APW19980227.0494
NEWS STORY
02/27/1998 08:17:00
w2399 Cx1f wstm-
r i Cx13 Cx11 BC-Russia-Ukraine 1stLd-Writethru 02-27 0647
BC-Russia-Ukraine, 1st Ld-Writethru
Russia, Ukraine sign plan, Yeltsin claims progress in major
disputes QL
UR Eds: UPDATES throughout with joint statement of two presidents,
UPGRADES attribution, CORRECTS in graf 14 that An-70 is cargo
plane. QL
UR By ANNA DOLGOV QC
UR Associated Press Writer QC
MOSCOW (AP) _ Presidents Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine and Boris
Yeltsin of Russia signed an economic cooperation plan Friday, and
Yeltsin claimed they resolved even more nagging problems.
Russia and Ukraine share similar cultures and languages, and
Ukraine was ruled from Moscow for centuries. But while the two
Slavic neighbors see themselves as natural partners, their
relations since the breakup of the Soviet Union have been bedeviled
by a number of disputes _ Black Sea naval bases, border problems
and Ukraine's natural gas debts.
``We have covered the entire list of questions and discussed how
we will be tackling them,'' Yeltsin was quoted as saying by the
ITAR-Tass news agency. ``I must say there are no unsettled problems
any more. We have solved them all.''
But his sweeping statement contained no details, and gave no
indication of how the disputes could be resolved. Their solution
would require a compromise between the two nations' parliaments.
A major dispute concerns a broad political treaty calling for
border demarcation, which the two presidents signed last May.
In effect, the treaty amounts to Russian recognition of
Ukraine's sovereignty and borders, and the Ukrainian parliament has already ratified it. However, Russia has stalled ratification,
trying to tie it to an agreement that would permit the Russian navy
to use a naval base on Ukraine's Crimean peninsula for at least 20
more years.
In their joint statement issued after the talks, Yeltsin and
Kuchma called for the fastest possible ratification of the treaty,
saying it would create a ``strong legal foundation'' for bilateral
ties and help stability in Europe.
Kuchma assured Yeltsin that Ukraine would not join NATO,
Yeltsin's spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky said, according to the
Interfax news agency. The Russian leadership has staunchly opposed
the western alliance's expansion into Eastern Europe.
In their joint statement, released by the Kremlin, the two
leaders also pledged to consult each other regularly on their
approaches to relations with NATO and, in particular, their action
within the framework of NATO's Partnership for Peace program.
Last year, Russian officials assailed Ukraine for holding joint
naval exercises with NATO in the Black Sea _ an area Moscow
considers its own turf.
Kuchma has said repeatedly that Ukraine would remain neutral for
the foreseeable future.
Yeltsin and Kuchma also called for developing the stagnant
relations between the members of the Commonwealth of Independent
States, a loose coalition of former Soviet republics. In the past,
Russia has often claimed that Ukraine was undermining efforts at
closer cooperation within the CIS.
A major goal of Kuchma's four-day state visit was the signing of
a 10-year economic program aimed at doubling the two nations' trade
turnover, which fell to dlrs 14 billion last year, down dlrs 2.5
billion from 1996.
The two presidents on Friday signed the plan, which calls for
cooperation in the metallurgy, fuel, energy, aircraft building,
missile, space and chemical industries. A major project is joint
manufacturing of An-70 cargo planes, the Kremlin statement said.
The program also calls for coordination of economic reforms and
joint improvement of social programs in the two countries, where
many people have become impoverished during the chaotic post-Soviet
transition to capitalism.
Kuchma also planned to visit Russian gas giant Gazprom, most
likely to discuss Ukraine's dlrs 1.2 billion debt to the company.
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AP-NY-02-27-98 0817EST