OSCE CALLS FOR GOVERNMENT-OPPOSITION TALKS IN BELARUS. The OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly on 10 July adopted a resolution urging Minsk to begin "real" talks with the opposition instead of continuing with the dialogue the regime has so far sponsored, Belapan reported on 11 July. The resolution said that opposition participation in upcoming elections is out of the question unless the government adopts election practices that conform with international norms. The resolution garnered support from virtually all participants in the Bucharest meeting: only the Russian delegation, several delegates from Uzbekistan and one from Ukraine voted against. PG

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT MEETS SCHROEDER IN LEIPZIG. President Leonid Kuchma flew to Leipzig on 11 July to meet with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder for discussions about postChornobyl power production in Ukraine and other bilateral issues, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Germany is playing a key role in an upcoming European Bank for Reconstruction and Development decision about a $1.5 billion loan to Kyiv to complete the construction of nuclear power stations at Rivne and Khmelnytskyy, ITAR-TASS reported. PG

RUSSIAN FIRM BUYS CONTROL OF UKRAINIAN REFINERY. TNK-Ukraina, a Russian firm based in Tyumen, has purchased 67.41 percent of the shares in LiNOS, a Ukrainian refinery, AP reported on 11 July. For more than a year, Kyiv had tried to sell the plant, which has been operating at a loss. As part of the deal, which will be signed on 13 July, the Russian firm assumes responsibility for LiNOS's debts. PG