[Ohio UZO News] Ukraine: WSJ; FT (2); Jamestown; OSCE

[Deychak, Orest]

The Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125244740974493607.html

World News: Political Rivalries Put Ukraine's Economy at Risk 

By James Marson 

9 September 2009

A17

KIEV, Ukraine -- A $10.6 billion bailout from the International Monetary
Fund has pulled Ukraine back from what many feared was near-default this
spring. But with fiercely contested presidential elections set for
January, the next big economic risk looks to be political as potential
candidates fight over economic policy.

Parliament is paralyzed as the opposition heaps political pressure on
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko by blocking the chamber's work and
demanding a rise in social spending. The national currency, the hryvnia,
has slid almost 15% in the past two months, with the president and prime
minister at loggerheads over key policies.

"Everyone is saying something different -- the government, the president
and the opposition. When there's no consensus on the policies that will
pull the country out of the crisis, there is limited confidence in the
currency," said Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, the IMF's mission chief to Ukraine,
in an interview Monday.

January's vote will pitch Ms. Tymoshenko against bitter rival sitting
President Viktor Yushchenko, her former ally during Ukraine's
pro-Western Orange Revolution in 2004. Also on the ballot is Viktor
Yanukovych, leader of the opposition, the largest party in parliament,
and the defeated candidate from 2004.

The economy of Ukraine -- a France-size country to Russia's southwest --
was hit hard last year. After demand for major steel and chemicals
exports dried up, output contracted 20% in the first three months of
2009, among the harshest European contractions of the global crisis.

With government finances stretched to breaking point, banks wobbling and
the hryvnia plunging, Ms. Tymoshenko managed to push through policies
required by the IMF despite chronic political infighting. The funds
helped stabilize the economy, and Ms. Tymoshenko says improved
industrial production figures in July show recovery is under way.

The crisis has eroded Ms. Tymoshenko's popularity, with Mr. Yanukovych,
her main rival for the presidency, now leading the way with 26%,
compared with Ms. Tymoshenko's 17%, according to an August poll by
Research & Branding Group. Mr. Yushchenko trails with only 2%, behind
up-and-coming former parliamentary speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk with 13%.
Surveys show that the economy will be the key battleground in the
election.

The budget is already under severe strain as revenues have dropped. But
after a bill proposed by Mr. Yanukovych's party to raise pensions and
the minimum wage was voted down last week, the party's lawmakers
physically blocked the podium in parliament, effectively shutting it
down. The blockage has continued since then, and parliament's speaker
has threatened to withhold their salaries in order to get the chamber
working.

Increasing social spending has been a major vote-winner in the past but
would break the budget and fuel inflation, given the country's
precarious finances. Hryhoriy Nemyria, Ukraine's deputy prime minister,
vowed to hold the tough fiscal line.

Concern that politicians can't overcome their rivalries is already
weighing on the currency. The hryvnia is approaching this year's low at
almost nine hryvnias to the dollar, after what the Ministry of Finance
called "panic and speculation" coincided with a high burden of
foreign-debt repayments for companies in August.

---

Financial Times

www.ft.com

Kiev fears missing IMF targets

By Roman Olearchyk 

Published: September 9 2009 

Ukraine is unlikely to receive an additional tranche of funding from the
International Monetary Fund this autumn, a senior official said, in
comments that painted a grim picture in coming months for a nation
struggling to pull out of a deep recession amid political deadlock.

"I think the IMF will not give us any more [until the end of the year],"
said Oleksandr Shlapak, deputy head of Victor Yushchenko's presidential
administration. "We are not fulfilling our obligations - practically
none of them."

Mr Shlapak pointed to shortcomings in the government of Yulia
Tymoshenko, prime minister and a bitter presidential opponent.

The IMF pledged to support Kiev but urges political consensus and
unpopular reforms.

Roman Olearchyk, Kiev Full story, www.ft.com/europe

Financial Times

Do not forget the contribution of other Soviet states

Published: September 8 2009 

>From Mr Andri Veselovsky.

Sir, Many reports have appeared in the media, including the FT, over the
past few days about the second world war and its meaning for the world
we all live in. The losses and trauma European and other nations endured
and suffered have been made abundantly clear. These accounts have helped
to recall clearly this tragic phase of the not too distant past.

However, we and others have noticed an unbalanced emphasis in the
reporting of wartime events as they relate to certain nations at the
expense of others. Of course, some nations were at the centre of the
conflict, suffering untold losses compared with others. But in the end
it was their joint will and sacrifice that helped to turn the fortunes
of war and to bring peace across the European continent and worldwide.
It is unjust to only pay tribute to some of the states involved. It is
well known that the Soviet Union made colossal efforts in the cause of
victory. It is not just Russia, within the Soviet communist regime, and
the deeds of its patriots that are worthy of recall. In proportion to
its population, Belarus lost the most lives. Ukrainian losses totalled
almost 10m.

It is understandable why there is so much attention paid to the Russian
people and Russia's contribution to victory. But the Russian
federation's present stance is open to question since it seeks to avoid
liability for the pre-war co-operation of Soviet rulers with the Nazis.
Should this attitude be an excuse for not mentioning others, whose lives
were sacrificed to achieve a great victory?

Andri Veselovsky,
Head of the Mission of Ukraine to the European Union

Jamestown Foundation Blog 


Tuesday, September 8, 2009 


The Putin-Medvedev Brawl over Gazprom: Will Europe Suffer?
<http://jamestownfoundation.blogspot.com/2009/09/putin-medvedev-brawl-ov
er-gazprom-will.html> 


Roman Kupchinsky


link: www.jamestown.org/blog


 


OSCE Press Releases on Ukraine (2)


http://www.osce.org/ukraine/


1.       OSCE Project Co-ordinator holds seminar for judiciary on
handling administrative disputes


2.       OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine supports economic
empowerment of Ukrainian orphans


 


 


 

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