Moscow gay rights rally broken up with eight arrests

Police in the Russian capital Moscow have broken up a small protest by campaigners against Mayor Yuri Luzhkov's stance on gay rights.

At least eight protesters were arrested when police moved in to disperse the rally outside the mayor's office.

Among them was Russia's best-known gay rights campaigner, Nikolai Alexeyev, who accused security agents of abducting him last week.

There was no official comment on his allegations.

He said he had been stopped at a Moscow airport while trying to fly to Switzerland on Wednesday and was held for two days at an unknown address before being released on Saturday.

He said he had been asked to withdraw a case from the European Court of Human Rights, where he complains about Mayor Luzhkov's refusal to allow gay pride marches in the Russian capital.

Tuesday's rally was timed to coincide with the 74th birthday of Mr Luzhkov.

Russia won't supply missiles to Iran amid U.N. sanctions

Russia has decided not to sell S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran because they are subject to U.N. Security Council sanctions, Russian media reports said on Wednesday, citing the country's armed forces chief of staff.

"A decision has been made not to supply S-300s to Iran as they are definitely subject to the sanctions," Gen. Nikolai Makarov said.

"There has been an instruction from the country's leadership to stop the deliveries, and we are obeying it."

Makarov didn't give a definite response to whether the contract between Iran and Russia on those deliveries will be terminated. However, he said that "we'll see, everything depends on Iran's behavior,".

State-run Itar-Tass ran quotes from Makarov.

Russia froze the contract with Iran on the S-300 missiles earlier this year after the latest U.N. Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Iran.

In June, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said a decision from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev clarifying Russia's position on weapons sales to Iran is pending.

European Union Says Agreement With Ukraine Unlikely In November

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine and the European Union are not likely to sign the Association Agreement during the November 22 summit, the European Commission's spokeswoman, Angela Filote said.
She said that the parties had already agreed that they need another year to complete the agreement.

According to her, the summit with Ukraine will give the European Union the chance to analyze Ukraine's progress on the path to the Association Agreement, but it is to early to predict when it will be signed.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych earlier agreed that the agreement may be signed in 2011, if the is a progress in respect of the agreement and if the two sides are properly involved in this process, she said.

As reported, Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine Serhiy Liovochkin said on September 20 that Ukraine and the European Union might sign the Association Agreement during the EU-Ukraine Summit in Brussels on November 22, 2010.

Prosecutor To Review Claim Ukraine Cops Beat Radio Liberty Reporter

KIEV, Ukraine -- A senior prosecutor will investigate a claim that police beat and severely injured a journalist employed by the US media group Radio Liberty, the Interfax news agency reported Tuesday.
Law enforcers in the east Ukrainian city Donetsk beat Artem Furmaniuk and three friends as they were sitting in front of their apartment building, and later at a police station, Furmaniuk alleged in a complaint filed Monday.

Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs (MID) will take the complaint seriously and a team of senior prosecutors will investigate Furmaniuk's allegations, said MID spokeswoman Iryna Shinkarenko.

Furmaniuk is owner-operator of a news website devoted to exposing crime and corruption in the Donetsk region, and works as a regional correspondent for the US-managed Radio Liberty network, according to the report.

Donetsk police are alleged to have arrested Furmaniuk, his brother, and two friends without reasonable cause or any warning, and struck them with boots and clubs.

A team of eight local law enforcers are alleged to have repeated the beatings in a nearby police station, where he and his friends were held for three hours before being released without charges.

The beatings left Furmaniuk with broken ribs, cuts requiring stitches, bruises, and potentially long-term damage to his left eye, Furmaniuk claimed.

Police also employed pepper spray, and made death threats against the detainees, he said.

The Donetsk police reportedly arrived on the scene because of a complaint that Furmaniuk and his friends were disturbing the peace outside their apartment building.

Furmaniuk, in comments reported by the Unian news agency, linked the alleged police violence with an argument taking place earlier in the evening with persons allegedly claiming to have close friends in the police department.

Violence against members of the media is a continuing problem in Ukraine, which has seen some 40 reporters and editors murdered since the former Soviet republic's 1991 independence.

Ukraine's highest-profile journalist murder took place in 2000, with the contract killing of Georgy Gongadze, the editor of an anti- government web site.

A Ukrainian court last week declared Yury Kravchenko, a former Interior Minister, the person responsible for ordering the killing. Kravchenko supposedly committed suicide in 2005.

Ukraine, United States Begin To Scrap Scud Missiles Stored In Vinnytsia Region

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine and the United States have begun to dismantle around 200 9K72 Scud missiles decommissioned in 1997 and stored at the 48th ammunition arsenal of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Vinnytsia region, the ministry said in a statement.
The project, which is estimated at $2 million, is funded by the United States. The work is being conducted by Ukraine's Commonwealth Corporation under the supervision of Global Offshore Projects.

