http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/ © 2008 en Topics of the day 14462http://www.interfax.com.ua/img/rss-logo.gifhttp://www.interfax.com.ua/en/Topics of the day Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:27:20 +0300 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:27:20 +0300 60 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/154001/ Kyiv, July 24 (Interfax-Ukraine) - According to MP Vadym Kolesnychenko of the Regions Party faction, the party will again try to trigger dismissal of the government of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko this fall. "We will certainly raise this question again this fall," he said at a press conference on Thursday. The Communist Party of Ukraine and the Bloc of Lytvyn will share responsibility for the performance of the government with the coalition if they do not vote for the dismissal of the Cabinet of Ministers, he said. Main news of the day Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:00:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/154001/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/153639/ Kyiv, July 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) - The Prosecutor General's Office does not rule out that MP Davyd Zhvania from the Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense Bloc might have been involved in the poisoning of then presidential candidate Viktor Yuschenko in 2004. An investigator from the office's main investigation department, Oleksiy Donsky, told this to journalists in Kyiv on Wednesday. "My experience of investigator helps suggest two versions - he [Zhvania] is either afraid of something or somebody in connection with the investigation into this case, or he might be involved in this crime," he said. Donsky said that "Zhvania arrived at the main investigation department of the Prosecutor General's Office for questioning this morning and left the building two minutes later." He said that Zhvania had refused to give testimony and "left the questioning session, abusing the status of a people's deputy." Zhvania, in turn, told journalists that he had refused to give testimony, as he had not been allowed to meet with the head of the investigation group in the case of Yuschenko's poisoning, Halyna Klymovych. Main news of the day Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:30:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/153639/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/153391/ Brussels, July 22 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Although the new agreement with Ukraine is most likely to be entitled an "association agreement," it won't envisage any clear prospect of Ukraine's membership of the European Union, Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner said in Brussels on Tuesday following a meeting of the Council of the EU. "It was important to arrive at a shared decision concerning the package... on the association agreement and concerning our deeper commitments on the enhanced agreement, but it [the agreement] won't envisage any future development of [the EU's] relations with Ukraine," she said. "We feel that Ukraine has to do a lot of to stabilize its domestic politics," she said. She pointed to serious conflicts between President Viktor Yuschenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Main news of the day Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:23:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/153391/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/152964/ Kyiv, July 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Germany hopes it will be possible to regard the new, enhanced agreement between Ukraine and the European Union as an agreement on associated membership, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a joint press conference with President Viktor Yuschenko in Kyiv on Monday. "A EU-Ukraine meeting will take place in France this fall under the chairmanship of France. And we, the Federative Republic of Germany, may imagine that [a new agreement with Ukraine] means not only an agreement about enhanced cooperation, but also as an agreement on associated membership," she said. "This is not a status, but a qualification of the new agreement… One should not take this as terms for joining the EU," she said. Main news of the day Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:25:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/152964/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/152620/ President Viktor Yuschenko on July 18 took part in the unveiling of the Trident sculpture and the burying of a capsule with soil from Ukrainian battlefields on Mount Hoverla, the highest peak of Ukraine, the press service of the Family, Youth, and Sport Ministry reported on Friday. A large Ukrainian flag of 6x4 meters was flown there, and priests took part in the ceremonies too. The law protects the symbols as monuments of state importance. Participating in the ceremony were Family, Youth and Sports Minister Yuriy Pavlenko, the heads of state agencies, heads of regional state administrations, and the leaders of political parties and NGOs. About 1,000 climbed the mountain to attend the ceremony, including 100 parentless children. This was the second accent to the peak by Yuschenko as the president of Ukraine. Main news of the day Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:43:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/152620/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/152233/ Head of the Presidential Secretariat Viktor Baloha has said Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is once again trying to settle the country's energy issues at her own discretion. He was commenting on a written instruction from the premier to Ukrtransnafta Board Chairman Ihor Kyriushyn and his deputies, banning them from signing documents and participating in talks and meetings on oil pumping through Odesa-Brody pipeline until the government passes a respective decision, the presidential press service reported on Thursday. Baloha said the premier was interfering in the issues within the president's competence, in particular those on the provision of national security, which includes the energy security of the state. "Every schoolboy knows that the premier has long paid special attention to the energy sector. Main news of the day Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:29:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/152233/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/151992/ Due to a rich grain harvest in 2008, Ukraine could export 15 million tonnes of grain and earn $4 billion on this, a high-ranking official from the Ukrainian presidential secretariat said. Ukraine plans to harvest 40 million tonnes of grain this year. Considering that its reserves amount to another 5.5 million tonnes, it can put a total of about 46 million tonnes into trade turnover, Deputy Presidential Secretariat Chief Andriy Honcharuk said at a news briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday. "At least 15 million tonnes could be exported. With the current price of wheat at $260 per tonne and corn at $280 per tonne, this could amount to roughly $4 billion," Honcharuk said. The rich 2008 harvest is "a perfect opportunity for Ukrainian exporters and the Ukrainian state to earn extra money," he said. Main news of the day Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:57:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/151992/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/news-headlines/152037/ News headlines Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:59:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/news-headlines/152037/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/151671/ Kyiv, July 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Russia should follow the procedure set by Ukrainian law if it wants to hold Russian Navy Day in Sevastopol on July 27, Head of the Foreign Ministry's press service Vasyl Kyrylych told the press at a briefing on Tuesday. According to him, there were reports last week that Russia intended to celebrate Russian Navy Day in Sevastopol. "This should be agreed with the appropriate Ukrainian organs," Kyrylych said. Main news of the day Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:28:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/151671/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/151384/ Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko has said he knows who ordered his poisoning, however, he refused to name the organizers of his poisoning until the end of the investigation into the case. He was speaking in an interview with the Austrian Der Standard newspaper. The interview was posted on the official Web site of the Ukrainian president. "I know who they [the organizers of the poisoning] are," he said. However, he refused to name them until the end of the investigation into the case. "The people who were linked to the organizers of the dinner during which I was poisoned, should be brought up for pre-trial investigation. These three people are staying in Russia and currently have Russian citizenship," Yuschenko said. He said Ukraine had filed official requests on the extradition of these people. Main news of the day Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:50:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/151384/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/150919/ The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has rejected a resolution drafted by the Regions Party on no confidence in the government of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. The resolution was supported by 174 MPs, including 172 MPs of the Regions Party faction and two MPs of the Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense Bloc faction. "It is important today that the Cabinet of Ministers has confirmed [there is] confidence in it," Verkhovna Rada Chairman Arseniy Yatseniuk said at a session of the parliament on Friday. Main news of the day Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:51:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/150919/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/150423/ Verkhovna Rada Chairman Arseniy Yatseniuk opened the parliament's plenary meeting on Thursday, but said he will not continue it until the agreed draft law on amendments to the state budget for 2008 is submitted for consideration. He said this from the blocked parliament's rostrum on Thursday. According to Yatseniuk, another round of the budgetary committee's meeting has been scheduled for 1600 on Thursday. As there is no agreed bill on amendments to the budget, there is no sense to resume the parliament's work yet, he said. Main news of the day Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:47:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/150423/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/150091/ Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko has said the parliament has no right to go on holiday until the MPs pass amendments to the state budget of 2008 and conduct legal reforms, Yuschenko said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday. "I don't see any sense in going on holiday if the amendments to the budget are not passed this week. Either we continue the work of the parliament or seek the sense and wisdom to pass the amendments next week. I don't see any other option. The parliament has no right to go on holiday if the issue of the budget and legal reform is not resolved," the president said. Main news of the day Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:21:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/150091/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/149770/ Moscow, July 8 (Interfax) - Gazprom forecasts that the price of gas in Europe could average at more than $500 per thousand cubic meters by the end of 2008 Alexei Miller the Russian gas monopoly's chief executive, said at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin "As regards gas prices, the situation for end consumers is unfolding fairly dramatically. By our forecasts, the average European price could reach more than $500 per thousand cubic meters by the end of 2008," Miller said. Gazprom's shares, which had been sliding with the rest of the market early on, shot up