Latest Articles about Europe's East
NEW POLITICAL ALLIANCES EMERGE IN UKRAINE
As Ukraine prepares for the September 30 parliamentary elections, the balance of power among political forces is markedly shifting. The pre-democratic “Orange” camp is reconfiguring while the long-dominant Dnipropetrovsk camp is dwindling in influence. On Thursday, June 28, President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine party, headed... MORE
DID YUSHCHENKO BORROWS KUCHMA’S IDEAS FOR CONSTITUTION?
The Ukrainian constitution will most certainly be changed after the snap parliamentary election scheduled for September 30, no matter who wins the vote. Both President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych admit that the constitutional reform of 2004-2006, which increased the power of parliament... MORE
RUSSIA HINTS AT LIMITED RETURN OF GEORGIAN AND MOLDOVAN WINES TO ITS MARKET
Georgian Wine Producers’ Union head Levan Koberidze has announced the start of preliminary consultations with Russia on the expert level about a possible reopening of the Russian market for Georgian wines. The Georgian producers’ organization seeks to broaden the consultations by reaching out to all... MORE
IS MOLDOVA’S PRESIDENT DROPPING THE EUROPEAN BANNER?
President Vladimir Voronin gathered the chiefs of diplomatic missions accredited in Moldova on June 28 for a briefing on his recent and upcoming negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin (Moldpres, June 28). Stung by criticism of his non-transparent meetings with Putin and back-channel negotiations with... MORE
YUSHCHENKO STARTS ELECTION CAMPAIGN FOR HIS PARTY
There is no unity among the supporters of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, with just three months to go before early parliamentary elections, scheduled for September 30. His strongest ally, Yulia Tymoshenko, will contest the election separately. The talks between his own party Our Ukraine (NU)... MORE
VORONIN-PUTIN NEGOTIATIONS IN END GAME AHEAD OF PUTIN-BUSH SUMMIT
Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Vladimir Voronin of Moldova held a non-transparent meeting on June 22 in Moscow and are scheduled to meet again on June 30 (Moldpres, Basapres, June 22, 23). Voronin and his entourage are hoping for an imminent breakthrough on resolving... MORE
NEO-COMINTERN MEETING IN TIRASPOL
Meeting in Tiraspol on June 17, “foreign ministers” Valery Litskay of Transnistria, Sergei Shamba of Abkhazia, and Murat Jioyev of South Ossetia, as well as Karabakh “presidential” foreign policy adviser Arman Melikian issued a “Declaration on the Principles of Peaceful and Just Settlement of the... MORE
UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT IN LIMBO
The majority of Ukraine’s parliament has defied the accords between President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych to disband parliament and hold an early parliamentary election. Yushchenko has not recognized parliament’s powers since June 5, when he issued a decree scheduling the election for... MORE
THE QUEST FOR “STABILITY” IN BELARUS
On June 19, Belarusian Prime Minister Syarhey Sidorski summarized the economic results for the first five months of 2007, maintaining that the country had attained “macroeconomic stability.” GDP rose by 9% compared with the same period last year, with notable increases in output in both... MORE
YULIA TYMOSHENKO COMES OUT ON TOP IN UKRAINE’S CRISIS
Ukraine's parliament closed on Friday, June 15, after a tense two-month crisis. This was a success for Yulia Tymoshenko and her eponymous bloc (BYuT), who were the only political forces consistently calling for early elections since the collapse of the Orange coalition last year. On... MORE