U.S. President Barack Obama will press Russia to drop its “zero-sum” attitude on alternative energy supplies out of the former Soviet Union and offer cooperation in preventing climate change through better energy technology during a visit to Moscow next week, U.S. officials said.
The White House also revealed a packed schedule for Obama’s visit, including a meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and the publication of an interview with Novaya Gazeta.
President Dmitry Medvedev posted a new entry on his video blog Thursday, saying Russia was ready for a fresh start with Obama.
Energy will be a major topic for Obama’s talks with Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, said Michael McFaul, Obama’s special assistant and senior director for Russian and Eurasian affairs.
“We’re going in there to talk about how we want to do things in cooperation with Russia,” McFaul said in a conference call with reporters late Wednesday, Moscow time. “In particular, we want to have conversations about diversification of supplies out of Russia and through the region in a way that it’s not thought about in a zero-sum way.”
The statement appears to refer to a policy by state-controlled Gazprom to buy as much gas as possible from Russia’s gas-producing neighbors, such as Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, to ensure that it remains the dominant supplier of the fuel to Europe. In the most recent deal, Gazprom earlier this week secured modest supplies from Azerbaijan starting from next year and said it was considering greater volumes.
The Russian and U.S. leaders will also discuss “Russia’s role in terms of becoming a more energy-efficient country as we look to do things on climate change,” McFaul said, according to a transcript of the call.
Obama will deliver the message that Washington and Moscow can do well if they join forces on such energy issues, McFaul said.
“It’s not, in our view, a zero-sum game, that if it’s two points for Russia it’s negative two for us, but there are ways that we can cooperate to advance our interests and at the same time do things with the Russians that are good for them as well,” he said.
A call to Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, went unanswered Thursday afternoon. A Kremlin spokesman requested that questions be submitted by fax and did not respond by late Thursday.
A frank exchange of opinions on energy policy could be useful if Obama succeeds in convincing Moscow that the United States isn’t seeking to undermine Russia’s interests, said Pavel Baev, a professor at the International Research Institute in Oslo, Norway.
“Moscow harbors suspicions that it’s the U.S. that pushes the zero-sum game,” he said.
The energy efficiency topic will come up again later next week when Obama and Medvedev attend the Major Economies Forum in Italy as part of a Group of Eight summit. Russia, the United States and other countries will discuss technological innovation to address the climate change challenge, said Michael Froman, deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs, who also spoke during the conference call.
Russia is one of the least successful major economies in cutting harmful emissions from burning such fuels as oil and coal, according to a study released Wednesday. Russia made little progress to reach its targets for greenhouse gas reductions under the Kyoto Protocol, according to the report commissioned by German insurer Allianz. International negotiations on how to slow global warming will culminate in Copenhagen in December in an attempt to compose a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
Medvedev signaled his eagerness to meet with Obama in his latest video blog, posted on the Kremlin web site.
“The new administration headed by President Obama now demonstrates a readiness to change the situation and build a more effective, more reliable and finally more modern relationship. And we are ready for this,” Medvedev said.
He acknowledged the tense relations between the countries, saying they “slipped practically to the level of a Cold War,” and called for “opening a new page in Russian-American cooperation.”
Obama will have a private and working meeting with Medvedev on Monday, the first day of his visit, said Denis McDonough, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications. Obama and his wife, Michelle, will have dinner with the Medvedevs that evening.
On Tuesday, Obama will have breakfast with Putin to let him know that “the old Cold War approaches” to relations with the United States are “outdated,” Obama said in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press.
Putin still has “one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new,” Obama said.
Putin said earlier that protocol didn’t require Obama to meet with him but that he would be “pleased” to have an audience with him.
The breakfast will last 60 minutes to 90 minutes, Putin’s spokesman Peskov told Ekho Moskvy radio.
“The prime minister will have an opportunity to meet this U.S. president for the first time. Most probably, one can assume, the U.S. president will also be interested in getting acquainted with Putin,” Peskov said.
At 10 a.m. Tuesday, Obama is scheduled to give a commencement speech at the New Economic School — a speech that his advisers are billing as his third major foreign policy address since assuming office. The first two were in Prague and Cairo.
After the ceremony, Obama will “hold meetings with a variety of Russian political, business leaders,” McDonough said. Those meetings are to include a conference organized by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the American Chamber of Commerce.
McFaul said Obama also would meet with “nongovernmental organizations, media representatives and in other words, all of those that are dealing with issues of democracy, independent media, rule of law.”
McFaul said the two presidents would discuss a broad variety of issues. He stressed that Medvedev should not expect any concessions on the most painful topics for Moscow — U.S. missile defense plans in Central Europe and the entry of former Soviet republics into NATO.
