Pyotr Symonenko of the Communist Party have condemned U.S. military actions in Iraq and have already declared that they will oppose participation of Ukrainian military in the international stabilization force in Iraq. Victor Yuschenko of Our Ukraine bloc, was less direct in an interview yesterday with Ukrainskaya Pravda saying that the issue was difficult for him and he did not know yet which way he was going to vote this coming Thursday.

Comment: Despite the Opposition’s intent to resist participation of Ukrainian military in international contingent in Iraq, the parliament will likely approve such participation. Victor Yuschenko will probably join his political allies and cast his vote against sending Ukrainian peacekeepers to Iraq as he did earlier against sending the decontamination battaion to Kuwait. The current parliamentary majority led by its three leading parties including Victor Medvedchuk’s Social Democratic Party (United), Victor Yanukovich’s Regions Party and Leonid Tihipko’s Labor of Ukraine are expected to generate the required number of supporters to have the measure approved.

Timoshenko Hints At a Run For Ukrainian Presidency. Yulia Timoshenko, the leader of the Yulia Timoshenko bloc, said in an interview in the latest issue of the Kiev-based weekly "Zerkalo Nedeli" (Weekly Mirror) that might consider making a bid for the Ukrainian presidency in 2004 if the opposition fails to agree on a single candidate. She claimed the other two leaders of the opposition Victor Yuschenko and Olexander Moroz rebuffed her efforts to discuss this issue.

President Kuchma Eliminates Political Slots. Kuchma has issued a decree on 27 May cancelling previous order on the introduction of the post of state secretary as well as first deputies and deputies for the Council of Ministers and individual ministries.

Comment: Kuchma introduced these posts two years ago in a move the opposition claimed was aimed at tigntening his grip on the cabinet. Under the new decree, state secretaries and their deputies are to be replaced by first deputy ministers and deputy ministers. In the near term, the abolition of state secretaries positions may also presage the redistribution of ministerial posts.

Inter-Ministerial Committee Formed to Fight Violators of Intellectual Property Rights Law. The Ministry of Education and Science, Internal Affairs Ministry, Culture and Arts Ministry, Security Service and State Tax Administration have adopted a joint program and formed a coordination council for fighting piracy in the area of intellectual property. The Council will create a network of regional centers that will take on the violators of intellectual property rights in the localities.

Comment: The U.S. last year named Ukraine as one of the biggest violators of intellectual property rights and imposed economic sanctions against the country for non-compliance with our demands to fight against piracy of video and audio products.

The Ukrainian authorities hope that these efforts will be more effective and lead to lifting of the U.S. sanctions.

Economic Developments

Average Wages Rise In April. State Statistics Committee reported that average wage rose by 1.7 percent or 7.09 hrynia in April to 422.58 hryvnia compared with March average wage of 415.49 hryvnia. The highest average monthly wage was registered in Kiev at 688.71 hryvnia. The lowest average monthly wage was registered in the Ternopol region which was 266.72 hryvnia.

Comment: Compared with April 2002, average monthly wage in April 2003 rose more significantly by nearly 19 percent or almost by 67 hryvnia.

International Developments

Ukrainian Plane Crashed in Turkey Killing Spanish Peacekeepers and Crew. A Ukrainian Yak-42 plane transporting Spanish peacekeepers from duty in Afghanistan along with a crew of 12 Ukrainians, slammed into a mountainside near the Turkish port city of Trabzon on 26 May. There were no survivors. The plane, chartered under UN contract from a Ukrainian company called Mediterranean Airlines, was flying from Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan to Zaragoza in Spain.

Comment: Investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash.