DUMA TO REJECT PRIME MINISTER'S PEACE PROPOSAL
Prime Minister
Yevgenii Primakov met with State Duma Chairman Gennadii Seleznev
on 2 February to discuss Primakov's proposal for a political
peace treaty between Russia's executive and legislative branches.
"Kommersant-Daily" predicted on 30 January that Primakov's plan
has little chance of acceptance, citing the negative assessments
of the proposal by Seleznev, who had declared "we do not intend
to be a pushover for either the president or the government
chairman." RFE/RL's Moscow bureau reported on 2 February that the
Communist party has already expressed its dissatisfaction with
Primakov's proposal and that Yabloko is also unenthusiastic,
according to faction member and deputy Yelena Mizulina. JAC
PRIMAKOV OFFERS MINERS MORE CASH
Speaking at the All-Russia
Miners Congress in Moscow on 1 February, Prime Minister Primakov
pledged to double state subsidies to the coal industry from the
5.8 billion rubles ($256 million) earmarked in the current
version of the 1999 budget. Primakov acknowledged that wage
arrears in the industry typically build up for five months on
average. "While this is primarily the fault of the employers, the
state must also share some blame," he said. Primakov also called
on miners and their union representatives to refrain from
threatening the government and to work together to modernize the
industry. Independent Miners' Union head Aleksandr Sergeev
reacted favorably to Primakov's speech, welcoming his commitment
to be flexible on the closure of unprofitable mines, Interfax
reported. However, he noted that discontent in the coal regions
of Rostov Oblast and Komi Republic remain high. JAC
GOVERNORS BLOC ATTRACTING MORE FOLLOWERS...
The election bloc of
regional leaders set up by Samara Oblast Governor Konstantin
Titov will have its official legal status by 15 February, Titov
told reporters on 2 February. Titov revealed that in addition to
the regional leaders previously reported as interested in joining
the new movement (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 January 1999), the
governors of Sakhalin, Irkutsk and Astrakhan Oblasts are taking
part in talks. "Segodnya" argued on 29 January that if the new
regional bloc is "not a political false start" and regional
"heavyweights" join the bloc in the future, "it may become the
force that determines both the formation of the next Duma and
Yeltsin's successor in the Kremlin." Krasnoyarsk Governor
Aleksandr Lebed told reporters on 30 January that he will steer
clear of the new alliance, saying "I will go it alone." JAC
...AS BORDER DISPUTES PREDICTED TO GATHER FORCE
"Nezavisimaya
gazeta" suggested on 29 January that "the threat of separatism
must be much more serious and constant than it appears to certain
Moscow observers" since Prime Minister Primakov has suggested
that a ban be introduced on territorial agreements that lead to
the revision of regional borders (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26
January 1999). According to the daily, there are many more
territorial claims than just "Ingushetia's claims to the
Prigorodnii district of North Ossetia." The newspaper concluded
that "it is possible that by 2000 conflicts between oblasts and
autonomous okrugs may acquire an open form, the more so if the
central powers continue to lose influence in the [Russian]
Federation." JAC
TATARSTAN, MOSCOW IN BUDGET DISPUTE
Meeting with faculty members
of the Kazan Institute of Economy and Finance on 1 February,
Tatarstan's Prime Minister Rustam Minnikhanov said his government
considers it expedient to reduce payments to the federal center
since the federal budget was formed without taking into account
Tatarstan's needs and does not provide for "the minimum of
required allowances" for the Tatarstan Republic. "We are a donor
region", he said, "we are not asking for federal subsidies, we
are asking for our own money." Minnikhanov did not indicate what
percentage of its proposed contribution to the federal budget
Kazan would withhold. LF
CHINA SUGGESTED TO JOIN DISCUSSION ON ABM TREATY
Igor Sutyagin
of the U.S.A. and Canada Institute has reacted negatively to news
of a U.S. government proposal to compensate for the deployment of
two anti-ballistic missile systems by giving Russia permission to
have three warheads on its Topol-M missile system. Sutyagin told
ITAR-TASS that the U.S. is apparently trying to find a way to
alleviate Russia's concerns stemming from the U.S.'s proposal to
modify the ABM treaty. He said that the idea of giving Russia
permission to have missiles with three warheads in exchange for
"its consent to deploy the ABM system looks very attractive[but]
only resolves the problem of Russia's relations with the U.S.,"
not with China. Sutyagin recommended that China be drawn into the
discussion of the problem of the creation of the U.S. anti-
ballistic missile system. JAC
RUSSIA SAYS NO INTERNATIONAL PEACE-KEEPING FORCE NEEDED IN
KOSOVA
"Russian diplomatic sources" told Interfax on 1 February
that Moscow sees no sense in deploying an international
peacekeeping force in Kosova similar to the one deployed in
Bosnia. According to those sources, an international force should
be sent only after the conflicting sides have worked out an
agreement on Kosova and Yugoslavia has given its consent for the
deployment of such a force. JAC
SIDANKO ON VERGE OF BANKRUPTCY...