“We’re not going to reassure or give or trade anything with the Russians regarding NATO expansion or missile defense,” he said. “We’re going to define our national interests, and by that I also mean the interests of our allies in Europe with reference to these two particular questions.
“So we don’t need the Russians, we don’t want to trade with them,” McFaul said.
He added that the NATO doors remain open for any aspiring member qualifying for entry and that this applies to Georgia and Ukraine. As for missile defense, McFaul said Washington would welcome Moscow’s cooperation on reducing the threat from Iran but would not abandon its idea of the missile shield in Europe simply in order to reach a broader deal with Russia.
Russian officials oppose the U.S. plan to build a missile shield in Europe, saying it will undercut Russia’s potential for a retaliation strike in the case of nuclear attack.
Obama will also meet with Gorbachev on Tuesday.
Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov also has been invited to meet Obama, his press secretary Alexander Yushchenko said Thursday. “We have an invitation to meet President Obama, but the time of the meeting is still being confirmed.”
Opposition leader Garry Kasparov and Leonid Gozman, head of the new Kremlin-backed, pro-business political party Right Cause, said they also have been invited to meet with Obama, Interfax reported.
McFaul said Obama would give an interview to Novaya Gazeta before he arrives, following the lead of Medvedev, who met with the newspaper’s editor in April.
The interview “should be on newsstands by the time we get to Moscow,” McFaul said.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won’t be accompanying Obama to Moscow because of an arm injury she suffered last month, RIA-Novosti reported, citing a Foreign Ministry source. She will be replaced by William Burns, undersecretary for political affairs and the former U.S. ambassador to Russia.
The Obamas will leave Moscow on Wednesday morning.
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Ericsson To Modernize Kyivstar's Network To Meet Uptake Of Mobile Data In Ukraine
STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Ericsson is paving the way for leading Ukrainian operator Kyivstar to offer its 23.9 million subscribers mobile broadband services under a three-year network modernization deal between the two companies.
While Ukraine awaits the imminent release of 3G licenses, Kyivstar's customers across 99.9 percent of the country will be able to access multimedia data services and superior voice service thanks to an expansion and modernization of Kyivstar's GSM/EDGE network.Ericsson will boost capacity and coverage of the operator's radio access and core network, which serves more than half the nation's total subscriber base of 55.2 million.By increasing capacity by more than 30 percent, Kyivstar will be able to manage the anticipated uptake of mobile data in the network.The core network capacity is expanded by using the Ericsson Mobile Softswitch Solution, which also enables cost-efficient migration to an all-IP network.The deal also covers microwave transmission, network deployment, systems integration and support services, as well as competence development for staff.Igor Lytovchenko, President of Kyivstar, says: "This network modernization furthers Kyivstar's strategy of maintaining its technology leadership, while preparing for the launch of mobile broadband services with the introduction of 3G in Ukraine."Jan Campbell, President of Ericsson Eastern Europe and Central Asia, says that the deal is an extension of Ericsson's established partnership with Kyivstar, which dates back to the nationwide rollout of its GSM network in 1996. "By using Ericsson's latest GSM/EDGE technologies, Kyivstar can deliver seamless services to its customers today and be well prepared for future needs."Kyivstar and Ericsson have also joined forces in the area of advanced mobile technologies, with the first Ukrainian demonstrations of 3G and MMS in 2002 and EDGE in 2004.
While Ukraine awaits the imminent release of 3G licenses, Kyivstar's customers across 99.9 percent of the country will be able to access multimedia data services and superior voice service thanks to an expansion and modernization of Kyivstar's GSM/EDGE network.Ericsson will boost capacity and coverage of the operator's radio access and core network, which serves more than half the nation's total subscriber base of 55.2 million.By increasing capacity by more than 30 percent, Kyivstar will be able to manage the anticipated uptake of mobile data in the network.The core network capacity is expanded by using the Ericsson Mobile Softswitch Solution, which also enables cost-efficient migration to an all-IP network.The deal also covers microwave transmission, network deployment, systems integration and support services, as well as competence development for staff.Igor Lytovchenko, President of Kyivstar, says: "This network modernization furthers Kyivstar's strategy of maintaining its technology leadership, while preparing for the launch of mobile broadband services with the introduction of 3G in Ukraine."Jan Campbell, President of Ericsson Eastern Europe and Central Asia, says that the deal is an extension of Ericsson's established partnership with Kyivstar, which dates back to the nationwide rollout of its GSM network in 1996. "By using Ericsson's latest GSM/EDGE technologies, Kyivstar can deliver seamless services to its customers today and be well prepared for future needs."Kyivstar and Ericsson have also joined forces in the area of advanced mobile technologies, with the first Ukrainian demonstrations of 3G and MMS in 2002 and EDGE in 2004.
