RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 46, 00-03-06

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From: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 4, No. 46, 6 March 2000

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT MAJORITY ISSUES ULTIMATUM TO PRESIDENT...

[02] ...WHILE ONE OF PROPOSED VICTIMS REJECTS THAT DEMAND

[03] ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY INSTITUTE RENAMED AFTER SLAIN

[04] TALKS ON TRANS-CASPIAN GAS PIPELINE CONTINUE IN BAKU...

[05] ...AS AZERBAIJAN SEEKS ALTERNATIVE EXPORT POSSIBILITIES

[06] ESTONIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS AZERBAIJAN

[07] RUSSIA DEMANDS CLOSURE OF CHECHEN REPRESENTATION IN

[08] ...PROTESTS GERMAN DIPLOMATS' FILMING OF RUSSIAN BASE

[09] POLL INDICATES LOW LEVEL OF TRUST IN GEORGIAN POLITICIANS

[10] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION DISCUSSES LEGAL ACTION AGAINST STATE

[11] ...AS KYRGYZ OPPOSITION LEADER EXCLUDED FROM RUNOFF POLL

[12] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL

[13] TAJIK, KAZAKH PRESIDENTS CONCERNED ABOUT AFGHAN ESCLATION

[14] TURKMEN PRESIDENT OUTLINES CLEMENCY PROPOSAL FOR DISMISSED

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[15] NATO FORCES ARREST BOSNIAN SERB ACCUSED OF WAR CRIMES

[16] BOSNIAN SERB GOVERNMENT MEMBERS EXPELLED FROM PARTY

[17] CROATIAN OFFICIALS CRITICIZE BLASKIC JAIL SENTENCE...

[18] ...WHILE U.S. APPROVES

[19] CALM REPORTED IN MITROVICA AFTER ETHNIC ALBANIANS RETURN

[20] SUSPECTED MURDERER OF RUSSIAN KFOR SOLDIER ESCAPES DETENTION

[21] THOUSANDS MARK ANNIVERSARY OF SLAIN UCK COMMANDER

[22] FIGHTING BETWEEN ETHNIC ALBANIANS AND SERBS OUTSIDE OF

[23] SERB OPPOSITION AGREES ON ANTI-MILOSEVIC PROGRAM

[24] BELGRADE READY TO RESUME RELATIONS WITH BOSNIA--

[25] SERBIAN POLICE TIGHTEN BLOCKAGE AGAINST MONTENEGRO

[26] CHIRAC PRAISES MACEDONIA

[27] ROMANIAN COALITION RIFT DEEPENS...

[28] ...AS LIBERAL LEADER ACCUSED OF BACKING BABIUC

[29] OSCE MISSION ENDS VISIT TO MOLDOVA

[30] BALKAN FOREIGN MINISTERS CALL FOR 'SAFER KOSOVA'

[31] BULGARIAN QUEEN MOTHER BURIED IN ITALY

[C] END NOTE

[32] BALTICS PREPARE FOR EU MEMBERSHIP

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT MAJORITY ISSUES ULTIMATUM TO PRESIDENT...

Minister Aram Sargsian, the Miasnutiun parliament bloc

demanded that President Robert Kocharian fire his chief of

staff, Serzh Sarkisian, and Armenian National Television

Director Tigran Naghdalian, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported.

The statement accused the two men, who are among Kocharian's

closest political allies, of misrepresenting and obstructing

the ongoing investigation into the "attempted coup d'etat,"

by which it meant the 27 October parliament shootings. On 2

March, lawyers for presidential aide Aleksan Harutiunian and

Naghdalian's deputy, Harutiun Harutiunian, both of whom are

charged with complicity in the shootings, had criticized the

conduct of the investigation (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 March

2000). The statement calls on the president to "create normal

conditions" for the activities of the state body responsible

for conducting that investigation. Sargsian, whose brother

and predecessor as premier, Vazgen, died in the attack, said

that both he and the family of a second victim, parliamentary

speaker Karen Demirchian, have absolute trust in the

investigators. LF

[02] ...WHILE ONE OF PROPOSED VICTIMS REJECTS THAT DEMAND

will not resign, saying that the demand that he be fired

constitutes a threat to freedom of speech in Armenia. He said

it is "absurd" to victimize him for National Television's

coverage of the two lawyers' 2 March criticisms, which were

widely reported by other media. Naghdalian denied that

Presidential Chief of Staff Sarkisian controls or dictates

media coverage of the investigation into the parliament

shootings. He added that the president is not empowered to

order his dismissal. Only the board of directors of National

Television is empowered to appoint or dismiss its director.

