BELARUSRecognition of Belarus as equal partner growing

04.11.2009 13:47

MINSK, 4 November (BelTA) – The European Union and other international institutions, as well as national governments of European countries started to realize the importance of treating Belarus as an equal partner, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said as he met with a delegation of German businessmen on 4 November.

“Although Belarus is not seeking the EU membership, it really demonstrates its interest in a closer engagement with the European Union,” the Belarusian head of state underlined.

The German delegation is led by Professor Dr. Klaus Mangold, Chairman of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations.

http://www.belta.by/en/main_news?id=443813

Representatives of ten Belarusian companies to visit Georgia

04.11.2009 14:03

MINSK, 4 November (BelTA) – Representatives of ten Belarusian companies are set to visit Georgia on 11-15 November, BelTA learnt from chief specialist for foreign economic links of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) Tatyana Dubova.

The delegation will include representatives of Minsk Electrotechnical Plant, the Pinsk artificial leather plant, Belshina, MAZ-Kupava and other enterprises. The delegation will be led by BCCI Chairman Vasily Romanov.

According to Tatyana Dubova, it is the first time the BCCI has arranged a visit of the Belarusian business circles to Georgia. In 2008 the BCCI and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Georgia signed a cooperation agreement after which Georgian businessmen to Minsk.

The Belarusian delegation is to visit two cities: Tbilisi and Poti. The businessmen of the two countries are set to hold talks. The Belarusian delegation has plans to visit some Georgian enterprises, the port of Poti and meet with Georgian officials.

The visit is aimed to step up trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and

Georgia, forge new partnerships, and establish various forms of mutually beneficial cooperation. The visit is arranged by the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Georgia.

http://www.belta.by/en/news/econom?id=443839

Belarus bans Russian pork imports over swine fever concerns

15:5804/11/2009

MINSK, November 4 (RIA Novosti) - Belarus has banned pork imports from Russia over the recent swine fever outbreak, a spokeswoman for the country's food and agriculture ministry told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.

"Due to a worsening African swine fever situation in Russia, temporary restrictions are imposed from November 4 on pork imports from Russia to Belarus," Darya Kozlovskaya said.

African swine fever, or Montgomery's disease, was first reported in Africa in 1903. Both domestic and wild animals can become infected when they come into contact with sick animals. The virus does not affect humans.

African swine fever hit Russia's southern Rostov Region in late September, and then spread to the neighboring Republic of Kalmykia. Besides the two regions the disease has been registered in five other regions in Russia's south, including North Ossetia, the republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia, and the Stavropol and Krasnodar territories.

In mid-October Ukraine tightened border controls with Russia in order to prevent the spreading of swine fever to its territory.

http://en.rian.ru/exsoviet/20091104/156709146.html

C. ASIA/CISArmenia’s representative in UN accused Azerbaijan of violating right of nations to self-determination

04.11.2009 12:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ UN Third Committee’s debates in the right of nations to self-determination turned out hot. Representatives of Russia, Georgia, India, Pakistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Syria had to take the chair several times each to answer numerous questions.

The Azeri delegation again made an attempt to represent the principle of territorial integrity

as prevailing over the other principles.

Armenia’s representative, for his part, dwelled on the right of nations to self-determination and Karabakh people’s choice, which is in line with international norms. He emphasized that the current situation in the South Caucasus is the result of ethnic cleansings and mass killings in Karabakh perpetrated by Azerbaijani authorities, RA MFA press office reported.

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=38845

Armenia is not going to give up Karabakh

By Messenger Staff

Wednesday, November 4

In an interview with Reuters Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian has stated that Armenia is not going to reconcile with Turkey at the expense of concessions concerning the Karabakh conflict. He said that negotiations are over and both sides are taking steps to ratify the protocols signed on October 10. If either side hinders this ratification it will be responsible for any negative outcomes of this, Nalbandian said.