Ukraine To Continue Arms Sales To Georgia, Says Government
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine will continue arms deliveries to Georgia despite objections from Russia, a Ukrainian government official said Thursday.
'We have made deliveries (to Georgia) in the past, and we will continue as long as there are no bans (to the deliveries) from United Nations Security Council,' said Serghy Bondarchiuk, director of Ukraine's state-owned arms exporter Ukrspetsexport, in a Sehodnia newspaper interview.'If there are further (legal) orders from Georgia, we will consider them as well,' he added.Moscow was furious a year ago with Ukraine for selling Georgia anti-aircraft equipment, tanks, artillery, helicopters, small arms, and ammunition - all used against Russian forces during the 2008 war over the disputed South Ossetia.The Ukrainian anti-aircraft kit in particular surprised Russian military planners, who had expected total air superiority over Georgia during the conflict, but in fact lost between 5 and 17 planes and helicopters to missiles guided by high-tech Georgian radars.Ukraine had, prior to the war, sold Georgia at least one Kolchuga radar system described by its Donetsk manufacturers as a leading-edge technology capable of detecting even modern stealth aircraft.The US considered sanctions against Ukraine in 2003 over suspicions it sold a similar Kolchuga system to then Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.The Russia-Georgia war provided 'excellent advertising' for Ukrainian anti-aircraft technologies, and the east Ukrainian Topaz plant manufacturing the Kolchuga radar 'has a long list of orders,' Bondarchiuk told the newspaper.Ukraine is rated the world's 10th largest arms-exporter, having sold some 800 million dollars of weapons and military equipment to foreign customers in 2008, up 12 per cent from 2007, according to data provided by the state-run arms exporter Ukrspetsexport.Ukraine's customers are most often are nations lacking strong defence ties to US and NATO nations, or Russia.Buyers of Ukrainian weaponry in recent years aside from Georgia include Syria, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Chad, Sudan, Nigeria, Thailand and Myanmar.
'We have made deliveries (to Georgia) in the past, and we will continue as long as there are no bans (to the deliveries) from United Nations Security Council,' said Serghy Bondarchiuk, director of Ukraine's state-owned arms exporter Ukrspetsexport, in a Sehodnia newspaper interview.'If there are further (legal) orders from Georgia, we will consider them as well,' he added.Moscow was furious a year ago with Ukraine for selling Georgia anti-aircraft equipment, tanks, artillery, helicopters, small arms, and ammunition - all used against Russian forces during the 2008 war over the disputed South Ossetia.The Ukrainian anti-aircraft kit in particular surprised Russian military planners, who had expected total air superiority over Georgia during the conflict, but in fact lost between 5 and 17 planes and helicopters to missiles guided by high-tech Georgian radars.Ukraine had, prior to the war, sold Georgia at least one Kolchuga radar system described by its Donetsk manufacturers as a leading-edge technology capable of detecting even modern stealth aircraft.The US considered sanctions against Ukraine in 2003 over suspicions it sold a similar Kolchuga system to then Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.The Russia-Georgia war provided 'excellent advertising' for Ukrainian anti-aircraft technologies, and the east Ukrainian Topaz plant manufacturing the Kolchuga radar 'has a long list of orders,' Bondarchiuk told the newspaper.Ukraine is rated the world's 10th largest arms-exporter, having sold some 800 million dollars of weapons and military equipment to foreign customers in 2008, up 12 per cent from 2007, according to data provided by the state-run arms exporter Ukrspetsexport.Ukraine's customers are most often are nations lacking strong defence ties to US and NATO nations, or Russia.Buyers of Ukrainian weaponry in recent years aside from Georgia include Syria, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Chad, Sudan, Nigeria, Thailand and Myanmar.
Russia’s Neighbors Resist Wooing And Bullying
MOSCOW, Russia -- This was supposed to be Russia’s round in the battle over its backyard. All year, despite its own economic spasms, Moscow has earmarked great chunks of cash for its impoverished post-Soviet neighbors, seeking to lock in their loyalty over the long term and curtail Western influence in the region.