LF

[03] ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY INSTITUTE RENAMED AFTER SLAIN

The Defense Ministry's Military Institute has been

renamed after Vazgen Sargsian, who served as defense minister

before being named premier last year, ITAR-TASS reported on 5

March. President Kocharian and military leaders laid wreaths

at Sargsian's tomb on 5 March, which would have been his 41st

birthday. LF

[04] TALKS ON TRANS-CASPIAN GAS PIPELINE CONTINUE IN BAKU...

Azerbaijani officials in Baku on 3 March that since Turkmen

President Saparmurat Niyazov signed an agreement with Turkey

last year to export 16 billion cubic meters of gas annually

via the planned Trans-Caspian pipeline, Niyazov could permit

Azerbaijan an export quota of only 5 billion cubic meters,

Turan reported. Azerbaijan is demanding 50 percent of the

pipeline's throughput capacity. Smith, whose corporation is

to operate the planned Trans-Caspian gas export pipeline,

said talks are continuing on a transit treaty to be signed by

Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan and four

separate agreements between PSG and those four countries. On

4 March, Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Abid Sharifov said

that Baku will present new proposals to Ashgabat within one

week, Caucasus Press reported. Sharifov said that PSG is

seeking permission to manage the entire Azerbaijan gas

pipeline system but that Baku will not agree to that demand.

LF

[05] ...AS AZERBAIJAN SEEKS ALTERNATIVE EXPORT POSSIBILITIES

Azerbaijan International Operating Company and from BP/Amoco

attended a presentation in Baku on 4 March at which

Azerbaijan sought to interest investors in the reconstruction

and extension through Georgia of an existing pipeline to

export to Turkey natural gas from the Shah Deniz field, A

similar presentation was held in Ankara one week earlier.

Commenting on 3 March on BP's interest in that project, PSG

President Smith said on 3 March that construction of one

large pipeline rather than two smaller ones would lower

construction costs, according to Interfax. LF

[06] ESTONIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS AZERBAIJAN

Ilves and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Vilayat Guliev, signed

an inter-governmental agreement on trade and economic

cooperation in Baku on 2 March, ITAR-TASS reported. Ilves

held talks with Guliev and with Parliamentary Speaker Murtuz

Alesqerov on strengthening bilateral relations and

cooperation, and also met with President Aliev, Turan

reported. Ilves advocated a peaceful solution to the Karabakh

conflict and expressed his support for the accession of both

Azerbaijan and Armenia to the Council of Europe as full

members. LF

[07] RUSSIA DEMANDS CLOSURE OF CHECHEN REPRESENTATION IN

Georgia's ambassador to Moscow was summoned to the

Russian Foreign Ministry on 3 March and informed of Moscow's

demand that the Georgian authorities immediately close the

Chechen "Representation Office" and "Information Center" in

Tbilisi, Caucasus Press reported the following day, citing a

Russian Foreign Ministry statement. The statement said the

Russian Embassy in Tbilisi is the sole legitimate Russian

representation in Georgia. It claimed that the two Chechen

offices, which together employ more than 100 people, are

engaged in funding bandit groups, and organizing supplies of

arms and ammunition to Chechnya and the transportation of

wounded fighters to other countries for medical treatment. By

tolerating the presence on its territory of those offices,

the statement said, the Georgian leadership is acting counter

to its expressed wish to improve relations with Russia. LF

[08] ...PROTESTS GERMAN DIPLOMATS' FILMING OF RUSSIAN BASE

press service of the Group of Russian Forces in the

Transcaucasus issued a statement in Tbilisi on 4 March

accusing two German diplomats of taking photographs and

videos of the Russian military base at Vaziani, near Tbilisi,

earlier that day, ITAR-TASS and Caucasus Press reported. The

statement termed those actions illegal. But a Georgian

Defense Ministry spokesman commented later that day that

neither Georgian nor international law prohibits

photographing the exterior of either Russian or Georgian

military bases on Georgian territory. LF

[09] POLL INDICATES LOW LEVEL OF TRUST IN GEORGIAN POLITICIANS

poll recently conducted among 400 Tbilisi residents indicates

that President Eduard Shevardnadze enjoys the highest level

of trust among respondents, with a rating of 24 percent,

Caucasus Press reported on 6 March. Parliamentary speaker

Zurab Zhvania came second with 9 percent, followed by Union

of Citizens of Georgia parliamentary faction leader Mikhail

Saakashvili (8 percent) and former Communist Party leader and

presidential candidate Djumber Patiashvili (7 percent each).

