With the kind permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, InfoUkes Inc. has been given rights to electronically re-print these articles on our web site. Visit the RFE/RL Ukrainian Service page for more information. Also visit the RFE/RL home page for news stories on other Eastern European and FSU countries.
Return to Main RFE News Page
InfoUkes Home Page
...AS PRESIDENT CANCELS PARTICIPATION IN CIS SUMMIT. Visiting the southern city of Djalalabad on 22 January, President Akaev announced that in light of preparations for the referendum he will not attend the CIS summit to be held in Kyiv on 28-29 January, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. LF
UKRAINE, NATO PUBLISH ACTION PLAN... The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and NATO on 22 January published on their official websites the text of the Ukraine-NATO Action Plan adopted by the NATO-Ukraine Commission at the NATO summit in Prague in November (see http://www.nato.int/docu/basictxt/b021122a.htm), Ukrainian media reported. "The purpose of the Action Plan is to identify clearly Ukraine's strategic objectives and priorities in pursuit of its aspirations towards full integration into Euro-Atlantic security structures, and to provide a strategic framework for existing and future NATO-Ukraine cooperation under the Charter," the text says, adding that the plan will be reviewed periodically. The plan lays out jointly agreed principles and objectives in five sections: Political and Economic Issues; Security, Defense and Military Issues; Information Protection and Security; Legal Issues; Mechanisms of Implementation. JM
...AMID UKRAINE'S DWINDLING FAITH IN NATO. Meanwhile, a December poll released on 22 January by the Social Monitoring Center and the Ukrainian Social Studies Institute found that Ukrainian trust in NATO has fallen considerably over the last six months. In December, 44 percent of respondents said they do not trust NATO; 28 percent claimed they believe NATO is trustworthy; and the remainder were unable or unwilling to answer. A similar poll conducted in June showed some 39 percent of the population trusting NATO, with 34 percent harboring doubts and the remainder unable or unwilling to answer. JM
UKRAINE SEES FIRST SANCTIONS OVER MONEY LAUNDERING. The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) has confirmed that the United States and Canada introduced sanctions against Ukraine because of the country's flawed legislation to fight money laundering, ITAR-TASS reported on 22 January, quoting FATF spokeswoman Helen Fischer. FATF in December recommended that its 29 member states scrutinize financial transactions before any business is done with Ukrainian companies or individuals, regularly report on transactions with Ukrainian businesses and bankers, and follow stringent procedures in opening foreign branches of Ukrainian banks. "We should look for the solution of this situation together to find the way to cancel the FATF recommendations in February," Interfax quoted Ukrainian Minister Anatoliy Zlenko as saying on 22 January. JM