But the neighbors seem to have other ideas. Belarus — which was promised $2 billion in Russian aid — is in open rebellion against the Kremlin, flaunting its preference for Europe while also collecting money from the International Monetary Fund.Uzbekistan joined Belarus in refusing to sign an agreement on the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces, an idea Moscow sees as an eventual counterweight to NATO.There are other examples, like Turkmenistan’s May signing of a gas exploration deal with a German company, and Armenia’s awarding of a major national honor to Moscow’s nemesis, President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia.But the biggest came last week when Kyrgyzstan — set to receive $2.15 billion in Russian aid — reversed a decision that had been seen as a coup for Moscow, last winter’s order terminating the American military’s use of the Manas Air Base there.“A game of chance has developed in the post-Soviet space: Who can swindle the Kremlin in the coolest way?” wrote the military analyst Aleksandr Golts, when news of the Manas decision broke. “Such a brilliant result of Russia’s four-year diplomatic efforts!”There are few projects that matter more to Russia than restoring its influence in the former Soviet republics, whose loss to many in Moscow is still as painful as a phantom limb.Competition over Georgia and Ukraine has brought relations between Moscow and Washington to a post-cold-war low, and the matter is bound to be central to the talks that begin on Monday between Russia’s president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, and President Obama.Russia’s ability to attract its neighbors to its side and keep them there is unimpressive. The Kremlin’s methods have been reactive and often bullying, combining incentives like cheap energy or cash disbursement with threats of trade sanctions and gas cutoffs.The war in Georgia seems to have hurt Moscow in that regard. Rather than being cowed into obedience, as most Western observers feared, the former republics seem to have grown even more protective of their sovereignty.Moreover, the leaders themselves have thrived by playing Russia and the West and, in some cases, China off against one another, although that has not brought stability or prosperity to their countries.In Moscow’s so-called zone of privileged interests, in other words, Russia is just another competitor.“There is no loyalty,” said Oksana Antonenko, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, based in London. “Rivalry is the persistent dynamic. They have to play in that game, to compete.”Kyrgyzstan’s reversal on Manas is a case study in canny horse trading. Russian officials, including Mr. Medvedev, have said they blessed the decision, and that may be true, but President Kurmanbek S. Bakiyev is the one who walked away with what he wanted.Moscow wanted the base, a key transit hub for the United States’ war in Afghanistan, shut down; Kyrgyzstan wanted more money. In February, Moscow seemed to have achieved a master stroke — at a news conference announcing the pledge of $2.15 billion in Russian aid, Mr. Bakiyev said the United States would have to leave Manas in six months.The first Russian payments — a $150 million emergency grant and a $300 million low-interest loan — arrived in April, allowing Mr. Bakiyev to pay wages and pensions as he began his re-election campaign.Then Kyrgyzstan shocked the region by announcing a new agreement with the United States. Washington will pay more than triple the rent for the base — now called a “transit center” — increasing its annual payment to $60 million from $17.4 million, while kicking in upwards of $50 million in grants to the government. No one knows if the Kremlin will make good on the rest of its pledge.Mr. Bakiyev “played the Russians, then he played us,” said Alexander A. Cooley, an associate professor of political science at Barnard College who addressed the Manas dispute in a recent book, “Base Politics.” “It’s all about getting as much as they can.”This should be easier for Russia, which dwarfs its Eurasian neighbors in both size and wealth. Russia retains a military presence in more than half the former Soviet countries, and huge swaths of their populations rely on Russian media for their news.Russia can offer muscular assistance in elections, as in Moldova, which has just received a Russian pledge of $500 million four weeks before voters go to the polls to elect a new Parliament.But Russia’s strategy for consolidating support in neighboring capitals can hardly be called a strategy. Belarus’s president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, who is avidly pursuing Western partners, has been barraged with carrots and sticks from Moscow — first promised $2 billion in Russian aid, then bitterly chastised for his economic policy, then punished with a crippling ban on the import of milk products, then rewarded by a reversal of the import ban. Russia regards Mr. Lukashenko’s truculence as a bluff.“He is imitating a quarrel with Russia until the West demands serious changes from his regime, at which point, he will, of course, surrender,” said Parliament member Konstantin F. Zatulin, a standard-bearer for Russia’s ambitions in former Soviet space. “It’s just his greedy line of behavior.”But the examples extend much farther. Every post-Soviet country that can manage it is pursuing a “multivector policy,” Mr. Zatulin acknowledged. Mr. Zatulin said he was not upset by these tacks away from Russia, but there was an edge to his answer.“What is the point of being disappointed?” Mr. Zatulin said. “Pride comes before a fall. These are weak, dependent and poor countries which want to attract attention to themselves — not only attention, but aid. I cannot criticize them for that. But there are some red lines that shouldn’t be crossed.”Herein lies the problem: Russia’s appeal to them just does not sound very seductive. Ideally, it would present an attractive model for its neighbors, politically and economically. Young generations would learn Russian because they wanted to, and the post-Soviet alliances would be clubs its neighbors are lining up to join.In any case, Moscow will have to use tools other than wire transfers if it hopes to emerge from the financial crisis with a solid political bloc. As Alexei Mukhin, director of the nonprofit Center for Political Information, put it, “Love bought with money will not last long.“That is purchased love,” he said. “It’s not very reliable.”
