Banning Visa For Ukrainian Officials? Not Yet

NEW YORK, USA -- This week the US senate passed a resolution calling for the release of former Ukrainian prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko. Almost simultaneously, the Ukrainian government delegation came to Washington to encourage American capital to invest in Ukraine, while Ukraine’s president Viktor Yanukovych promised “the new impetus” to Ukraine-USA relationship, attending the opening of the 67th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York. How does this all fit together and what can this possibly mean? The US Senate’s resolution, introduced by Sen. Jim Inhofe, was the natural result of discussions over Yulia Tymoshenko’s case over the past year. The former prime minister – the leader of the opposition and the only serious opponent to the current government – is serving a seven-year prison term for abuse of office stemming from gas contract negotiations with Russia. The senate’s resolution also calls for a visa ban against President Yanukovych and others responsible for Tymoshenko’s imprisonment, declaring their actions anti-democratic. According to Interfax-Ukraine’s interview with Executive Director of the American Institute in Ukraine, Anthony T. Salvia, this resolution is not an exceptional case – it is not obligatory and it does not oblige the Senate to take any action—it’s just an expression of the opinion of those people that lobbied for it in the senate. However, the western world is concerned about Tymoshenko’s situation and see it as politically motivated. Ukrainian officials look at it as a matter of violating the law, and deny political motivation. The question of Ukraine’s overall strategy – whether it’s adopted a course in line with European values and is committed to the idea of a democratic society – has been only vaguely addressed by Ukraine’s government. They don’t seem to see a big problem with their actions. Ukraine’s government’s position is that it is working on reforms and improving the economy, and the country offers good investment opportunities—which is separate issue from democratic values and human rights. “Investors coming to Ukraine should feel themselves comfortable,” said Ukraine’s Economic Development Minister, Poroshenko, at the annual Yalta European Strategy summit on September 14th. However, according to Mario David of the European Parliament, there were companies that wanted to invest over $1 billion in Ukraine but decided to do business elsewhere as they were scared off by what they perceive to be a lack of the rule of law. “The government that doesn’t not accept the opposition, and only oppresses it, is not open and it can’t help its people,” said Hryhoriy Nemyrya, former Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, now Deputy Head of Tymoshenko’s party, “Batkivshchyna,” in an interview with Forbes. According to Interfax-Ukraine, during the reception at the General Assembly of the United Nations, Barack Obama and Yanukovych had exchanged some remarks on the subject of a nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and in his UN speech Yanukovych promised to strengthen the rule of law in Ukraine. What could this mean? The resolution might not be as threatening as it appears. American leaders are still willing to sustain diplomatic relations with Ukraine. If Yanukovych plays his hand deftly, Ukraine could avoid the destiny of Belarus and might still be accepted by the West. The democratic world expects Ukraine to have a transparent and honest parliamentary election on October 28. Ukraine’s expected to support the freedom of speech and human rights. Which, officially, it is willing to do. Unfortunately, the case of Yulia Tymoshenko – the elephant in the room – is still there. It’s unclear how Yanukovych’s government plans to handle the situation now, but the sooner he does it, the better. Otherwise, for his next possible visit to the US he may not be able to get his visa, should the ban proposed by the U.S. senate go in effect.

Ukraine ‘Shocked’ By Blokhin Resignation

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine’s football supremo expressed shock over the resignation of Oleh Blokhin as national manager but said agreement had been reached for him to take charge of the squad for the next two World Cup qualifiers. Dynamo Kiev last week appointed the former Soviet striker as their coach, ending his tenure at the national team which he oversaw during their campaign at Euro 2012 that Ukraine co-hosted this summer. “The news that Oleh Blokhin was taking over at Dynamo Kiev and leaving the national team was unexpected and shocked us,” Ukraine’s football federation president Anatoliy Konkov told reporters. “All our efforts were aimed at creating the best conditions for the national side. And this development surprised and upset us.” Konkov said he had agreed with the manager that Blokhin would take charge of Ukraine in their next World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Montenegro in October and it was premature to talk about a successor. The departure of Blokhin is a major headache for Ukraine as it contends with a tricky World Cup group that also includes England and Poland. The squad also no longer has talismanic striker Andriy Shevchenko who has hung up his boots to work in politics. The circumstances around Blokhin’s resignation appear chaotic, with Konkov insisting he had still not officially resigned. “He wrote down his resignation statement. But it was written down in the wrong format. “This means de-facto that there is no resignation statement today and Oleg Blokhin is still the national team coach,” he said. Blokhin himself confirmed that he would take charge of the Moldova and Montenegro matches and had already announced his 22-man squad for the games. The 59-year-old -the 1975 European footballer of the year – has agreed a four year contract with Dynamo to replace Yury Semin who was dismissed on Monday. Blokhin – who played in two World Cups – was in his second spell as Ukraine coach having guided them to the 2006 World Cup finals before returning for this year’s Euro finals. Although they went out in the first round of Euro 2012, Ukraine had made a solid start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, drawing 1-1 away with England at Wembley.

