Published in ForUm

Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko held a telephone conversation with Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, according to the government’s press-office.

The conversation concerned discussion of issues on regional security in the context of the military conflict in Southern Caucasia and Ukraine’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

The sides have expressed common support of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has backed up the Plan on regulating the conflict, approved by the European Union, in particular, due to proactive approach of France and Germany.

“Ukraine wants to be a constructive part of the EU’s efforts,” Yulia Tymoshenko noted in the course of conversation. According to her, today all extremely need appropriate reaction to new challenges”.

Angela Merkel, in her turn, emphasized the importance of avoiding escalation of tension and inadmissibility of steps which can result in unilateral unanticipated actions. “Under conditions of increasing threats for regional security, preserving political stability should be Ukraine’s priority. This is a precondition for further steps towards integration,” the Chancellor of Germany said.

Published in European Voice
By: Toby Vogel

Ukraine's democracy is not old. Just a few years ago, the country was run by Leonid Kuchma, a Soviet-style president, until he was ousted in the Orange Revolution of December 2004. But it is certainly vibrant.

The rivalry between the two orange leaders, Yulia Tymoshenko and Viktor Yushchenko, has gripped the country ever since they descended the stage in downtown Kiev from which they launched their challenge to Kuchma. Since they took up the reins of government in early 2005, with Yushchenko as president and Tymoshenko as on-and-off prime minister, they have been jockeying for supremacy. But neither a reform of the constitution nor two parliamentary elections have decisively empowered either of the two offices. Now the next presidential poll, due in January 2010, is already casting its spell and reinforcing the split between the erstwhile allies. The Russian invasion of Georgia has sharpened the divide, with the president’s associates accusing the prime minister of doing Russia’s bidding in Ukraine.

He knows what foreign investors want and he is quite explicit about what is needed in terms of economic reforms… He speaks the language that we want to hear.

So what is a soft-spoken former academic doing in this world? And what has prompted Hryhoriy Nemyria, a former think-tanker who is now described by many as the most powerful man in Ukraine’s government after the prime minister, to throw in his lot with Tymoshenko, by far the more colourful and controversial of Ukraine’s leaders? For one thing, Nemyria suggested on the BBC’s Hard Talk programme in February that Tymoshenko is “the most investigated politician in Ukraine” and no proof has ever been found that her considerable wealth was acquired by illegal means. Not only is she clean, in his view, but clean government is her top priority. (Ukraine ranked 118th out of 179 countries on Transparency International’s corruption perception index for 2007, squeezed between Mali and Mauritania.)

Nemyria, who is a deputy prime minister, runs Tymoshenko’s Europe policy out of a corner suite on an upper floor of the Council of Ministers’ imposing building in downtown Kiev. It overlooks the leafy area enclosing Dynamo Kiev’s home turf, with the mighty Dnieper flowing by just behind it. The Verkhovna Rada, the country’s parliament, is just round the corner. But the impressive location is incidental. Nemyria, though a first-rate diplomat and effective advocate for his boss, is not primarily about representation. He is all about getting things done – and the list is long.

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Published in Interfax

Georgia's territorial integrity must be preserved, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said.

"I, as prime minister, the Ukrainian government and the political force I head, support Georgia's integrity absolutely. All decisions being made contrary to this position will absolutely not be supported," Tymoshenko said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday.

"Georgia's integrity is a sacred issue for both Georgia and Ukraine. We think therefore that the peace policy must be shaped precisely in a way that will protect the territorial integrity of states from all illegal encroachments," she said.

"My position is that we must restore peace and tranquility, and not bring grist to the mill of confrontation. If we don't change the position on Crimea, if we don't harmonize relations with the Black Sea Fleet, we will be in for very serious problems," Tymoshenko said.

BYuT

Today Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko held a meeting with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband.

The Premier aired support for territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia as well as the suggested plan by the EU states of conflict settlement and stressed the need to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe within the region.

Yulia Tymoshenko has drawn attention to the necessity to strengthen the security dimension for Ukraine within the frames of a new agreement between Ukraine and the EU.

Prime Minister of Ukraine has also emphasized that the strategic course of our state for European and Euro-Atlantic integration is invariable.

Foreign Secretary of Britain David Miliband stressed that an essential condition for the successful European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine appears political stability, the key component of which is the unity of government and coalition.

The parties have also discussed issues of bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Great Britain.

Published in UNIAN

Migration Ministers from the 47 Council of Europe member states will meet on 4 and 5 September in Kyiv (Ukraine) to discuss current challenges and develop common responses to migration in Europe, according to a press release forwarded to UNIAN from Council of Europe Press Division.

Discussions will focus on the management of economic migration and its consequences on economic development and social cohesion, with a view to promoting co-operation between receiving and origin countries and sharing the benefits of migration more equitably between them. The conference aims to develop an integrated approach and help European countries respond to challenges in a coherent way.

