UKRAINE GETS EU CREDIT, TRADE FACILITIES.

European Union officials announced yesterday in Kiev the approval of a $260 million loan on easy terms to support Ukraine’s balance of payments during 1996. The loan will begin to be disbursed next month and is conditioned on Ukraine’s continuing economic reforms agreed with the International Monetary Fund. The EU granted Ukraine a similar loan of $100 million last December. On May 7, a European Union delegation in Kiev upheld Ukraine’s request to be granted the status of a country with an economy in transition, entitling its exports broader access to EU markets. The delegation also discussed with Ukrainian officials an acceleration of the procedure for concluding a free trade agreement between the EU and Ukraine. (UPI, Interfax-Ukraine, May 7 & 8)

Primakov’s Karabakh Shuttle Diplomacy.