Russia's fifth-largest oil
company, Sidanko, announced on 29 January that it is facing
bankruptcy proceedings because of overdue loan payments. Sidanko
is controlled by so-called oligarch Vladimir Potanin's Interros
holding company, the core of which is the now struggling
Oneksimbank. Citing an "industry source with ties to Sidanko,"
the "Moscow Times" reported on 2 February that Interros is now
"bankrupting" Sidanko to set up a new company and has transferred
titles of the shares of its subsidiaries to offshore companies.
According to another anonymous source, the newspaper reported,
this is a bankruptcy in the typical style of Boris Jordan, the
controversial banker who assumed the helm of Sidanko in November.
Both Sidanko and Interros deny the allegations, the daily noted.
JC
...AS SLAVNEFT, ONAKO SAY 'NO' TO MERGER
Two of the three
companies selected by the Russian government to be merged into
one company, which reportedly would be one of the world's largest
in terms of oil reserves, have expressed their opposition to the
plan (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 January 1999). Onako would rather
transfer its government-controlled majority stake to Orenburg
Oblast, the "Moscow Times" reported on 2 February. Slavneft
President Vasilii Duma said after a shareholders' meeting that
Slavneft would be best left untouched. The newspaper suggested
that the Belarusian Property Ministry, which owns 10 percent of
Slavneft, likely opposes the merger. The ministry, however, has
so far made no public statement. JAC
EXTREMIST GROUP MARCHES IN MOSCOW
Protestors from the extremist
National Bolshevik Party led by novelist Eduard Limonov disrupted
a meeting of the Democratic Choice party in Moscow on 30 January
by chanting the names of "Stalin" and "Beria" and making Nazi
salutes, Ekho Moskvy reported. A fistfight eventually broke out
between members of the two parties, Interfax reported. The next
day, another group, Russian National Unity, marched through
Moscow. Presidential chief of staff Nikolai Bordyuzha told
"Izvestiya" that the march was a provocation intended to stir
trouble and that it is "nonsense" that Russia has no clear law
defining political extremism. Justice Minister Pavel
Krasheninnikov told Interfax on 1 February that the presidential
commission for combating political extremism will discuss the
group at its next meeting. JAC
SOUTH KOREA ASKS RUSSIA FOR HELP WITH MILLENNIUM BUG IN NORTH
KOREA
The military attach of the South Korean Embassy in Moscow
has delivered a letter to "Russian defense structures" asking
Moscow to help North Korea examine possible computer problems
associated with the Millennium Bug, ITAR-TASS reported on 2
February. Seoul is worried that computer problems in North Korea
associated with the turn of the century could result in the
accidental firing of rockets. Seoul has requested Moscow's help
because most of North Korea's rocket and computer technology was
supplied by the former Soviet Union. BP
YELTSIN LOOKING CHIPPER AT BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
Russian Public
Television carried film footage of a small celebration of
President Boris Yeltsin's birthday on 1 February. Patriarch of
Moscow and All Russia Aleksii II and Prime Minister Primakov
brought bouquets and hugged Yeltsin, who appeared cheerful. The
same day, the Duma's impeachment commission held hearings on the
last charge against Yeltsin, genocide against the Russian people,
Interfax reported. "Kommersant-Daily" reported the next day that
following the signing of his most recent decree, Yeltsin now has
only three presidential advisers, only two of which receive a
salary: his daughter Tatyana Dyachenko and Mikhail Zybarov (see
"RFE/RL Newsline, 1 February 1999). Valentin Yumashev also acts
as an adviser but does not draw a salary. JAC
CHECHEN FIELD COMMANDERS SEND MIXED SIGNALS?
Meeting on 1
February, former Chechen acting President Zelimkhan Yandarbiev,
former Foreign Minister Movladi Udugov, and leading field
commanders Shamil Basaev and Ruslan Gilaev adopted a formal
petition to President Aslan Maskhadov calling on him to introduce
Shariah law throughout Chechnya immediately, Interfax reported.