The Foreign Minister stressed that normalising Turkish-Armenian relations and resolving the Karabakh conflict are two different issues. He said that this is not only Armenia’s position but that of the whole world. He thinks that there are certain positive moves being made in the direction of resolving the Karabakh conflict but it is doubtful that a serious breakthrough will take place in the near future.

http://www.messenger.com.ge/issues/1975_november_4_2009/1975_econ_three.html

Armenia nationalists may derail peace with Turkey

Published Date: November 04, 2009 By Matt Robinson and Margarita Antidze

The historic prospect of peace with longtime foe Turkey has roused angry opposition among powerful Armenian nationalists, which could yet undermine President Serzh Sarksyan and torpedo the whole process. Under accords signed last month, Christian Armenia and Muslim Turkey agreed to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their frontier, overcoming a century of hostility stemming from the World War One mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

Peace would bring big economic benefits to poor, landlocked Armenia, while Turkey would burnish its credentials as a potential EU entry state and a reliable energy transit country by solving a border dispute. Villagers in the border region, an unforgiving landscape of rock and

barren land, enthuse about new trade routes beyond the guard towers manned by soldiers of Armenian ally Russia.

Workers are preparing to lay new rail tracks. But the killings of last century - considered genocide by some European nations and Western historians though Turkey disputes this - remain a defining element of Armenian identity. The deal must be ratified by both parliaments, but is stirring resentment, particularly among diaspora Armenians, of which many are descendents of those who fled modern-day Turkey. The huge diaspora is the source of crucial donations and remittances for the country of 3.2 million people, whose already struggling economy is forecast to contract 15 percent in 2009.

Opponents say the accords undermine Armenia's pursuit for further 'genocide' recognition and effectively give up claims to parts of eastern Turkey as an Armenian homeland. "This is an act of complicity where the Armenian state and presidency is taking part in the burial of the Armenian question and in the ceding of rights to memory, to homeland and ultimately the right of return to the ancestral patrimony," said Raffi Hovannisian of the opposition Heritage Party.

US-born Hovannisian, grandson of four survivors of the killings, said: "This is one of those visceral, existential issues that go to the core of Armenian identity and rights." Armenia says 1.5 million Armenians died in systematic massacres aimed at the extermination of its people. Turkey says there was no such campaign, the death figure is far lower and that many Muslims also died in partisan fighting. Sarksyan was met by angry protests by Armenians in Europe, the Middle East and United States last month.He argues the accords renounce nothing and contain no preconditions.

Under the deal, a commission will investigate the killings. Hovannissian said it would discuss the issue "ad infinitum." Damaged by deadly violence that followed his election last year, analysts say Sarksyan wants a foreign policy victory. But Turkey, faced with a backlash from Muslim ally Azerbaijan, has now raised the stakes by saying it will only ratify the accords if Armenia gives ground in negotiations over the rebel province of Nagorno-Karabakh.

This has seriously complicated the peace process. Backed by Armenia, ethnic Armenians in the mountain region threw off Azeri rule in war that erupted with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Some 30,000 people died and Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan. Propped up by Yerevan, the region runs its own affairs.

Many ordinary Armenians say they are more concerned about the economic benefits of peace than old feuds with Turkey. "Our diaspora lives well," said a man who gave his name as Ovik in the border village of Getap. "They can go anywhere, to Turkey as tourists, while we can only look at Turkey from here." "Genocide is genocide, no one doubts that it was genocide or that it took place," he said. "But we should move forward.

At the Akhurian railway station on the border, workers are readying new tracks. Station

master Karine Petrosyan hopes to increase her 36,500 Dram ($95) monthly wage and see a return to the days when 50 people worked at the station, rather than five. The Armenian opposition appears too weak to derail the thaw with Turkey. But if Sarksyan is perceived to be involved in a trade-off over Nagorno-Karabakh, it would be political dynamite. Nagorno-Karabakh cost former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan his job in 1998when he was forced to resign over concessions he offered to Azerbaijan. A climbdown now from military victory, as part of a deal with Turkey, would likely spark public outrage.