But the neighbors seem to have other ideas. Belarus — which was promised $2 billion in Russian aid — is in open rebellion against the Kremlin, flaunting its preference for Europe while also collecting money from the International Monetary Fund.Uzbekistan joined Belarus in refusing to sign an agreement on the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces, an idea Moscow sees as an eventual counterweight to NATO.There are other examples, like Turkmenistan’s May signing of a gas exploration deal with a German company, and Armenia’s awarding of a major national honor to Moscow’s nemesis, President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia.But the biggest came last week when Kyrgyzstan — set to receive $2.15 billion in Russian aid — reversed a decision that had been seen as a coup for Moscow, last winter’s order terminating the American military’s use of the Manas Air Base there.“A game of chance has developed in the post-Soviet space: Who can swindle the Kremlin in the coolest way?” wrote the military analyst Aleksandr Golts, when news of the Manas decision broke. “Such a brilliant result of Russia’s four-year diplomatic efforts!”There are few projects that matter more to Russia than restoring its influence in the former Soviet republics, whose loss to many in Moscow is still as painful as a phantom limb.Competition over Georgia and Ukraine has brought relations between Moscow and Washington to a post-cold-war low, and the matter is bound to be central to the talks that begin on Monday between Russia’s president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, and President Obama.Russia’s ability to attract its neighbors to its side and keep them there is unimpressive. The Kremlin’s methods have been reactive and often bullying, combining incentives like cheap energy or cash disbursement with threats of trade sanctions and gas cutoffs.The war in Georgia seems to have hurt Moscow in that regard. Rather than being cowed into obedience, as most Western observers feared, the former republics seem to have grown even more protective of their sovereignty.Moreover, the leaders themselves have thrived by playing Russia and the West and, in some cases, China off against one another, although that has not brought stability or prosperity to their countries.In Moscow’s so-called zone of privileged interests, in other words, Russia is just another competitor.“There is no loyalty,” said Oksana Antonenko, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, based in London. “Rivalry is the persistent dynamic. They have to play in that game, to compete.”Kyrgyzstan’s reversal on Manas is a case study in canny horse trading. Russian officials, including Mr. Medvedev, have said they blessed the decision, and that may be true, but President Kurmanbek S. Bakiyev is the one who walked away with what he wanted.Moscow wanted the base, a key transit hub for the United States’ war in Afghanistan, shut down; Kyrgyzstan wanted more money. In February, Moscow seemed to have achieved a master stroke — at a news conference announcing the pledge of $2.15 billion in Russian aid, Mr. Bakiyev said the United States would have to leave Manas in six months.The first Russian payments — a $150 million emergency grant and a $300 million low-interest loan — arrived in April, allowing Mr. Bakiyev to pay wages and pensions as he began his re-election campaign.Then Kyrgyzstan shocked the region by announcing a new agreement with the United States. Washington will pay more than triple the rent for the base — now called a “transit center” — increasing its annual payment to $60 million from $17.4 million, while kicking in upwards of $50 million in grants to the government. No one knows if the Kremlin will make good on the rest of its pledge.Mr. Bakiyev “played the Russians, then he played us,” said Alexander A. Cooley, an associate professor of political science at Barnard College who addressed the Manas dispute in a recent book, “Base Politics.” “It’s all about getting as much as they can.”This should be easier for Russia, which dwarfs its Eurasian neighbors in both size and wealth. Russia retains a military presence in more than half the former Soviet countries, and huge swaths of their populations rely on Russian media for their news.Russia can offer muscular assistance in elections, as in Moldova, which has just received a Russian pledge of $500 million four weeks before voters go to the polls to elect a new Parliament.But Russia’s strategy for consolidating support in neighboring capitals can hardly be called a strategy. Belarus’s president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, who is avidly pursuing Western partners, has been barraged with carrots and sticks from Moscow — first promised $2 billion in Russian aid, then bitterly chastised for his economic policy, then punished with a crippling ban on the import of milk products, then rewarded by a reversal of the import ban. Russia regards Mr. Lukashenko’s truculence as a bluff.“He is imitating a quarrel with Russia until the West demands serious changes from his regime, at which point, he will, of course, surrender,” said Parliament member Konstantin F. Zatulin, a standard-bearer for Russia’s ambitions in former Soviet space. “It’s just his greedy line of behavior.”But the examples extend much farther. Every post-Soviet country that can manage it is pursuing a “multivector policy,” Mr. Zatulin acknowledged. Mr. Zatulin said he was not upset by these tacks away from Russia, but there was an edge to his answer.“What is the point of being disappointed?” Mr. Zatulin said. “Pride comes before a fall. These are weak, dependent and poor countries which want to attract attention to themselves — not only attention, but aid. I cannot criticize them for that. But there are some red lines that shouldn’t be crossed.”Herein lies the problem: Russia’s appeal to them just does not sound very seductive. Ideally, it would present an attractive model for its neighbors, politically and economically. Young generations would learn Russian because they wanted to, and the post-Soviet alliances would be clubs its neighbors are lining up to join.In any case, Moscow will have to use tools other than wire transfers if it hopes to emerge from the financial crisis with a solid political bloc. As Alexei Mukhin, director of the nonprofit Center for Political Information, put it, “Love bought with money will not last long.“That is purchased love,” he said. “It’s not very reliable.”