Last week, they had drafted a program of reform measures
addressed to Maskhadov that entailed curtailing the powers of the
president and the creation of a "state council," the powers and
functions of which are unclear, according to "Izvestiya" on 28
January. But that program made no mention of either Islam or
Islamic law. LF
RFE/RL NewsLine - Southeastern Europe
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BELGRADE APPEALS TO UN
The state-run news agency Tanjug carried
a statement by the Yugoslav government on 1 February calling on
the UN Security Council to prevent NATO from carrying out
possible air strikes against Serbia. The government argued that
"NATO's open threats jeopardize the chief principles of
international relations, international peace and security, and
the very foundations of international legal order. This is why
the federal cabinet decided to call for a UN Security Council
session to take adequate measures...to prevent armed aggression
against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia." Reuters quoted
political analysts in Belgrade as saying that the government of
President Slobodan Milosevic issued the appeal in order to "make
a mess, to buy some time." The Contact Group has set a 6 February
deadline for Belgrade and the Kosovars to reply to its ultimatum
to attend talks or face military action. The Security Council has
endorsed the Contact Group's position (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1
February 1999). PM
SERBS, UCK DELAY RESPONSE TO ULTIMATUM
Serbian Deputy Prime
Minister Vojislav Seselj said in Belgrade on 1 February that only
the parliament, which meets on 4 February, has the authority to
respond to the Contact Group. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister
Milovan Bojic charged that "NATO is the weapon in the hands of
one or two states, to whom the [NATO member states] are bowing."
Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Vuk Draskovic argued that Serbia
runs the risk of increased international isolation if it rejects
the ultimatum. In Prishtina, Adem Demaci, who is the political
spokesman for the Kosova Liberation Army (UCK), said that the
guerrillas will respond to the Contact Group on 3 February,
RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Nationalist politician
Rexhep Qosja has agreed to attend the talks (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 1 February 1999). PM
HILL WARNS OF 'MAXIMUM STRAIN'
U.S. envoy for Kosova Chris Hill
told Reuters in Prishtina on 2 February that the coming days and
weeks are "going to be a period of maximum strain" regarding the
crisis in Kosova. "There will be people on the ground trying to
disrupt the talks.� There has [also] been considerable concern,
especially among the Europeans, about whether we have sufficient
leverage on the [guerrillas], and there's been a lot of effort
made to try to figure out what that leverage might be. Obviously
it's going to be different from the leverage on the Serbs, and
appropriately so. The Serbs have been threatened with punitive
air strikes, and obviously that's not in the cards for the [UCK].
Other things can be done. Enough said." Hill nonetheless added:
"I never like to use 'optimism' and 'Balkans' in the same
sentence, but I believe we have a very good process ahead." PM
CLINTON MEETS ADVISERS OVER KOSOVA
U.S. President Bill Clinton
discussed Kosova with his top political and military advisers on
1 February. White House officials gave no comment as to whether
Clinton and his aides decided whether to commit U.S. ground
troops as part of an eventual settlement in the province.
Secretary of Defense William Cohen, who opposes deployment, said
that a final decision will depend on the final settlement and on
the role that the European allies are willing to assume for
themselves. He stressed that the Europeans must "bear a
substantial burden" of any military presence on the ground.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's spokesman said that
"there is a need and an urgency for American leadership and
determination" in Kosova. He added that the U.S. has "significant
national interests at stake" in ending the crisis. PM
ANNAN WARNS OF SPREADING CONFLICT
NATO Secretary-General Javier
Solana noted in Berlin on 1 February that up to 30,000 ground
troops might be required as part of an eventual settlement, the
BBC's Serbian Service reported. In New York, UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan said in a report to the Security Council that the
Kosova conflict could become "an all-out civil war...that might
have unpredictable repercussions" across the Balkans. PM
CROATIA FREES NADA SAKIC
State Attorney Radovan Santek said in
Zagreb on 1 February that he has stopped proceedings against 76-
year-old Nada Sakic for war crimes in connection with her
activities at concentration camps run by the pro-Axis Ustasha
regime during World War II (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 November
1998). He said that none of the 26 witnesses who have testified
against her during the past three months could prove the charges
against her. Sakic told reporters as she left prison that
"justice has won." Serbian and Jewish spokesmen said her release
proves that the Croatian government is not serious about
prosecuting Ustasha war criminals. Sakic was extradited in
November from Argentina, where she and her husband had lived
since the end of World War II. Dinko Sakic still faces trial for
war crimes in Croatia, to which Argentina extradited him last
June. PM
ALBANIAN PYRAMID MONEY IN SWISS BANKS
Albanian anti-mafia
investigator Bujar Himci told "Shekulli" on 2 February that the
Swiss authorities have discovered bank accounts belonging to the
Albanian pyramid scheme owner Vehbi Alimucaj. Himci did not say
how much is in the accounts but noted that the Swiss authorities
last week handed over "a large file...that sheds light on
Alimucaj's activities and transfers." He also commented that
Ajdin Sejdia, a Kosovar Albanian businessman, was involved in
Alimucaj's money laundering schemes. German police arrested
Sejdia in November 1998 under a Swiss arrest warrant. A Swiss
court had earlier sentenced Sejdia in absentia for fraud in
connection with a failed hotel project in central Tirana. The
construction of that hotel, which began in 1991, resulted only in
a huge crater, which locals say epitomizes shady Kosovar business
practices. FS
ROUND-TABLE IN SOUTHERN ALBANIAN REBEL TOWN
Deputy Minister for
Local Government Taulant Dedja and OSCE Ambassador to Albania
Daan Everts met with local officials in Lazarat on 1 February to
discuss problems in developing infrastructure (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 25 January 1999). Everts told "Koha Jone"
PRIMAKOV'S AMBITIONS
By Floriana Fossato
Russian Prime Minister Yevgenii Primakov may or may not want
to be a presidential candidate, but at the very least he seems to
view himself as the kingmaker of Russian politics.