The opening session will be addressed by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Interior Minister Yurii Lutsenko, Swedish Migration and Asylum Policy Minister Tobias Billström (Swedish Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe), Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President and Migration Committee Chairperson Corien Jonker, Council of Europe Congress President Yavuz Mildon and French Minister for Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Cooperative Development Brice Hortefeux.

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Published in Inform issue #82
See the full issue here.

Officials at the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT) dismissed as a “hysterical statement” the accusation that Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is guilty of “betraying” national interests because of her measured response on the Georgia-Russia conflict.

“The allegation does not warrant serious discussion,” said Hryhoriy Nemyria, Deputy Prime Minister responsible for European integration and official government envoy to Tbilisi. “The accusation says more about the Presidential Secretariat than it does any semblance of fact,” he added.

The accusation of treachery came from the Deputy Chief of Staff of Ukraine’s Presidential Secretariat, Andriy Kyslynsky, in the form of a statement on the Secretariat’s website. It alleges that the premier is in collusion with the Russian government for taking a measured position over the conflict with Georgia, in return for Russian funds to back her presidential campaign.

The statement claims "nearly one billion US dollars have been reserved for the project to support Yulia Tymoshenko," and that Viktor Medvedchuk will run
Ms Tymoshenko’s presidential election campaign. It contends that evidence supporting the allegations will be submitted to the authorities. But to-date no information has been made available for scrutiny.

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Published in zik

If presidential office officials have proof of Tymoshenko’s high treason and say they have handed it to the prosecutors (and this means that they have some documents) and prosecutors deny seeing any documents, then the question arises “Why does the incumbent keep a low profile and does not react to such tomfoolery?” Ukraine’s first President Leonid Kravchuk told ZIK Aug 21.

Kravchuk says recent statements by Yushchenko aides humiliate the country and its authorities. “It is abominable and indecent when officials accuse the premier of the gravest crime one can imagine for a politician, with the president keeping a tight lip, Kravchuk adds. He doesn’t believe the officials could make such statements without the incumbent knowledge. Kravchuk poses a question: who’s the boss in the presidential office if ordinary clerks dare to do whatever they want.

“I am not defending any one, I am for a law-abiding, tolerant and balanced relationships in the Ukrainian executive. I am opposed to ways when officials make irresponsible statements, and the incumbent doesn’t bring them to account,” Kravchuk stresses.

Tymoshenko, he goes on, has been accused of all crimes imaginable, and now the presidential team has accused her of the gravest crime, high treason. “They still have one more crime to pin on Tymoshenko. They can say that there hasn’t been Armageddon yet because Yulia Tymoshenko hasn’t engineered it. When they accuse her of not starting the Armageddon, I will say it out and loud they are nuts, and instead of being in politics they should be treated in a clinic,” the first president noted.

There shouldn’t be any dismissal of the cabinet as it is working effectively. It is stupid to sack the cabinet because the opposition wants this to happen. Kravchuk is convinced that even if the opposition manages to sack the cabinet, it won’t be able to create a coalition and appoint a new premier. Tymoshenko will only benefit in the end, same as she will from presidential office clumsy stunts, he says.

The failure of the European Union's eastern neighborhood policy, which is evident from the conflict in Georgia, opens up new opportunities for Ukraine's integration in the European Union, as this policy failed to meet its primary goal, i.e.

ensure security near the EU borders, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Hryhory Nemyrya said at a news briefing in Kyiv on Friday.

The recent events in Georgia should prompt the EU "to significantly modify" its eastern policy, Nemyrya said.

These changes could help Ukraine make "a significant integration step toward the EU," he said.

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Published in RFE/RL
By Maryana Drach

A Ukrainian government official has called on the European Union to help Kyiv avoid a "security vacuum" like the one that led to the current conflict between Russia and Georgia.

"For a very long time, it's been clear that there was a security vacuum in the South Caucasus," Deputy Prime Minister Hryhoriy Nemyria said in an interview with RFE/RL's Ukraine Service. "It's a lesson for Ukraine. Ukraine is the largest post-Soviet country after Russia, and one that shares a long border with the European Union. It can't be left in a similar vacuum."

Nemyria was speaking in Kyiv following three days in Tbilisi meeting with Georgian officials and coordinating humanitarian aid shipments to the country.

Ukraine, a recent ally of Georgia since both countries' "colored revolutions" brought pro-democratic leaders to office, has been staunch in its support of Tbilisi since the start of Georgia's armed conflict with Russia over the breakaway republic of South Ossetia.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko joined a delegation of five Eastern European leaders who traveled to the Georgia in a show of solidarity with Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili, and Ukraine has warned that Russia would face restrictions on if its Black Sea Fleet, which is based in the Ukrainian port city of Sevastopol, was used in any aggressive actions against Georgia.

