NO PROGRESS IN UKRAINIAN-ROMANIAN BORDER DISPUTE. Ukraine and Romania have failed to define their common border in talks held in Kyiv, AP reported on 15 June. "There is no concrete solution...The discussion at the Kyiv talks is proceeding in a tense manner," Ukraine's delegation head Yuriy Kostenko commented. Ukraine and Romania disagree on how to demarcate the Black Sea continental shelf near Zmiyinyy Island where oil and gas deposits are believed to be located. Both countries signed a political treaty in 1997 pledging to solve the border dispute within two years or appeal to an international court for arbitration. JM

UKRAINE TO SELL SHARES IN MAJOR OIL REFINERY TO RUSSIA. Russian Fuel and Energy Minister Viktor Kalyuzhnii said in Kyiv on 15 June that Ukraine will sell a controlling stake in the LiNOS plant, a major oil refinery in Lysychansk, eastern Ukraine, AP reported. The Ukrainian government currently owns 67.41 percent of the shares in LiNOS. Ukraine does not have enough money to keep the refinery afloat, while Russia's ownership is expected to guarantee a steady oil supply to LiNOS and to provide revenues for the Ukrainian budget. JM

UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT POSTPONES DEBATE ON CABINET OUSTER. The Supreme Council has put off its 16 June debate on the dismissal of Prime Minister Valeriy Pustovoytenko's cabinet until next week. The debate was proposed by the Supreme Council's communists who collected 153 signatures to initiate a vote of no confidence in the government. The postponement decision was taken owing to the need to look into several urgent economic bills and because Pustovoytenko is currently attending a CIS economic forum in St. Petersburg, AP reported on 15 June. JM

BALTIC SEA FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET IN LITHUANIA. Foreign ministers from the Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS) met in the Lithuanian resort town of Palanga on 14-15 June. Taking part in the two-day meeting were foreign ministers from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, deputy foreign ministers from Germany and Russia, as well as high-ranking officials from the European Commission and observer countries France, Great Britain, Ukraine, and the U.S. The agenda included a review of the CBSS's recent activities as well as discussions on EU integration and regional cooperation, which was reflected in the final communique. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Algirdas Saudargas noted that during the Lithuanian presidency of the CBSS, cooperation with the Russian exclave Kaliningrad increased, stating that the relationship "could serve as a model for the development of the EU-Russia relationship on the whole and ultimately open perspectives for a free trade agreement between the EU and Russia," according to Reuters. However, Estonian Foreign Minister Toomas Hendrik Ilves commented on the discord between the CBSS and the EU over policy and stated: "That is why I don't take this organization very seriously," dpa reported. MH

SCHUSTER SWORN IN AS SLOVAK PRESIDENT. Rudolf Schuster, Slovakia's first president elected by popular vote, was sworn in on 15 June at a ceremony attended by the presidents of neighboring Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Ukraine, an RFE/RL correspondent in Bratislava reported. Schuster called on the guests to help Slovakia in its efforts to be included in the "fast track" group of countries joining the EU, and said that in view of Bratislava's interest in joining both the EU and NATO, it would be "unrealistic" to expect Slovak neutrality. He vowed to be a president of "all Slovaks" regardless of political or ethnic affiliation and said he would listen to "comments" from the opposition if their goal was the "prosperity and well-being of Slovakia." Czech President Vaclav Havel met with Schuster briefly before the inauguration and accepted his invitation to pay an official visit to Bratislava, CTK reported. MS