Since his appointment as premier last September, Primakov
has studiously avoided showing any enthusiasm for the idea of
becoming a presidential candidate. However, shortly after his
appointment, Primakov, a former diplomat and spymaster, started
promoting former security officials to sensitive media and
government jobs.
Among those ex-security officials is Grigorii Rapota, a
career spy and former deputy secretary of the Russian Security
Council. Last November, Rapota was named head of Russia's state-
owned arms exporter, Rosvooruzhenie. He replaced Yevgenii Ananev,
considered an associate of former Prime Minister Viktor
Chernomyrdin.
Rapota has worked closely with Primakov in the past. He was
the deputy head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).
Before his 1996 appointment as foreign minister, Primakov had
headed that agency. According to Russian media reports, control
over the lucrative Rosvooruzhenie has been the subject of bitter
rivalry among senior politicians.
In a rare interview, published in "Kommersant-Daily" last
week, Rapota said Rosvooruzhenie does not expect to earn more
than $2 billion in arms sales abroad this year, owing to Russia's
economic crisis and increased competition in the world arms
markets. The figure, he said, is the same as that in 1998.
(Before the August financial meltdown, exports of Russian arms
had been estimated to earn some $3.5 billion this year.) That
helps explain the fierce competition for control over the
company, which in the past was reported to be an important source
of financing during election campaigns.
Recent unsuccessful moves to appoint a retiring counter-
intelligence general to a senior position at the All-Russian
State Television and Radio Company (VGTRK) also drew attention.
General Yurii Kobaladze is a former public relations head at SVR,
where he also served under Primakov. His appointment had
initially appeared to be certain. But last week, he was named
first deputy director of the ITAR-TASS news agency. He filled the
post left vacant after Leonid Nevzlin, close to the Rosprom-Yukos
industrial group, quit in the wake of the August financial
meltdown.
Before any decision had been formalized, Kobaladze himself
said that VGTRK chairman Mikhail Shvydkoi had offered him the
job. However, Shvydkoi's deputy, Mikhail Lesin, had ruled out
that possibility. Lesin is one of the founders of Video
International. That company has a monopoly on advertising at
VGTRK, which is the latter's main source of revenue.
VGTRK includes the second nationwide channel of Russian
Television, the channel Kultura, Radio Russia, the RIA news
agency, a network of radio and television stations across Russia,
as well as the national transmission network. Despite serious
financial difficulties, VGTRK and other media holdings are
expected to play a key role in influencing the outcome of
presidential and parliamentary elections.
Even if Kobaladze did not achieve his goal, other former
security service officials already working at VGTRK now
reportedly hold top jobs. In December, Lev Koshlyakov, who until
1994 worked for the counter-intelligence service, was named to
head the news program "Vesti." He coordinates the network of
correspondents both for the program and for the RIA news agency.
Judging from a number of recent government appointments,
other officials who--unlike Rapota and Kobaladze--never worked
with Primakov but made their careers in security organs have been
promoted to top positions in government agencies considered
potential key sources of campaign financing.
In October, former First Deputy Interior Minister Mikhail
Yegorov was appointed first deputy head of the Customs Committee.
The same month, Aleksei Shestaperov, formerly deputy head of the
Federal Agency of Government Communications and Information
(FAPSI) was chosen to head the state-owned company Rostek, which
reportedly has links with the Customs Committee since it deals
with customs payments.
In November, a Defense Ministry officer, General Vladimir
Kovalev, became deputy transport minister. The Transport
Ministry, together with the power grid Unified Energy Systems and
the gas monopoly Gazprom, is one of Russia's so-called natural
monopolies. Most analysts in Moscow expect those monopolies to be
a source of patronage and financing ahead of parliamentary
elections in December and presidential elections scheduled for
June 2000.
This trend indicates that even if he does not become a
presidential candidate, Primakov, with his extensive political
and economic influence, will be one of the country's most
powerful kingmakers.
The author is a Moscow-based RFE/RL correspondent.
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