Ukraine Hospitals Survive On Charity
KIEV, Ukraine -- One of the countries worst hit by the financial crisis is Ukraine, with its economy shrinking 21% in the first quarter of 2009. At the same time, the government has come to a virtual standstill, as politicians fight among themselves ahead of a presidential election. Amid all the turmoil, the country's healthcare system is suffering.
It is a sunny Saturday morning, and a group of volunteers, most of them foreigners living and working in Kiev, have given up their weekend to renovate a hospital ward.They are washing the walls, painting them, putting in new floors and bathrooms.After that, they plan to get to work on the operating theatre."We're doing a complete refurb on theatre one," says Dave Young, one of the volunteers."New flooring, new electrics, and new doors to make it sanitary and to make sure they can carry on giving decent levels of service."Mr Young runs a construction company in Ukraine. But, thanks to the economic crisis, there is not much work."Construction is near enough extinct in Ukraine at the moment," he says cheerfully. "It's heavily hibernating."But instead of laying off his workforce, he has decided to put them - and himself - to good use."We have crews who are keen to keep working, so we thought: 'Why not get some good out of them and get something worthwhile completed?'"The volunteers are paying for everything, including materials and labour. It is a good news story. Until you hear the bad news.'Condemned to death'Professor Yuri Orlov, the doctor in charge of this children's ward and Ukraine's most senior paediatric neurosurgeon, said his budget for medicines this year is one quarter of what it was last year. And there is worse."We've got nothing, not a kopek, not a dollar, not a pfennig - nothing for new equipment, for upkeep, or for buying the most elementary necessities," he said.And it certainly shows. The main bathroom on the ward is absolutely filthy.The walls are filthy, the toilet has an open cistern covered in mould, and by the door, there is a cardboard box lying on the floor for rubbish - an open dustbin with discarded rubber gloves, used syringes, dirty tissues and other bits of medical equipment.Marco Zecchinato, who deals with young cancer patients for an Italian medical charity, Soleterre, took a break from scrubbing one of the walls to give me the wider picture."In paediatric oncology, we have a rate of mortality that is double what it is in Europe or the US," he said."These children, just because they were born on the wrong side of Europe, 40% are surviving, 60% are condemned to death."He confirmed Professor Orlov's picture of an already underfunded healthcare system, squeezed further by Ukraine's economic woes.Expensive medicinesSince summer 2008, demand for Ukraine's main export, steel, has dropped dramatically.The national currency, the hryvnia, has lost more than a third of its value against the dollar.This is causing problems not only for the government, which is not getting the revenues it expected.It also directly affects individual patients.Because while, on paper, Ukraine has a system of universal free healthcare, in practice, you have to pay for almost every aspect of medical treatment, including supplying your own bandages, syringes and other medication.And imported medicines have effectively doubled in price - not because the pharmaceutical companies have put their prices up, but because people's salaries are worth half what they used to be in foreign currency terms.Defenders of the government point out that the situation in Ukraine is not unique."Health services across the world are to some extent underfunded," says Andrei Musienko, a former deputy health minister, now the director of one of Kiev's main hospitals."In our country the situation is the same. And of course at a time of economic crisis, medicine suffers along with all other social services."'Trying to survive'Back on the children's ward, nine-month-old Nastya is waiting for her operation.Her mother, Tanya, had to borrow money travel to the capital from their village in central Ukraine. Now she has nothing left to pay for things like blood transfusions or extra medicines.If there are complications, she says, she does not know what she is going to do.Professor Orlov says that the hospital does everything it can to help people like Tanya - that somehow they will get by.But he believes that for the government, healthcare simply is not a priority."The ministry of health is aware of the situation. But they are tied to the budget. And the health service in this country is financed according to the following principle - whatever's left over goes on health care.""There are many factors at play here - political instability, massive economic problems. I get the impression that [the government is] just trying to survive, rather than thinking about the future."In the meantime, people like Tanya and Nastya will have to survive only thanks to the charity of others.