Ukraine Allows Foreign Residents To Buy Land

KIEV, Ukraine -- Non-citizens and companies with foreign capital are now allowed to buy nonagricultural land in Ukraine. According to the amendments to the Land Code the Ukrainian parliament passed on October 2nd, legal entities may become owners of land when buying real estate or purchasing land within residential areas for business operations purposes. These legislation changes are part of the current land reform in Ukraine. So far, the parliament introduced bills on the creation of a state land bank and land cadastre. Another anticipated document on the land reform is the Law of Ukraine "On Land Market". The respective draft law is currently submitted to the parliament. The parliament of Ukraine adopted the law stipulating the creation of a land bank on September 6th, 2012. Coming into force in January 2013, the bill regulates the activities of the state land bank, which may issue loans to agricultural businesses. The national land bank will manage state-owned lands, consolidate them and facilitate their development. Cheap loans (reportedly, twice cheaper than the current commercial offers) available from the state bank are expected to promote development of small and mid-sized business in the rural areas. A number of international experts - from Bulgaria, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Spain - contributed to the discussions over the draft of the law. The bill on state land cadastre was adopted in July 2011, providing the foundation for lifting ban on land purchase and sale. Presently, the moratorium (until January 2013) on buying and selling land in Ukraine is in force due to the danger of detrimental land sales under present-day flawed legislation. The law on state land cadastre stipulates the introduction of the state-wide land registry. It contains information on the location of all agricultural land plots, their borders, area, designated purpose, value, and the condition of the land. Access to the basic information will be free and open to everyone while access to more detailed information will be fee-based. The absence of an open land market in Ukraine has been one of the main concerns of foreign investors. By setting up a competitive land market, the Ukrainian government is trying to attract additional investments into the Ukrainian agricultural sector.

CIS Nations Eye Free Trade Zone In 2013

KIEV, Ukraine -- The latest top-level meeting of the oldest post-Soviet grouping, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), pledged to enact their free trade arrangements next year. However, the CIS free trade zone (FTZ) agreement has not been ratified by some signatory nations, while other CIS member states have continued to refrain from joining the deal. During the meeting of the CIS prime ministers at the investment forum in Yalta on September 27–29, Ukraine's Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov urged for all CIS member states to join the FTZ agreement. He voiced hope that the CIS free trade arrangements would take effect at the beginning of 2013. The prime ministers of the CIS, which includes 11 former Soviet states, were keen to present their grouping as a viable institution. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev described speculations that the CIS was dropping into irrelevance as "groundless". Medvedev told the Yalta forum that the CIS free trade zone came as an effective institution based on the principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO). He said the FTZ agreement was already ratified by Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia and Moldova. Medvedev invited other nations to join the FTZ agreement. During the CIS meeting in St. Petersburg on October 18, 2011, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine signed the new free trade agreement. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan refrained from joining the FTZ. The new CIS free trade agreement replaced an earlier agreement on establishing a free trade zone concluded in 1994. However, this earlier agreement was not ratified by many CIS member states, including Russia. But last year, Russia's top officials insisted that the new CIS free trade arrangements would not contradict the WTO principles and norms as Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Ukraine are also WTO member countries. Separately, Russia has been pursuing its customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan that was designed to evolve into a new Eurasian economic alliance. Yet despite repeated Russian invitations, other CIS member states, notably Ukraine, have remained reluctant to join the customs union. The Yalta meeting approved further expansion of the CIS free trade zone and noted that Uzbekistan indicated plans to join the FTZ. The CIS prime ministers also adopted a blueprint to expand information technology (IT) cooperation, to develop the joint Mir-24 television channel and some other agreements. They also decided to continue financing the joint air-defense system in 2013. According to Russian media outlets the CIS membership was not exceedingly burdensome, at least for some member states. Russian business daily Kommersant commented that the CIS nations agreed to continue modest payments for the grouping's membership. While Russia is due to pay 429 million rubles ($13.9 million) in 2013, Ukraine will pay 69 million ($2.2 million), Kazakhstan—52 million ($1.7 million), Belarus—30 million ($970,246), and Turkmenistan—only 785,000 rubles ($25,388). Medvedev also used the opportunity to promote the Russian ruble as a potential reserve currency. Although the CIS has remained an important element of the post-Soviet diplomacy, officials have conceded their CIS-related expectations have become increasingly limited. For example, the Yalta meeting decided to discontinue the CIS oil and gas council. It was created in 1993 as a venue for energy discussions, but the council has remained idle since 2003. Furthermore, in recent years even the CIS top-level meetings happened to be ignored by some member states. In September 2011, Tajikistan hosted the CIS summit that was marked by a number of abstentions as the leaders of Azerbaijan, Belarus and Uzbekistan refrained from coming. These top-level no-shows apparently indicated that some member states were becoming increasingly reluctant to prioritize the grouping. The next CIS summit is due in November 2012 in Ashgabat. It remains to be seen whether the grouping's top-level meeting could be able to strengthen the viability of the CIS. Meanwhile, Russia has been keen to promote closer economic ties between member states and the CIS and the new FTZ agreement was in line with that goal. However, continued Russian efforts to lure the CIS member states into closer forms of economic integration have entailed limited results so far.