Analysts say Turkey could drop the condition as it nears the 95th anniversary of the killings next April, when Armenians hope US President Barack Obama will keep a campaign promise to label them genocide in a traditional presidential statement. Or Ankara could hold out for Armenian concessions on Nagorno-Karabakh. Sarksyan looks unlikely to play along. "A success with Turkey is enough for both greater legitimacy and statesmanship, making Nagorno-Karabakh that much riskier politically," said Richard Giragosian, the American director of the Armenian Centre for National and International Studies. "I really think if he wants to be bold and go for the Nobel Prize and do something on (Nagorno) Karabakh, he's gone." - Reuters

http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=NDQ3MzAxNDYy

Russia sensing threat from Armenia-Turkey rapprochement

04.11.2009 17:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia-Turkey rapprochement protocols pose many threats to Armenia, specifically in NKR conflict settlement issue, Armenian Communist Party Leader Ruben Tovmasyan told a news conference in Yerevan. He expressed RA CP’s protest against Protocols’ signing and ratification. Nevertheless, Ruben Tovmasyan noted that documents will in all probability be ratified by Armenian and Turkish Parliaments. Protocols signing ceremony in Zurich suggested superpowers’ pressure on Armenia in the issue.

“Today, Turkey trying its best to force Moscow out of the region, so as to emerge as a regional leader. We must remember that Armenia-Turkey border is protected by Russian border guards, and Russia has made significant investments to improve its military base in Armenia,” Ruben Tovmasyan emphasized. He noted that Moscow feels the threat posed by Armenia-Turkey rapprochement, and Armenia must preserve the “sacred friendship with Russia”.

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=38859

Saakashvili Visits Qatar

Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 4 Nov.'09 / 16:13

President Saakashvili is paying an official visit to Qatar as part of the authorities’ attempts to attract investments, the Georgian officials said.

The delegation, which also includes economy, agriculture and energy ministers, is holding talks with the Qatar authorities on November 4.

The visit comes less than month after President Saakashvili traveled to Kuwait.

http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=21639

Volume of oil transportation through Atasu - Alashankou pipeline grown by 20 %

16:34 04.11.2009

Volume of transportation of oil through the pipeline Kazakhstan - China (Atasu - Alashankou) has been more than 6 million tons from the beginning of 2009, having increased by more than 20 % in comparison with the similar period of the last year. Urumchi customs of the Peoples Republic of China informed, Kazakhstan Today agency reports citing OilCapital.

"Annual growth of volume of oil transported through this pipeline is 20 %. Total amount of oil transportation has exceeded 18 million tons."

http://eng.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=139529

Leaders of Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus to sign Customs Union protocols

13:35 04.11.2009

The heads of Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus intend to sign on November, 27 the protocols regulating activity of the Customs Union states. Vice Minister of Industry and Commerce of Kazakhstan, Timur Zhaksylykov, informed in an interview to journalists, Kazakhstan Today agency reports.

He explained that these are 4 protocols: on uniform order, on application of tariff preferences, granting of tariff privileges, application of tariff quotas, and application in exceptional cases different from uniform custom duties rates."

"We have decided that we will join Customs Union simultaneously and each country separately," Vice Minister said.

http://eng.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=139520

Belgian Space Research Center interested in cooperation with Kazakhstan

11:56 04.11.2009

Belgian Space Research Center is interested in cooperation with Kazakhstan. The management of Belgian Space Research Center informed Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the Kingdom of Belgium, Erik Utembaev, during his trip to Liege Province, Kazakhstan Today agency reports citing the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan.

According to the press service, E. Utembayev also met the governor Michel Fore, Director for International Cooperation of Agency for Economic Development SPI + Boduen Bleron, the representative of Wallonia Export and Investment - Awex and the manager of Liege University Francois Ronday.

http://eng.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=139511

KazTransOil in January - October increased oil transportation by 7.5 %

10:52 04.11.2009

JSC Company KazTransOil in January - October, 2009 increased oil transportation by 7.5 %, Kazakhstan Today agency reports citing the company's press service.

"Volume of transportation of oil through JSC Company KazTransOil system for ten months of 2009 has been 42 million 57 thousand tons in comparison with the similar period of 2008 - 39 million 119 thousand tons."

http://eng.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=139502

Thermal Power Generation In Kazakhstan Is Forecast To Rise By 77% Between 2008 And 2018

Published on November 04, 2009

The forecasts that Kazakhstan will account for 3.63% of Central and Eastern European (CEE) regional power generation by 2013. CEE power generation in 2008 was 2,610 terawatt hours (TWh), representing an increase of 1.35% over the previous year. We are forecasting a rise in regional generation to 2,884TWh by 2013, representing an increase of 10.51%.