Eighteen percent of respondents said they do not trust any

Georgian political figure. LF

[10] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION DISCUSSES LEGAL ACTION AGAINST STATE

Leaders of several Kyrgyz opposition parties decided

at a roundtable discussion in Bishkek on 3 March to form a

coordinating group, of which Democratic Movement of

Kyrgyzstan chairman Djypar Djeksheev was elected head,

RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. Participants

discussed the possibility of recruiting a group of lawyers to

initiate legal action against those state-controlled media

that slandered opposition candidates during the runup to the

20 February parliamentary elections. Some participants also

demanded the convening of a session of the outgoing

parliament at which Central Electoral Commission Chairman

Sulaiman Imanbaev would be required to report on election

violations. LF

[11] ...AS KYRGYZ OPPOSITION LEADER EXCLUDED FROM RUNOFF POLL

local election commission in Bishkek ruled on 3 March that El

(Bei Bechara) Chairman Daniyar Usenov may not participate in

the runoff after a rival candidate claimed that Usenov failed

to mention in his income declaration that he owns apartments

in Bishkek and the town of Kara-Balta, RFE/RL's Bishkek

bureau reported. Usenov told the commission that he sold the

Kara-Balta apartment in 1994. LF

[12] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL

Former Bishkek Mayor Feliks Kulov, who last year

founded the opposition Ar-Namys (Dignity) Party, told

participants at the 3 March opposition meeting that he

intends to contest the presidential poll due in December

2000, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Kulov said he

advocates abolishing the presidency and declaring Kyrgyzstan

a parliamentary republic. The Central Electoral Commission

has not yet clarified whether Kulov qualifies for the runoff

elections in single-mandate constituencies to be held on 12

March. LF

[13] TAJIK, KAZAKH PRESIDENTS CONCERNED ABOUT AFGHAN ESCLATION

a telephone conversation on 4 March, Imomali Rakhmonov and

Nursultan Nazarbaev expressed concern over the recent

intensification of fighting in Afghanistan and support for

proposed measures to strengthen protection of the southern

borders of the CIS (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 March 2000),

ITAR-TASS reported. Fighting was reported that day at a

distance of only 7-8 kilometers from the Afghan-Tajik border.

On 3 March, the Russian Foreign Ministry had issued a

statement calling on the international community to take

urgent measures to effect an immediate cessation of the new

hostilities, which it blamed wholly on the Taliban and their

supporters, Interfax reported. LF

[14] TURKMEN PRESIDENT OUTLINES CLEMENCY PROPOSAL FOR DISMISSED

Niyazov on 3 March offered former Deputy Premier

and Energy and Industry Minister Saparmurat Nuryev the choice

of facing prosecution or repaying the $2.5 million he is

accused of having embezzled from the state treasury, Interfax

reported. Nuryev was accused of nepotism and abuse of office

and dismissed as deputy premier in January (see "RFE/RL

Newsline," 31 January 2000). Niyazov has also instructed the

Turkmen parliament to draft legislation that would allow

convicts to perform penal servitude in outlying regions of

the country rather than serve a jail sentence, Interfax

reported on 3 March. Niyazov explained that proposal by

pointing to the Turkmen "traditions of justice and humanism,"

but observers note that the country's prisons are very

overcrowded. LF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[15] NATO FORCES ARREST BOSNIAN SERB ACCUSED OF WAR CRIMES

troops arrested Dragoljub Prcac near Prijedor on 5 March and

transferred him to the war crimes tribunal at The Hague. NATO

said in a statement that the arrest marks "another step in

NATO's drive to arrest the remaining war crimes indictees."

