SOLANA SATISFIED WITH NATO-UKRAINE COOPERATION... NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana stressed during his 8-9 July visit to Ukraine that NATO cooperation with Ukraine is "fruitful" and has "good prospects," Ukrainian Television reported. Solana visited Kyiv to mark the first anniversary of the signing of the NATO-Ukraine special partnership charter. He said NATO wants to cooperate with Kyiv in peacekeeping operations as well as in the spheres of military command and communications. JM

...WHILE KUCHMA SAYS NATO HAS NO ALTERNATIVE IN EUROPE. After his meeting with Solana on 9 July, President Leonid Kuchma said NATO has no alternative in the creation of a security system in Europe. Kuchma added that Kyiv is "on the right path" by cooperating with NATO. Ukraine and NATO will cooperate "on a much broader scale" than simply in military issues or within the Partnership for Peace program framework, Ukrainian Television quoted him as saying. The Russian Foreign Ministry is lobbying for an increased role for the OSCE as the cornerstone of the European security system.JM

UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT ELECTS DEPUTY SPEAKERS. The Supreme Council on 9 July elected two deputy speakers proposed by newly elected speaker Oleksandr Tkachenko. The parliament voted by 270 to 23 to appoint Communist Adam Martenyuk as first deputy speaker and Social Democrat Viktor Medvedchuk as deputy speaker. According to Ukrainian Television, the Popular Rukh and the Popular Democratic Party strongly opposed both candidates. After holding 19 rounds of voting to elect its speaker, the Supreme Council broke another record on 9 July when 22 votes were needed in order to pass the motion to elect both deputy speakers in one ballot. JM