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Press Release

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko responded again to the Georgian crisis on Wednesday, stating, "We stand in solidarity with the democratically-elected leadership of Georgia. Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected." Earlier on Tuesday, Tymoshenko sent Vice Prime Minister Hryhoriy Nemyria as a Special Envoy to Tbilisi. "Actions speak louder than words," said Nemyria from Tbilisi, "so it is important to be on the ground, lending our first-hand support to the government of Georgia. This crisis has clear implications for regional security, and of course, for Ukraine." Nemyria, responsible for European and International Integration, explained, "This crisis makes crystal clear that the security vacuums that have existed in the post-Soviet space remain dangerous. Because it is the largest country in the region after Russia, and because it shares such a long border with the European Union, Ukraine remains at risk in this type of vacuum." While in Georgia, Nemyria was scheduled to meet with Georgian officials, as well as other international envoys that had arrived in Tbilisi.

Published in UNIAN

The government will send Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Hryhoriy Nemyria as its special envoy to Georgia.

According to the government’s press-office, this decision was made at the extraordinary session of the Cabinet of Ministers on proposal of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

In line with the government’s decision, H.Nemyria will study the situation in Georgia and will take part in diplomatic and political measures.

Published in Inform issue #81
See the full issue here.

Ukraine has called for Russia to pull its troops out of Georgia and offered to join efforts to mediate as the conflict between Georgia and Russia escalated over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. With the Russian navy’s involvement, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said that it was reserving the right to bar Russian warships and vessels involved from returning to Ukrainian territory – in particular Sevastopol the port where Russia bases its Black Sea Fleet.

The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine released a statement saying: “Ukraine calls on the Russian Federation, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to pull out its troops from Georgia, to be reserved in its actions, and to exert the necessary influence upon the separatist regime of Tskhinvali in order to return to the bargaining table. A prerequisite of successful talks will be an immediate ceasefire, confirmation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia by the Russian side, devotion to principles of good neighbourhood, refusal of strong-arm tactics and the peaceful settlement of conflicts.”

The statement expressed Ukraine’s “deep concern” over the conflict and said that Ukraine is exploring ways to solve the situation working with the international community. Moreover, it stressed that Ukraine is ready to make a contribution to efforts to bring about a peaceful resolution.

The Russian Foreign Ministry made a surprise statement on its website saying: "The Ukrainian government, which has been enthusiastically arming Georgian troops from top to bottom, was in fact encouraging Georgia to attack and carry out ethnic cleansing in South Ossetia." It went onto say that the former-Soviet republic had "no moral right to teach others how to do things."

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First Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Turchynov said this in the course of a selector conference with heads of the accident-hit regions.

By the scale of the loss, the flood victims will be divided into three categories. The first category includes people whose housing was completely destroyed and who will get advance payments of UAH 50,000 from the national budget. The second includes people whose houses need capital repairs and who will thus receive UAH 20,000. And the third one includes people with partially destroyed housing, to whom UAH 5,000 will be paid.

The Government of Ukraine (GoU) continues to pursue an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Vanco International and its affiliates (the “Vanco Companies”), including Vanco Prykerchenska Ltd. The Vanco Companies present a complex network of offshore entities, the owners of which have yet to be fully disclosed. Through this investigation and possible related legal steps in Ukraine and abroad, the GoU is determined to ensure transparency and the observance of Ukrainian law, and to encourage and protect legitimate foreign and domestic investment. The following points should be clarified in relation to the current dispute with the Vanco Companies:

• The GoU welcomes foreign and domestic investment, and is committed to creating a stable environment for that investment. This requires transparency and respect for the rule of law. The GoU has been encouraged by all of its international partners to continue to press for reform in its commercial dealings. This applies equally to foreign and Ukrainian companies, and it applies when foreign and Ukrainian companies act in concert.

• Given that Vanco Energy Company, one of the original participants in the license tender for the exploration of the Prykerchenska block of the Black Sea continental shelf, is a U.S. corporation and subject to U.S. jurisdiction, the GoU has kept the U.S. government apprised of the situation as it has developed. The U.S. authorities are at the vanguard of the global fight against corruption, and the GoU will continue to work with all of its international partners to advance this investigation and pursue necessary legal steps as appropriate.

• Vanco Prykerchenska Ltd. is not a subsidiary of the U.S. company Vanco Energy. Vanco Energy is simply a minority shareholder in Vanco Prykerchenska Ltd., an offshore company dominated by Ukrainian interests and other offshore entities whose ultimate owners remain undisclosed. It is Vanco Prykerchenska, and not Vanco Energy or its subsidiary Vanco International, which recently initiated arbitration against the GoU in Stockholm pursuant to the Hydrocarbons Sharing Agreement for the Prykerchenska subsoil block of the Black Sea continental shelf (the HSA).

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