It was the fourth arrest of an alleged war criminal in Bosnia

in the past three months. Prcac was a deputy commander of the

Omarska prison camp in 1992. Thousands of inmates were

reportedly tortured, raped, and murdered at the Omarska,

Keraterm, and Trnopolje camps during the Bosnian war. PB

[16] BOSNIAN SERB GOVERNMENT MEMBERS EXPELLED FROM PARTY

members of the Republika Srpska government were expelled from

the Bosnian branch of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's

Socialist Party on 3 March, AP reported. The four had refused

the party's order to resign from the government of Srpska

acting Premier Milorad Dodik. The party said the four were

expelled because they considered being in power "more

important than membership in the Socialist Party." PB

[17] CROATIAN OFFICIALS CRITICIZE BLASKIC JAIL SENTENCE...

45-year jail sentence given by the Hague tribunal to former

Bosnian Croat General Tihomir Blaskic is "very harsh,"

Croatian Radio reported. Racan said the sentence "will have

to be re-examined in the appeals process." Croatian Defense

Minister Jozo Rados called the sentence "exceptionally stiff,

given what the Croatian public knows about Blaskic and his

activities during the war in Bosnia." The harshest criticism

came from Drazen Budisa, the head of the Social Liberal party

and the runner-up in the recent presidential election, who

said he considered Blaskic an "innocent man" and added that

"this is a terrible punishment that brings into question the

credibility of the Hague tribunal." Racan and President Stipe

Mesic have pledged to fully cooperate with the Hague court.

PB

[18] ...WHILE U.S. APPROVES

March that it welcomes the sentence given to Tihomir Blaskic,

an RFE/RL correspondent in Washington reported. Spokesman

James Rubin said Blaskic was found responsible for having

ordered atrocities in central Bosnia and that the verdict

shows that the Hague tribunal is making progress in bringing

justice to the victims of war crimes committed during the

1992-1995 war. Mirza Hajric, who lost 20 members of his

family at Ahmici in the bloodiest massacre in the Lasva

Valley, said "when you think of all the killings that took

place here, then [the 45-year-sentence] is not a lot." PB

[19] CALM REPORTED IN MITROVICA AFTER ETHNIC ALBANIANS RETURN

Mitrovica was calm on 4 March, one day after some 40 ethnic

Albanians were moved back to their homes in the Serb-

dominated northern part of the city, Reuters reported. The

ethnic Albanians were escorted by a convoy of armored troop

carriers and had to fend off a mob of Serbs before bringing

them to three apartment towers, which are being guarded by

French peacekeepers. Serbs also live in those apartment

blocks. The city has been the scene of constant clashes

between Serbs and ethnic Albanians, which have resulted in 10

deaths. PB

[20] SUSPECTED MURDERER OF RUSSIAN KFOR SOLDIER ESCAPES DETENTION

peacekeeper in Kosova escaped from prison on 5 March, just

two days after being captured, Reuters reported. Major

Kristian Kahrs, a spokesman for Kosova Force (KFOR), said the

suspect is 15 years old. He gave no details of the escape.

Russian soldier Igor Korshunov was killed on 29 February in

Srbica. PB

[21] THOUSANDS MARK ANNIVERSARY OF SLAIN UCK COMMANDER

thousands of ethnic Albanians gathered in the small village

of Prekaz on 5 March to commemorate the 1998 killing of a

founder of the rebel Kosova Liberation Army (UCK), Adem

Jashari, Reuters reported. Some 50 people--including several

women and children--were killed in an attack by Serbian

security forces in an attempt to capture Jashari. Some 20

members of his family were also killed in the assault, which

took place just 40 kilometers southeast of Prishtina. The

attack is considered by many to have been a turning point in

the conflict in Kosova because large numbers of ethnic

Albanians either joined or rallied behind the UCK after the

incident. PB

[22] FIGHTING BETWEEN ETHNIC ALBANIANS AND SERBS OUTSIDE OF

Fighting erupted on 4 March between ethnic Albanians

and Serbian police in the village of Dobrosin, AFP reported.

Some 175 ethnic Albanians fled into Kosova after gunshots

were exchanged in the village, which is in a demilitarized

"border zone" with Kosova. The town is part of an area where

a new rebel group, the Liberation Army of Procovo, Medvedja,

and Bujanovac, has emerged. It claims to be protecting the

some 70,000 ethnic Albanians in the area from harassment by

Serbian security forces. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine

Albright said in Prague on 5 March that she is "very

concerned" by the violence and urges both sides not to incite

tensions there. In other news, 25 ethnic Albanians were

released by Serbian officials from a prison near Pozarevac.