Thermal power generation in 2008 was around 1,342TWh, accounting for 51.42% of the total electricity supplied in the region. Our forecast for 2013 is 1,384TWh, implying 3.11% growth that reduces only slightly the market share of thermal generation to 47.99% – in spite of environmental concerns promoting renewables, hydro-electricity and nuclear generation. Kazakhstan’s thermal generation in 2008 was around 71.8TWh, or 5.35% of the regional total. By 2013, the country is expected to account for 6.57% of thermal generation.

Coal is the dominant fuel source in Kazakhstan, accounting for 51.9% of primary energy demand (PED).

Coal is followed by gas at 28.6%, oil at 16.8% and hydro with a 2.7% share of PED. Regional energy demand is forecast to reach 1,518mn tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) by 2013, representing 11.84% growth over the period. Kazakhstan’s 2008 market share of 4.77% of regional demand is set to rise to 5.56% by 2013. Kazakhstan has longer-term plans for nuclear power generation, but will not contribute to nuclear consumption during the forecast period.

Kazakhstan is just below Poland and Turkey in the updated Power Business Environment ratings.

There is a powerful combination of unrivalled power consumption growth outlook, region-topping energy demand growth, steady privatisation progress, and relatively low level of energy import dependence.

Country risk factors offset some of the industry strengths, but the country has the longer-term potential to challenge Poland and Turkey for the top rung of the regional ladder.

The report is now forecasting Kazakh real GDP growth to average 3.72% per annum between 2009 and 2013, although we anticipate a decline of 1.90% in 2009. The population is expected to expand from 15.4mn to 15.9mn over the period, and GDP per capita and electricity consumption per capita are forecast to increase 8.4% and 8.7%, respectively. The country’s power consumption is expected to increase from an estimated 66.2TWh in 2008 to 74.3TWh by the end of the forecast period, while surplus generation is expected to rise from an estimated 13.8TWh in 2008 to 30.5TWh in 2013, assuming 5.4% annual growth in power generation. In fact, system wastage and transmission weaknesses mean that Kazakhstan has to import some power, as well as export electricity to Russia.

Between 2008 and 2018, we are forecasting an increase in Kazakh electricity generation of 83.78%, which is the second highest projected growth rate for the CEE region. This equates to 40.26% over the 2013-2018 period, up from 31.03% between 2008 and 2013. PED growth is set to increase from 30.55% between 2008 and 2013 to 35.72%, representing 77.18% for the entire forecast period. An increase of 144% in hydro-power use during the period 2008-2018 is a key element of generation growth. Thermal power generation is forecast to rise by 77% between 2008 and 2018. More detailed long-term forecasts can be found later in this report.

http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=36698&catid=327

World Bank approves loans for Kyrgyzstan

04.11.2009, 07.55

WASHINGTON, November 4 (Itar-Tass) - The World Bank on Tuesday approved a number of loans for Kyrgyzstan, its press service reported in Washington.

According to the release, World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on November 3 approved the following project: ‘Kyrgyz Republic: National Road Rehabilitation Project. It says it approved the Osh-Batken-Isfana automobile road modernisation project. For these purposes the WB provides as a loan and grand a total of 25 million US dollars. Besides, 8 million US dollars are given as additional financing of various investment projects for the development of the republic’s rural areas. It assigns 1 million US dollars to Bishkek as a grant of the Global Ecological Fund for support of natural reserve zones in the Tyan-Shan mountain system area. Within the same project the WB provides a 25-million dollar grant to Kazakhstan.

According to the WB release, it provided to Kyrgyzstan an IDA Credit: US$13.75 million equivalent on the following terms - maturity = 40 years; Grace Period = 10 years. IDA Grant: US$11.25 million equivalent.

Project Description: The National Road Rehabilitation (Osh-Isfana) Project for the Kyrgyz Republic aims to contribute to the reduction of transport costs and travel time along the Osh-Batken-Isfana road corridor; and to improve road safety planning. There are three components to the project: 1) rehabilitation of a section of the Osh-Batken-Isfana road corridor; 2) road safety planning improvement; and 3) project management and implementation, the WB release says.