Monument To Steve Jobs Unveiled In Ukraine

ODESSA, Ukraine -- The Ukrainian city of Odessa has unveiled the world's second public monument to late Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs. The 200-kg, two-metre-high metal monument is shaped like an open palm, with Apple's logo, an apple with a bite mark, cut through it, the Odessa administration reported on its website. The sculpture titled "Thanks, Steve!" was welded from bits of scrap metal, including screws, nuts, bearings and even an ax, and is illuminated at night by white-and-blue lights. The artwork, created by local artist Kirill Maximenko, was installed in front of a college on Novoselskaya Street Friday, which marked the first anniversary of Jobs' death due to cancer at the age of 56. The world's first public monument to Jobs was presented in Budapest last December. The Russian cities of St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk have also announced plans to honour Jobs with statues.

Top Opposition Parties Nearing Agreement

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine’s two most popular opposition parties are nearing an agreement on backing single candidates in majority districts ahead of October 28 vote, posing a challenge to the ruling Regions Party. At stake are 225 seats in the 450-seat Parliament that will be decided in the majority districts across Ukraine and where Batkivshchyna and Udar have often competed against each other, benefiting the Regions Party. The parties, in talks since January, already agreed on 185 districts and are yet to agree on the remaining 40 districts, before announcing the agreement. “With the help of primaries and opinion polls we will figure out who could be a single candidate in those districts,” Valentyn Nalyvaychenko, a senior member of the Udar party, told Kommersant daily. The agreement, which calls on the opposition groups to withdraw a weaker candidate and throw greater support behind the remaining candidate in each majority district, may be a game changer. The failure to agree on single candidates has led to Batkivshchyna and Udar losing several important local elections to the Regions Party earlier this year. Batkivshchyna has signed a similar agreement with Svoboda, a nationalist opposition party, on candidates running for seats in western regions of Ukraine to eliminate unnecessary rivalry. But the agreement with Udar, which has strong presence across Ukraine, including key battleground regions in central parts of the country, will be much more important. A candidate in the majority may withdraw from the race 12 days before the election, which gives Batkivshchyna and Udar 11 days to finalize the agreement. “Everything will be announced when the agreement is reached,” Rostyslav Pavlenko, a member of Udar party, told Channel 5 television on Thursday. “Everyone of our candidate understands that if necessary, if a Regions Party candidate may win and if Batkivshchyna candidate has a chance, then our candidate may withdraw from the race.” A half of Ukrainian Parliament is elected in majority districts and another half is elected on party lists. The Regions Party increased popular support to 28.1% in August from 27.6% two months ago, according to the poll conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Center and by the Razumkov Center. Batkivshchyna’s support was unchanged at 25.6%, while Udar’s support rose to 11.5% in August from 9.7% in June, according to the poll. The Communist Party, an ally of the Regions Party, rose to 8.2% from 7.1%, according to the poll. The Forward Ukraine party, which is thought to be loyal to the government and has recently recruited soccer striker Andriy Shevchenko, lost to 4% from 4.6%, while the nationalist Svoboda party gained to 3.8% from 3.1%, according to the poll. A party needs to score at least 5% in order to win seats in Parliament. The poll was conducted between August 10 and August 15 among 2,009 respondents with margin of error at 2.3%.

Envoy: Iran-Ukraine To Jointly Build Antonov-158 Regardless Of Sanctions

TEHRAN, Iran -- The sanctions imposed by the West on Iran will leave no impact on Iran-Ukraine joint production of Antonov-158 passenger planes, a senior Ukrainian diplomat said on Saturday. "Sanctions have no impacts on Iran-Ukraine cooperation in building Antonov-158 planes," Ukraine's Ambassador to Tehran Alexander Samaraski told FNA on Saturday. The diplomat, however, said that negotiations between two counties regarding the project are still underway. Iran aims to fly its first Antonov-158 jointly built with the Ukrainian company as early as 2013. The new air vehicle with a seating capacity of 100 passengers will be the next generation of Iran-140 airplane. After purchasing the production license for the Antonov-140 from Ukraine in 2000, Iran built its first Iran-140 passenger plane in 2003. The first IRAN-140 aircraft was introduced by Iran in 2003. Five domestically-manufactured IRAN-140 planes were completed in October 2008 to increase the country's transportation capacity and upgrade the Iranian passenger fleet. The IRAN-140 is a double-engine turboprop aircraft which can fly almost 1,865 miles before re-fuelling and its passenger model seats 52 people.