They were accused of belonging to the UCK. An estimated 1,700

ethnic Albanians are still being held in Serbia on similar

charges. PB

[23] SERB OPPOSITION AGREES ON ANTI-MILOSEVIC PROGRAM

opposition leaders agreed in Belgrade on the need for free,

democratic elections and urgent political and economic

reforms, Beta reported on 3 March. The numerous opposition

parties and alliances failed, however, to agree on a date for

holding mass demonstrations against Yugoslav President

Slobodan Milosevic. Secretary of State Albright said in

Prague on 5 March that Serbian opposition groups must work

together in order to create a democratic alternative to

Milosevic. In other news, the unemployment rate in Yugoslavia

grew to 27.3 percent last year, up from 25.2 in 1998,

according to the Group of 17 independent economists on 5

March. The official Belgrade estimate is much lower. PB

[24] BELGRADE READY TO RESUME RELATIONS WITH BOSNIA--

The Yugoslav government said it is willing to

resume diplomatic relations with Bosnia-Herzegovina if

Sarajevo drops the charges it has filed against Belgrade at

the International Court of Justice, Reuters reported on 3

March. Hajrudin Somun, the spokesman for the Bosnian Foreign

Ministry, said Belgrade is ready to start talks if Bosnia

drops the charges, which were filed in 1993 for Yugoslavia's

part in the Bosnian war. Bosnia was Serbia's top trading

partner last year. PB

[25] SERBIAN POLICE TIGHTEN BLOCKAGE AGAINST MONTENEGRO

police have reportedly stopped some Yugoslav army trucks from

carrying food into Montenegro, Montenegrin newspapers

reported on 5 March. The daily "Glas Javnosti" said the food

was for Yugoslav troops based in Montenegro and that the

situation caused angry exchanges at the Montenegrin-Serb

border. PB

[26] CHIRAC PRAISES MACEDONIA

praised Macedonia on 3 March for being a stabilizing force in

the Balkans during the Yugoslav air strikes last year, AP

reported. Chirac made his comments to Macedonian Premier

Ljubco Georgievski, who is on a visit to Paris. The EU is

negotiating a "stabilization and association" pact with

Macedonia. PB

[27] ROMANIAN COALITION RIFT DEEPENS...

Council of the Democratic Party has accused "a group within

the National Liberal Party" (PNL) of violating the coalition

agreement, which gives the Democrats the right to appoint the

defense minister. The council said on 3 March that this means

the PNL has "renounced its political alliance" with the

Democratic Party, adding that from now on Democrats'

representatives in the legislature will cooperate with the

ruling coalition only on legislation linked to budgetary

issues and the bid to join the EU. Democratic Party leader

Petre Roman said that by procrastinating over the replacement

of Victor Babiuc as defense minister, Prime Minster Mugur

Isarescu, who is an independent backed by all coalition

members, risks becoming identified with just one party. A

spokesman for Isarescu said the premier continues to regard

Babiuc's replacement as "a political decision that must be

taken by the coalition leadership." MS

[28] ...AS LIBERAL LEADER ACCUSED OF BACKING BABIUC

Party Deputy Chairman Stelian Dutu said on 5 March that the

group in the PNL that "encouraged the deserter Victor Babiuc"

is led by Valeriu Stoica, PNL deputy chairman and Justice

Minister, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Also on 5

March, PNL Deputy Chairman Horia Rusu said his party is

"keeping all options open" for the fall parliamentary

elections. Rusu said it cannot be ruled out that the PNL

might decide to run on separate lists from the Democratic

Convention of Romania in that ballot, as it will do in the

local elections. He also said that after the election, it

cannot be ruled out that the PNL will agree to form a

governing coalition with the Party of Social Democracy in

Romania (PDSR), provided that the PDSR accepts the Liberals'

"fundamental conditions." MS

[29] OSCE MISSION ENDS VISIT TO MOLDOVA

finding delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

wrapped up a two-day visit to Chisinau and Tiraspol on 3

March, RFE/RL's bureau in the Moldovan capital reported.