It says that the objectives of the National Road Rehabilitation (Osh-Isfana) Project for the Kyrgyz Republic are: to contribute to the reduction of transport costs and travel time along the Osh-Batken-Isfana road corridor; and to improve road safety planning. There are three components to the project. The first component of the project is rehabilitation of a section of the Osh-Batken-Isfana road corridor. This component will finance the provision of works and consultants' services for the rehabilitation of about 30 kilometres of the Osh-Batken-Isfana road corridor. This includes consultancy services for construction supervision and physical and price contingencies. The second component of the project is road safety planning improvement. This component will finance the provision of goods, and consultants' services for: the development and launch of a national road safety program; preparation of demonstration projects for road safety; and improvement of road safety planning. The third component of the project is project management and implementation. This component will finance the provision of goods, consultants' services, training, and operating costs, including an audit, to support project coordination, implementation and management. Consulting services will be used to assist the Project Implementing Unit (PIU) with the preparation,

management and implementation of all activities associated with the project, including the update of the feasibility study and technical designs, and the supervision of all safeguards and fiduciary aspects of the project.

Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a country in Central Asia. Landlocked and mountainous, it is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east.

The early 1990s brought considerable change to Kyrgyzstan. By then, the Kyrgyzstan Democratic Movement (KDM) had developed into a significant political force with support in Parliament. In an upset victory, Askar Akayev, the liberal President of the Kyrgyz Academy of Sciences, was elected to the Presidency in October 1990. The following January, Akayev introduced new government structures and appointed a new government composed mainly of younger, reform-oriented politicians.

On August 19, 1991, when the State Emergency Committee assumed power in Moscow, there was an attempt to depose Akayev in Kyrgyzstan. After the coup collapsed the following week, Akayev and Vice President German Kuznetsov announced their resignations from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), and the entire bureau and secretariat resigned. This was followed by the Supreme Soviet vote declaring independence from the Soviet Union on August 31, 1991.

In October 1991, Akayev ran unopposed and was elected president of the new independent Republic by direct ballot, receiving 95% of the votes cast. Together with the representatives of seven other Republics that same month, he signed the Treaty of the New Economic Community. Finally, on December 21, 1991, Kyrgyzstan joined with the other four Central Asian Republics to formally enter the new Commonwealth of Independent States. In 1992, Kyrgyzstan joined the UN and the OSCE.

The “Tulip Revolution,” after the parliamentary elections in March 2005, forced President Akayev’s resignation on April 4, 2005. Opposition leaders formed a coalition, and a new government was formed under President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and Prime Minister Feliks Kulov. The nation's capital was also looted during the protests.

Current concerns in Kyrgyzstan include privatisation of state-owned enterprises, expansion of Western influence, inter-ethnic relations and terrorism.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/prnt.html?NewsID=14497182

Kyrgyzstan ranks among top five in CIS on industrial decline

04/11-2009 08:47, Bishkek – News Agency “24.kg”, By Daniyar KARIMOV

Kyrgyzstan ranks among five Commonwealth of Independent States’ (CIS) states with highest industrial decline rates, the CIS interstate statistic committee reported.

All former Soviet states have suffered recession in January-September 2009, which triggered a major industrial decline reaching 14 percent in some areas.

The worst situation is traced in Ukraine and Moldova with 28.4 and 24.3 percent respectively. Russia registered a 13.5 percent decline. It is followed by Kyrgyzstan – 11.5 percent, Armenia – 11.4, Tajikistan – 10 percent, Belarus – 4.5 percent and Kazakhstan – 1 percent.

On the contrary, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan demonstrated significant growth of production with 9.1 and 5 percent respectively.

http://eng.24.kg/business/2009/11/04/9549.html

UKRAINE'Ukraine will pay Russian gas bill on time'

Wednesday, 04 November, 2009, 09:37 GMT  | last updated: Wednesday, 04 November, 2009, 09:37 GMT

Ukrainian state energy comapny Naftogaz will pay its Russian gas bills on time, Energy Minister Yuri Prodan said today.