from 310.22 rubles to 312.5 rubles by 2:36 p.m. on the MICEX Stock Exchange after Miller said this. But the stock was still 1.9% down from yesterday's closing price. Miller said that Gazprom supplied the EU with "just over 168 billion cubic meters of gas and the CIS and Baltic States with just over 100 bcm" last year. Main news of the day Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:50:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/149770/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/149365/ Kyiv, July 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukraine's government has proposed to increase the revenues of the 2008 budget by 11.8%, or UAH 25.443 billion, to UAH 240.803 billion. According to the draft amendments to 2008 national budget submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, the expenses of the budget should be raised by 10.3% or, UAH 24.039 billion, to UAH 256.408 billion. The revenues to the general fund of the budget should be increased by 12.3%, or 20.706 billion, to UAH 189.672 billion, and the expenses of the general fund by 10.1%, or UAH 18.796 billion to UAH 205.535 billion. Thus, the budget deficit could be slightly reduced by 0.8%, or UAH 146 million, to UAH 18.674 billion. In particular, the deficit of the budget's general fund could fall by 1.4%, or UAH 257 million, to UAH 17.663 billion. Main news of the day Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:19:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/149365/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/148800/ Kyiv, July 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Director of Institute for Global Strategies Vadym Karasiov has said forming a two-chamber parliament in Ukraine is necessary and timely, and would correspond to European parliamentary traditions. "A two-chamber parliament increases the representative functions of the legislative body," he said in an interview on Friday. "Besides, Ukraine is facing three tasks for the party and political system: the first is to change the leaders of parties, the second is to expel parties from business (to make them political, not business parties), and the third is to lessen the influence of parties within the executive branch in Ukraine, as at present it has been colonized by political parties," the expert said. Karasiov also said the existing practice in Ukraine of "an absolute one-chamber parliament is permanently generating crisis within the parliament and the political system. Main news of the day Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:12:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/148800/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/148461/ Kyiv, July 3 (Interfax-Ukraine) – A new MP elected on the ticket of the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko will be installed at the Verkhovna Rada on Tuesday, July 8, to replace MP Ihor Rybakov, according to BYT Faction Leader Ivan Kyrylenko. He said Verkhovna Rada Chairman Arseniy Yatseniuk on Thursday would meet with Central Election Commission Chairman Volodymyr Shapoval to discuss the matter. On June 30, the congress of the BYT decided to dismiss MP Ihor Rybakov of the BYT faction, as he declared on June 6 he was leaving the majority coalition. On July 2, Shapoval told the press the Central Election Commission had not received any documents from the BYT concerning the decision of the congress. Main news of the day Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:36:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/148461/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/148130/ Kyiv, July 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko has said he is concerned over the fact that the government and the National Bank have failed to reach agreement over the development of the economy until the end of 2008. He was speaking at the beginning of the meeting with representatives of the government and the NBU on macroeconomic indicators on Wednesday. "The president, opening the meeting, voiced anxiety that the government and the National Bank [of Ukraine] had failed to come to a unified decision on development of the country's economy until the end of 2008," the press secretary of the president, Iryna Vannykova said at a briefing on the meeting. Main news of the day Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:50:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/148130/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/147758/ Kyiv, July 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Deputy Head of the Presidential Secretary Maryna Stavniychuk has said it will be difficult for the BYT and the Regions Party to find compromise and agree a single draft of amendments to the Constitution, and their representatives are likely to return to discussion of a constitutional reform within the National constitutional council. "I think it would be difficult for the BYT and the Regions Party to find common ground on the draft laws on reforming the Constitution that are being presented in the parliament by these two political forces, " she said at a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday. According to Stavniychuk, the position on the non-aligned status of Ukraine, and also on two state languages, "and implementing the electoral system at the Constitutional level" could be difficult issues on which to find mutual agreement. Main news of the day Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:31:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/147758/ http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/147099/ Kyiv, June 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Central Election Commission Chairman Volodymyr Shapoval has said there are no legal grounds to call another snap election to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. "I flatly deny the presence of any legal grounds for [fresh] elections," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday. "[However], this does not mean they won't happen in the future," he added. Main news of the day Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:39:00 +0300 http://www.interfax.com.ua/en/news/main-news/147099/