It is a sunny Saturday morning, and a group of volunteers, most of them foreigners living and working in Kiev, have given up their weekend to renovate a hospital ward.They are washing the walls, painting them, putting in new floors and bathrooms.After that, they plan to get to work on the operating theatre."We're doing a complete refurb on theatre one," says Dave Young, one of the volunteers."New flooring, new electrics, and new doors to make it sanitary and to make sure they can carry on giving decent levels of service."Mr Young runs a construction company in Ukraine. But, thanks to the economic crisis, there is not much work."Construction is near enough extinct in Ukraine at the moment," he says cheerfully. "It's heavily hibernating."But instead of laying off his workforce, he has decided to put them - and himself - to good use."We have crews who are keen to keep working, so we thought: 'Why not get some good out of them and get something worthwhile completed?'"The volunteers are paying for everything, including materials and labour. It is a good news story. Until you hear the bad news.'Condemned to death'Professor Yuri Orlov, the doctor in charge of this children's ward and Ukraine's most senior paediatric neurosurgeon, said his budget for medicines this year is one quarter of what it was last year. And there is worse."We've got nothing, not a kopek, not a dollar, not a pfennig - nothing for new equipment, for upkeep, or for buying the most elementary necessities," he said.And it certainly shows. The main bathroom on the ward is absolutely filthy.The walls are filthy, the toilet has an open cistern covered in mould, and by the door, there is a cardboard box lying on the floor for rubbish - an open dustbin with discarded rubber gloves, used syringes, dirty tissues and other bits of medical equipment.Marco Zecchinato, who deals with young cancer patients for an Italian medical charity, Soleterre, took a break from scrubbing one of the walls to give me the wider picture."In paediatric oncology, we have a rate of mortality that is double what it is in Europe or the US," he said."These children, just because they were born on the wrong side of Europe, 40% are surviving, 60% are condemned to death."He confirmed Professor Orlov's picture of an already underfunded healthcare system, squeezed further by Ukraine's economic woes.Expensive medicinesSince summer 2008, demand for Ukraine's main export, steel, has dropped dramatically.The national currency, the hryvnia, has lost more than a third of its value against the dollar.This is causing problems not only for the government, which is not getting the revenues it expected.It also directly affects individual patients.Because while, on paper, Ukraine has a system of universal free healthcare, in practice, you have to pay for almost every aspect of medical treatment, including supplying your own bandages, syringes and other medication.And imported medicines have effectively doubled in price - not because the pharmaceutical companies have put their prices up, but because people's salaries are worth half what they used to be in foreign currency terms.Defenders of the government point out that the situation in Ukraine is not unique."Health services across the world are to some extent underfunded," says Andrei Musienko, a former deputy health minister, now the director of one of Kiev's main hospitals."In our country the situation is the same. And of course at a time of economic crisis, medicine suffers along with all other social services."'Trying to survive'Back on the children's ward, nine-month-old Nastya is waiting for her operation.Her mother, Tanya, had to borrow money travel to the capital from their village in central Ukraine. Now she has nothing left to pay for things like blood transfusions or extra medicines.If there are complications, she says, she does not know what she is going to do.Professor Orlov says that the hospital does everything it can to help people like Tanya - that somehow they will get by.But he believes that for the government, healthcare simply is not a priority."The ministry of health is aware of the situation. But they are tied to the budget. And the health service in this country is financed according to the following principle - whatever's left over goes on health care.""There are many factors at play here - political instability, massive economic problems. I get the impression that [the government is] just trying to survive, rather than thinking about the future."In the meantime, people like Tanya and Nastya will have to survive only thanks to the charity of others.
Platini Says Ukraine Could Be Deprived Of Euro Championships
PARIS, France -- UEFA president Michel Platini said that Ukraine could be deprived of playing co-host with Poland to the Euro-2012 football championships, the daily L'Equipe reported Friday. "We have to take a decision by the beginning of December," Platini said. "December is the deadline."
UEFA issued a November 30 deadline two months ago when it picked all four Polish host cities but only Kiev (pending improvements) from the Ukraine cities due to ongoing intrastrucure problems.The decision on Donetsk, Lviv and Kharkiv will then be made in December.If UEFA then decides that Ukrainian stadiums will not be ready for the 2012 matches, an alternative could be to use German venues, Platini said."If we don't go to Ukraine, we have to find two other stadiums," Platini said, noting that the German cities of Berlin and Leipzig were "an option."
UEFA issued a November 30 deadline two months ago when it picked all four Polish host cities but only Kiev (pending improvements) from the Ukraine cities due to ongoing intrastrucure problems.The decision on Donetsk, Lviv and Kharkiv will then be made in December.If UEFA then decides that Ukrainian stadiums will not be ready for the 2012 matches, an alternative could be to use German venues, Platini said."If we don't go to Ukraine, we have to find two other stadiums," Platini said, noting that the German cities of Berlin and Leipzig were "an option."
