NATO URGES MILITARY REFORM IN UKRAINE. NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson, who participated in the NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting in Kyiv on 1 March (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 March 2000), has called on Kyiv to speed up military reform. Robertson pledged that NATO is prepared to help Ukraine reform its defense sector and help retrain military personnel for reintegration into society. "You cannot avoid the pain in army reform," AP quoted him as saying. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk told journalists that NATO envoys at the meeting were critical of Ukraine's record on reforming the armed forces, but he added that the tone of the discussions was positive, according to Reuters. The two sides also discussed the use of the Yavoriv military range (Lviv Oblast) to train international peacekeeping forces. Robertson said Ukraine can expect payment for making Yavoriv available to NATO troops. JM

POLISH PRESIDENT SAYS RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA ARE BAD. Aleksander Kwasniewski on 1 March said Poland's relations with Russia are currently at a "very low level," Polish media reported. According to him, those ties were damaged by the recent expulsion of nine Russian diplomats over spying charges (see "RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report," 25 January 2000) and last week's attack on the Russian consulate in Poznan by pro-Chechen demonstrators (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 February 2000). Kwasniewski also criticized the current government for "not taking advantage of many opportunities" to boost relations with Russia. He expressed hope that ties with Moscow will improve after the 26 March "election fever" in Russia is over. JM