Director General of Commonwealth Corporation Vasyl Mitishov said that around 200 missiles were to be dismantled at the arsenal within over five months.

After the dismantling, elements of missile systems will be transferred to Ukrainian steel mills for melting and further sale as scrap metal. The Defense Ministry said that over 2,000 tonnes of scrap metal would be received after the recycling of missiles.

Deputy Defense Minister Volodymyr Omelianchuk said that funds received from the sale of scrap metal would be sent to the ministry's special fund and then be used for the disposal of excess ammunition.

He said that over 10,000 tonnes of ammunition had already been removed from the 48th military arsenal in 2010, and added that the base was to be liquidated in four years.

As reported, the cooperation program was signed in the framework of the November 2009 Memorandum of Understanding between the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and the U.S. State Department.

According to the document, the contractor of the project is U.S. Controlled Demolition, Inc.

Implementation of the program on the elimination and disposal in Ukraine Scud missiles is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2015.

In 1993 Ukraine and the U.S. reached a framework agreement to provide assistance in the elimination of strategic nuclear weapons.

In 1998 the United States and Ukraine signed an intergovernmental memorandum of understanding on issues related to the regime of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).

MPs Desert Defeated Ukraine Candidate Yulia Tymoshenko

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's parliament has confirmed the migration of 28 MPs from the bloc led by Yulia Tymoshenko, who was defeated in this year's presidential election.
The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc formally expelled the 28 after reports that they had sided with the coalition formed by President Viktor Yanukovich.

The bloc had won 156 seats at the 2007 polls and Mrs Tymoshenko became prime minister, heading a coalition.

But she lost office in March after a vote of no confidence.

Seven of her own MPs reportedly voted against her on that occasion.

Mr Yanukovich won the run-off round of the presidential election in February by 48.95% to 45.47% for Mrs Tymoshenko.

His victory was seen as a boost for pro-Russian forces in Ukraine after disenchantment with the 2004-05 Orange Revolution, which was led by Mrs Tymoshenko and former President Viktor Yushchenko.

No official reason was given immediately on Tuesday for the expulsion of the 28 MPs, which was announced by the parliamentary speaker, Volodymyr Lytvyn.

However, Ukrainian and Russian media reports said that those expelled had either defected to the new coalition loyal to President Yanukovich, or had been suspected of disloyalty towards Mrs Tymoshenko.

The new coalition which emerged in March under Yanukovych loyalist Mykola Azarov brought together the president's Party of the Regions, the Communist Party and a bloc loyal to Mr Lytvyn.

When it was formed, it had the support of 235 MPs in the 450-seat parliament.

The U.S.-Ukraine Relationship

KIEV, Ukraine -- William Burns, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, recently traveled to Ukraine where he met with President Viktor Yanukovych, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov opposition leaders, and business and civil society leaders, among others.
Under Secretary Burns stressed the importance that the United States attaches to its strategic partnership with Ukraine and the priority of deepening economic cooperation with Ukraine.

Economic reform in Ukraine, he said, would create greater predictability and transparency and help attract additional investment.

"The new tax code, for example," said Under Secretary Burns, "is the kind of signal that can have a positive effect on outside investors." He also spoke about strong American support for Ukraine's further integration into Europe.

Under Secretary Burns spoke about the importance of protecting the democratic gains in Ukraine over recent years. In this context, Under Secretary Burns noted that "there are obvious concerns about freedom of expression in Ukraine."

President Yanukovych has made some key statements about his commitment to protecting media freedoms and protecting reforms. As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made clear when she visited Kyiv last summer, the United States welcomes those commitments, but it's essential to translate them into action.

It is very important for Ukrainians to make progress in deepening the rule of law, in judicial reform, in fighting corruption, and in strengthening a free and independent press.

As Under Secretary Burns noted, "How can you fight corruption unless you have a media that's independent enough to hold people accountable and cast a spotlight on that kind of behavior?"

With regard to security and nonproliferation issues, Under Secretary Burns welcomed the decision taken by Ukraine to rid itself of its remaining stocks of highly-enriched uranium.

The United States is committed to working with Ukraine to modernize its civilian nuclear research facilities using low-enriched uranium, which is becoming the global standard.

"We see this as a win-win proposition," said Under Secretary Burns, "in the interests of both our countries and the wider interests of global nonproliferation."

Americans have stood by Ukraine and its people since independence, and we will continue to work to achieve the full benefits of strategic partnership and to support Ukrainians' goal of democracy, prosperity and fuller integration into Europe.