"Of course we will be paying on time. At the moment Naftogaz is putting together the resources to pay up for gas by the deadlines foreseen in the contract," Reuters quoted Prodan as telling reporters.

http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article197725.ece?WT.mc_id=rechargenews_rss

Ukraine in TOP 5 of countries which suffered from crisis most of all

// 04.11.2009 // 10:43 //

Ukraine suffered from the global financial crisis most of all among the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This is the data of the annual report of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on the state of the economies of its activities - post-communist states of Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia, reports Ukrainskaya pravda with reference to Deutsche Welle.

Out of 29 countries of EBRD Ukrainehas been included into TOP-5 , where the decline in gross domestic product per year will be double-digit – 14 percents. However, entry of Ukraine into WTO helped temper protectionist pressures of Ukrainian government during the crisis.

According to EBRD, the depth of the crisis in Ukraine is caused by several factors. In addition to the global financial crisis, it is the decline in demand for its products abroad,

falling of international prices for steel and chemical fertilizers - the main articles of Ukrainian export, as well as rising prices for imported gas. Direct investments in the Ukrainian economy have declined for the first time in 10 years.

It is possible to achieve stable growth of the Ukrainian economy only through deep structural and institutional reforms, probably, in the context of further rapprochement with the European Union, is reported by EBRD. The Bank believes that one of the main tasks of Kyiv is the stabilization of the financial sector to allow banks recovering loans in the real estate sector. Authorities must also avoid transference of public debt into the real money and return deficit back to stable position. But the prospects of recovery the nearest time are being complicated by a low demand both in Ukraine and abroad, EBRD reports.

http://mignews.com.ua/en/articles/377276.html

Experts Downplay Fears Over Ukraine-Russia Gas Crisis

November 04, 2009

By Gregory Feifer

It's becoming an annual rite: with winter fast approaching, Russia is threatening to cut off natural-gas supplies to Ukraine if Kyiv doesn’t pay the fees it's demanding.

The barbs are raising worries over a possible gas new gas crisis this winter. Moscow's shutoff last winter left millions of Europeans without heat in the bitter cold, but observers say they doubt there will be a repeat this year.

This time, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is directing some of his legendary ire at the European Union. On November 2, he said the EU should come up with at least $1 billion to help Ukraine pay for Russian gas this year.

"Why are they being so stingy?" he said. "They have money, too. Let them open their wallets."

Europe depends on Russia for a quarter of its gas, most of which crosses Ukraine. When Moscow cut off supplies to Kyiv during a price dispute last winter, deliveries to other countries were disrupted.

Russia now says Ukraine must cough up between $400 million and $500 million for last month's gas bill by November 7.

Political Rivalry

In previous months, Ukraine's Naftogaz energy company relied on central bank credits to

finance its payments to Moscow. Critics say the bank's practice of printing money to come up with the cash risked inflation. But when President Viktor Yushchenko, who controls the National Bank of Ukraine, put a stop to the scheme this month, Putin lashed out.

"Yushchenko is obstructing the normal cooperation," Putin said, "between [Ukraine's] central bank, which has control over gold and currency reserves, and the Ukrainian government, and is blocking the transfer of funds."

The government, and Naftogaz, are overseen by Yushchenko's bitter rival, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Putin said it was she who warned him of Yushchenko's "obstruction" in a telephone call.

Putin's criticism prompted accusations in Kyiv that Moscow was meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs. Yushchenko's first deputy administration chief, Oleksandr Shlapak, hit back on October 30, saying Yushchenko had proposed only to come up with a better way to pay for Ukraine's gas.

"The president was criticized because he refused to print more money," Shlapak said. "[The government] prints money to pay for gas, and won't give it up."

Most analysts say Kyiv will probably avert a standoff with Moscow this month by coming up with a way to pay its gas bill.

But there's another potential problem. Yushchenko wants to revisit Kyiv's gas contract with Russia, arguing the global financial crisis has caused Ukraine's gas demand to fall more than Kyiv is obliged to buy next year.

Tymoshenko on November 3 said both sides had worked out a preliminary new contract. But if a final deal isn't reached by the end of the year, another crisis would coincide with next year's presidential election.

