Latest Articles about Europe's East
CAN UKRAINE’S CONSTITUTIONAL COURT BE UNBIASED?
Today, April 17, Ukraine’s Constitutional Court (CC) began considering an appeal by a group of pro-government parliamentarians regarding President Viktor Yushchenko’s April 2 decree on the dissolution of parliament. The CC should decide not only on the question of early parliamentary elections, but also, indirectly,... MORE
VORONIN PRESSURED TO ACCEPT RUSSIAN SETTLEMENT PLAN FOR TRANSNISTRIA
In several policy conferences with a small number of top officials in recent days, most recently on April 11, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin has presented a new Russian scenario to settle the Transnistria conflict. It stems from Russia’s Security Council, whose deputy secretary, Yuri Zubakov,... MORE
MOSCOW NOW SEEKS TO TEMPT VORONIN INTO DISSOLVING PARLIAMENT
Moscow is using the negotiations on resolving the Transnistria conflict as a means to weaken Moldova’s political system. This is a collateral goal of the negotiating channel run by Security Council Deputy Secretary Yuri Zubakov with core members of the Moldovan presidential team. Moscow’s specific... MORE
CHERNOBYL MARCH WILL FOCUS ON VICTIMS
Following the large rally that took place in Minsk on March 25 to commemorate the Day of Freedom (see EDM March 28), plans are well under way for the "Path of Chernobyl" event on April 26, traditionally the largest public demonstration of the season. The... MORE
IS COMPROMISE POSSIBLE BETWEEN YUSHCHENKO AND RULING COALITION?
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has rejected calls for a truce from Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and ignored the pacifying overtures made by Yanukovych’s allies in parliament last week. Yushchenko insists that his April 2 decree to dissolve parliament was in line with the constitution and... MORE
MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT CHANGING TONE AND NEGOTIATORS WITH RUSSIA ON TRANSNISTRIA
On April 6, Moldova’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Stratan held talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Moscow on a full range of bilateral issues, including the Transnistria conflict. President Vladimir Voronin set the stage for Stratan’s mission through a public supplication for... MORE
YUSHCHENKO RADICALIZES AS POLITICAL CRISIS DEEPENS
On Monday, April 2, President Viktor Yushchenko issued a decree disbanding parliament and plunging Ukraine into a political crisis (see EDM, April 4). Elections are set for May 27 -- before the Constitutional Court will rule on the legality of the decree. Yushchenko is a... MORE
YUSHCHENKO RULES TO DISSOLVE PARLIAMENT
Yesterday, April 2, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko signed a decree dissolving parliament, which the parliamentary majority immediately rejected. Yushchenko’s opponents -- the ruling coalition, consisting of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions (PRU), the Socialists, and the Communists -- believe that Yushchenko had no... MORE
UKRAINE NAMES NEW FOREIGN MINISTER
On March 21 Ukraine’s parliament approved President Viktor Yushchenko’s choice for foreign minister, Arseny Yatsenyuk, 32. The appointment ends a standoff of nearly four months between Yushchenko and the Cabinet of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. The new minister has no experience with diplomatic work, but,... MORE
WITH LUKASHENKA OUT OF SIGHT, BELARUS OPPOSITION STAGES INDEPENDENCE DAY RALLY
The 89th anniversary of the formation of the Belarusian National Republic was commemorated in Minsk with the largest public anti-government demonstration since last year's Chernobyl march. Although the authorities reacted harshly and at times resorted to violence and arrests, the official response was surprisingly tentative.... MORE