Washington, 4 November 1996 (RFE/RL) -- Working groups from the governments of Ukraine and the United States are scheduled today to begin two days of meetings aimed at laying the foundation of a new high-level joint Ukrainian-U.S. commission.
The meetings, to be held in Washington, are the first concrete steps taken since U.S. Vice President Al Gore and Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma agreed to form the commission earlier this year.
Kuchma and Gore are tentatively planned to co-chair the first official meeting of the commission sometime next spring.
The Kuchma-Gore Commission is modeled on similar commissions Washington has with Russia, South Africa and other nations. The commissions are designed to expedite economic, scientific and governmental cooperation between the two countries.