Volodymyr Fesenko of Kyiv's Penta center for political studies says he's optimistic that won't happen. "I believe the majority of politicians in Ukraine and Russia aren't interested in another such crisis," he says.

'Enemy Of My Enemy'

The latest wrangling comes ahead of the country's presidential election in January. Tymoshenko is running against Yushchenko, her former Orange Revolution ally.

Once the subject of an arrest warrant in Russia, Tymoshenko has been forging closer ties with Moscow as her relationship with Yushchenko has deteriorated. Some believe Putin supports her candidacy against his bitter foe Yushchenko.

But Fesenko says Putin's criticism of Yushchenko probably isn't meant to influence the election. He says Russia's hard-line prime minister is interested chiefly in ensuring Kyiv comes up with the money to pay Moscow -- and in blackening Ukraine's image in the West.

"If Ukraine is seen as a weak link in the supply of gas," he says, "Putin may be hinting that Europe should back [projects to develop] alternative routes."

Vladimir Pribylovsky of Moscow's Panorama political research group agrees. He says while Putin has trouble containing his intense dislike for Yushchenko, targeting him now makes little sense because Yushchenko already has "no chance" of winning January's election.

"Of course the Kremlin would like to influence the situation in Ukraine," he says, "but it hasn't yet figured out what it actually wants from Kyiv."

Pribylovsky says the Kremlin hasn't decided whether to back Tymoshenko or Russia's traditional ally, Victor Yanukovych, leader of the pro-Moscow opposition Party of Regions.

The Kremlin poured millions into Yanukovych's presidential campaign in 2004, when accusations of vote rigging following his initial victory sparked the Orange Revolution that brought Yushchenko to power

http://www.rferl.org/content/Experts_Downplay_Fears_Over_UkraineRussia_Gas_Crisis_/1869197.html

Ukraine flu outbreak widens, government announces control measures

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:28:17 GMT

Kiev - Ukraine's deadly flu outbreak widened on Wednesday, as government officials announced new emergency measures in an attempt to control the spread of the illness. More than 450,000 people were registered with national health authorities as suffering from the flu, of whom 11 had confirmed cases of swine flu, according to Helath Ministry spokesman Oleksander Velovol said.

The nationwide death count from flu-related illnesses since late October stood at 81, Velovol said at a meeting with senior provincial officials aired on Channel 5 television.

On Thursday, three confirmed deaths from the virulent swine flu strain were reported.

Doctors in the central Kiev province were on Wednesday monitoring two possible swine flu cases, said Viktor Vakarash, chairman of the Kiev regional government, according to an Interfax news agency report.

If confirmed, the two cases would mark the first jump of swine flu from Ukraine's western provinces, where the flu outbreak has been concentrated so far, to Ukraine's capital and largest metropolitan area.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said at a meeting that her government would enact more emergency measures to control the disease's spread and to combat retail shortages of anti-flu drugs, and protective anti-infection masks.

Tymoshenko said the government would prepare a plan "within a week" to establish a nationwide chain of state-run drug sales centres to combat what she called hoarding and price-gouging by the private health industry, according to a report by the Korrespondent website.

The centres, each offering a limited assortment of some 100 basic anti-cold and flu drugs, would operate in government-run hospitals and clinics, and sell medical supplies at a marginal price mark-up, Tymoshenko said.

Tymoshenko also instructed Foreign Minister Petro Poroshenko to obtain a "special pandemic price" in negotiations with international drug companies for emergency deliveries of anti-flu drugs to Ukraine, according to an Interfax news agency report.

Government textile and clothes factories have received 1 million metres of gauze and cheesecloth from state reserves, Tymoshenko said,and emergency production of surgical masks was beginning, according to a TSN television news report.

Initial deliveries of cloth masks would reach the general public in seven days "sufficient to provide every Ukrainian citizen two masks," she said.

Factories in Kharkiv and the hard-hit Lviv region would produce the masks, according to Ukrainian media reports. Tymoshenko on Monday said that if necessary, her government would commit 6 million metres of gauze and cheesecloth to the emergency mask production programme.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/293195,ukraine-flu-outbreak-widens-government-announces-control-measures.html