Russia 'agrees US troop transit'
A senior Obama administration official has told the BBC that Russia has agreed to let US troops bound for the war in Afghanistan fly through its airspace.
The deal, which opens up an important new corridor for the US military, is to be officially announced when President Barack Obama visits Moscow next week.
Speaking separately, a Kremlin official confirmed a deal was on the table but suggested it referred to weapons only.
The reported agreement marks a major development in US-Russian relations.
Until now Russia has restricted use of its territory for the Afghan conflict, only allowing the US to transport non-lethal supplies to Afghanistan by train, the BBC's Jon Donnison reports from Washington.
The Obama official who spoke to the BBC said that, under the new agreement, US military planes carrying weapons as well as troops would be allowed to make thousands of flights a year through Russian airspace.
In recent years, Moscow and Washington have not seen eye to eye, with disagreements over Nato expansion into Eastern Europe, Russia's conflict with Georgia and America's plans for a missile defence shield.
This new co-operation over the Afghan war could pave the way for an improvement in diplomatic relations, our correspondent says.
'No troop request'
Mr Obama is due to visit Moscow between 6 and 8 July when he and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, are due to discuss reducing each other's nuclear stockpile, as well as Iran and North Korea.
Sergei Prikhodko, Mr Medvedev's top foreign policy adviser, said on Friday that the two presidents planned to sign a "joint agreement on military transit to Afghanistan".
Transit would be by both land and air but mostly by air, he said.
He added that it was unclear if US soldiers or other personnel would be permitted to travel through Russian territory or airspace.
"They haven't asked us for it," he told reporters at the Kremlin.
The Kremlin adviser added:
"Today we sense a desire of our American partners to combine wide co-operation... with a readiness to breathe new life into bilateral trade and economic cooperation."
America's normal supply route to Afghanistan via Pakistan has come under repeated militant attack, and the US and Nato are keen to find alternative supply routes through Russia and the Central Asian states.
The US has about 56,000 troops in Afghanistan while its Nato partners have some 32,000 deployed.
Russia's powerful Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, has urged the US to move relations forward by shelving plans for a missile defence shield in Europe.
He also fended off a call by Mr Obama this week for Russia to end "old Cold War approaches" to relations. Replying to the US leader's suggestion that he, Mr Putin, had one foot in the past, he said:
"We [Russians] don't stand bowlegged. We stand solidly on our own two feet and always look to the future".
The deal, which opens up an important new corridor for the US military, is to be officially announced when President Barack Obama visits Moscow next week.
Speaking separately, a Kremlin official confirmed a deal was on the table but suggested it referred to weapons only.
The reported agreement marks a major development in US-Russian relations.
Until now Russia has restricted use of its territory for the Afghan conflict, only allowing the US to transport non-lethal supplies to Afghanistan by train, the BBC's Jon Donnison reports from Washington.
The Obama official who spoke to the BBC said that, under the new agreement, US military planes carrying weapons as well as troops would be allowed to make thousands of flights a year through Russian airspace.
In recent years, Moscow and Washington have not seen eye to eye, with disagreements over Nato expansion into Eastern Europe, Russia's conflict with Georgia and America's plans for a missile defence shield.
This new co-operation over the Afghan war could pave the way for an improvement in diplomatic relations, our correspondent says.
'No troop request'
Mr Obama is due to visit Moscow between 6 and 8 July when he and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, are due to discuss reducing each other's nuclear stockpile, as well as Iran and North Korea.
Sergei Prikhodko, Mr Medvedev's top foreign policy adviser, said on Friday that the two presidents planned to sign a "joint agreement on military transit to Afghanistan".
Transit would be by both land and air but mostly by air, he said.
He added that it was unclear if US soldiers or other personnel would be permitted to travel through Russian territory or airspace.
"They haven't asked us for it," he told reporters at the Kremlin.
The Kremlin adviser added:
"Today we sense a desire of our American partners to combine wide co-operation... with a readiness to breathe new life into bilateral trade and economic cooperation."
America's normal supply route to Afghanistan via Pakistan has come under repeated militant attack, and the US and Nato are keen to find alternative supply routes through Russia and the Central Asian states.
The US has about 56,000 troops in Afghanistan while its Nato partners have some 32,000 deployed.
Russia's powerful Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, has urged the US to move relations forward by shelving plans for a missile defence shield in Europe.
He also fended off a call by Mr Obama this week for Russia to end "old Cold War approaches" to relations. Replying to the US leader's suggestion that he, Mr Putin, had one foot in the past, he said:
"We [Russians] don't stand bowlegged. We stand solidly on our own two feet and always look to the future".
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