Delegation head Kimmo Kiljunen told journalists that the

delegation has invited representatives of the separatists to

participate as members of the Moldovan delegation in an

assembly meeting scheduled to take place in Bucharest in July

2000. He said the OSCE hopes that by then, the two sides will

have reached an agreement on the definition of a "common

state." Such an accord, he added, could result in the

assembly's adopting a "resolution by consensus" on how to

solve the Transdniester conflict. Separatist leader Igor

Smirnov told Kiljunen that the OSCE must stop treating the

Transdniester "as an unrecognized state." MS

[30] BALKAN FOREIGN MINISTERS CALL FOR 'SAFER KOSOVA'

Plodviv on 5 March, the foreign ministers of Bulgaria,

Greece, and Turkey said efforts must be made to ensure "safe

living conditions for all ethnic communities" in Kosova, BTA

and dpa reported. Nadezhda Mihailova, Georgios Papandreou,

and Ismail Cem expressed the hope that the Stability Pact for

Southeastern Europe will give a strong impetus to the

economic development of the entire region. They said they are

discussing the possibility of concluding a "non-aggression

pact" between their countries. Also on 5 March, the

opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, departing from its

previous position, said it will support Bulgaria's quest to

join NATO, dpa reported. MS

[31] BULGARIAN QUEEN MOTHER BURIED IN ITALY

of exiled Bulgarian former monarch Simeon, was buried on 5

March in Assisi, Italy, AFP reported. She died in Portugal on

26 February, aged 92. The Bulgarian royal family, and Queen

Ioanna in particular, contributed to efforts to save

Bulgaria's Jews during World War II. MS

[C] END NOTE

[32] BALTICS PREPARE FOR EU MEMBERSHIP

The three Baltic states have all set ambitious target

dates for joining the EU. They want to accede to the union

within four years at the latest.

But the experience of front-runner Estonia may provide a

cautionary signal to Latvia and Lithuania, which will open

their own substantive negotiations at the end of this month

After two years of detailed talks with Brussels, Estonia has

finalized only eight of the 31 required chapters of

negotiations.

In the run-up to the start of talks with Lithuania and

Latvia, diplomats in Brussels from all three states spoke to

RFE/RL.

The head of Estonia's mission to the EU, Ambassador

Priit Kolbre, said his country is more than willing to share

with its Baltic neighbors the insights gained during two

difficult years of negotiations. He said there have been

frequent contacts on the subject between the three

governments. His personal advice to negotiators is to be

"tough," although he admits that "in order to be tough and

successful, you should very clearly understand what is behind

the EU requirements during the negotiations, and whether they

are just positions in principle, or whether there is a

substantial interest to maintain."

Lithuanian diplomatic mission counselor Zigismund

Pavilionis says that advice from Estonia is welcome but that

his country is also receiving guidance from other countries.

Pavilionis mentioned Poland--which he called Lithuania's

"strategic partner"--as well as other advanced Central

European candidates and Nordic countries like Finland, that

have only recently joined the EU. Pavilionis is optimistic

that Lithuania can catch up with Estonia's lead. He predicts

that "15 negotiating positions will be ready at the actual

start of the talks, though of course we will submit only

those positions suggested by the EU, that should be opened

during the Portuguese presidency (until 1 July) but in any

case we hope that this year we will open more than half of

all the negotiating chapters".

Latvian diplomatic mission Second Secretary Aldis

Austers says his country would like all three Baltic states

to enter the EU at the same time. He added that Latvia, too,

has prepared i15 chapters for the coming negotiations with

the EU and hopes to open as many as eight chapters during

Portugal's Presidency.

Estonia's envoy Kolbre, however, doubts the likelihood

that all three Baltic republics can be ready for accession at

the same time. "In theory, the three countries could join

together, but looking from the other side, I personally

believe that if the EU allows Estonia to continue without any

artificial delays in the negotiations, that other countries

could not simply catch up [with] two years of negotiations--

it has been very tough work."

Ukraine figures in the Baltic states' considerations.

Under the EU's internal single-market rules, Estonia and

Lithuania will have to terminate their successful free-trade

agreements with Kyiv when they accede to the EU. That means a

loss both for the Balts and Ukraine, particularly for Kyiv.

Lithuania's Pavilionis says Vilnius is in contact with

Kyiv and is willing to offer help wherever possible: "As you

know, we have historic ties with Ukraine and that's why we

would like that that country would find some new relations

with the EU, because it is so important in our part of

Europe."

Estonia's Kolbre notes that there are several years to

go before the trade accords with Ukraine must be ended. He

says much depends on how quickly businesses in the Baltics

and in Ukraine can adjust to the new conditions created by

the imposition of EU tariffs. If the adjustment process goes

well, he adds, not all trade with Ukraine need be lost.

The author is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Prague.

06-03-00

Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org

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