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FORMER UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER ACCUSES PRESIDENT OF STALLING IN ORANGE COALITION TALKS. Yuliya Tymoshenko accused President Viktor Yushchenko of wasting time in forming a parliamentary coalition joining forces from the 2004 Orange Revolution, Reuters reported on April 6. The Our Ukraine People's Union (NSNU), the leading party in the Yushchenko-backed Our Ukraine election bloc, drafted a protocol of intentions proposing to form a "coalition of democratic forces" and presented it to the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc and the Socialist Party on April 5 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 6, 2006). The document calls for the coalition to work to implement Yushchenko's presidential program. Tymoshenko, however, is seeking a memorandum giving the prime minister's job to the coalition party with the most seats -- hers. "Signing yet another document -- this is simply absurd," Tymoshenko said at a news conference. "This document is just stalling. We will take no notice of such documents and will wait for Our Ukraine to put its signature to a memorandum." BW

UKRAINE BANS RUSSIAN LIVESTOCK. Ukraine's Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Baranivsky said on April 6 that Kyiv will impose a ban on livestock products from Russia, Interfax and RBC reported the same day. Citing the poor quality of Russian livestock products, Baranivsky said the ban will go into effect "within a few days" and that "all documents have already been drawn up," Interfax reported. He added that Ukraine will lift a ban that has been in place on livestock products from Poland, Belarus, and Moldova, RBC reported. On January 18, Russia banned Ukrainian meat and dairy products, saying they were of poor quality and endangered consumers' health. Six dairies were later permitted to sell their products on the Russian market following audits from Moscow officials. BW

MOLDOVAN, GEORGIAN PRESIDENTS DISCUSS WINE BAN, TRANSDNIESTER. Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin spoke by telephone with his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili on April 6 to discuss joint measures to resume wine imports to Russia, Interfax reported the same day. Russia announced a ban on Moldovan and Georgian wines on March 27, citing safety considerations (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 28, 2006). "The presidents discussed the current situation and coordinated measures to settle the situation," the Moldovan president's press service told Interfax. The two also discussed issues of "Moldovan and Georgian territorial integrity" and Saakashvili expressed his support for new customs regulations on the Transdniester portion of the Moldovan-Ukrainian border aimed at curbing smuggling (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 6, 7, and 8, 2006). Voronin also accepted Saakashvili's invitation for an official visit to Georgia, the Moldovan press service said. BW