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RUSSIANS UNHAPPY WITH KYIV'S HANDLING OF TU-154 INVESTIGATION. According to a poll conducted by VTsIOM and reported by Interfax on 6 November, 79 percent of Russians believe that the Ukrainian authorities conducted themselves in an unworthy fashion during the investigation of the accidental downing of a Russian Tu-154 over the Black Sea by a Ukrainian rocket. Only 8 percent support the Ukrainian government's conduct of the investigation. PG

The foreign ministers of Russia and Moldova, Igor Ivanov and Nicolae Dudau, initialed a bilateral friendship and cooperation treaty between the two countries in Chisinau on 5 November. In the document, Russia recognizes Moldova's independence and territorial integrity and pledges to work toward a political settlement of the dispute between Moldova and its breakaway Transdniester region. Ivanov also said Russia will observe a 2002 deadline for completing the withdrawal of its troops and weapons from Transdniester, and added that the agreement will help build what he called "a strategic partnership" between the two countries and resolve the Transdniester conflict.

"This treaty opens the way for a future strengthening of cooperation between our countries in various fields -- political, economic, cultural, and foreign policy," Ivanov said. "The document reflects the objectives and the parameters of the strategic partnership we want to build between our countries, including the fact that this treaty must contribute to a settlement of the Transdniester conflict."

The Transdniester issue has been the main bone of contention between Russia and Moldova for more than a decade. The pro-Russian region broke away from Moldova in 1990 over fears that Moldovans would seek reunification with their ethnic kin in neighboring Romania.

Armed conflict followed in 1992, and several hundred people died in seven months of fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Moldovan security forces. Fighting ended in July 1992 with a Russian-mediated settlement enforced by Russian troops already stationed in the region.

A final agreement on the region's political status has yet to be adopted, despite a series of agreements under international mediation by Russia, Ukraine, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Russian legislators in 1999 refused to ratify a first Russian-Moldovan treaty -- signed by the two sides back in 1990 -- because of what they called the document's failure to reflect the new situation following Transdniester's secession from Moldova. Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin withdrew the document from the State Duma and negotiations on a new bilateral treaty began soon afterward.

The treaty's completion was stepped up after pro-Russian Communists earlier this year won both parliamentary and presidential elections in Moldova. Upon his election in April, Moldova's Communist President Vladimir Voronin said establishing better ties with Russia was one of his top priorities, along with resolving the Transdniester dispute.

"Having initialed the treaty -- which as you noticed, was a very speedy procedure -- we have entered the final phase," Foreign Minister Dudau said on 5 November. "I hope [Moldovan] President Voronin's visit to Moscow will take place in a short time, where the treaty will be signed. We are also preparing for its ratification in Moldova's parliament and in Russia's State Duma."

Voronin and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to sign the treaty during the Moldovan leader's visit to Moscow scheduled for 18-20 November.

Ivanov and Dudau both said that Moldovan and Russian legislators are likely to ratify the document by an overwhelming majority -- despite a pro-Transdniester lobby in the State Duma. Analysts say the treaty is a disappointment to Transdniester's pro-Russian leaders, who had insisted on having a role in negotiations and wanted the document to mention the existence of a "common state" composed of Moldova and Transdniester as two independent entities.

They also wanted the treaty to state their right to establish separate economic, cultural, and social ties with Russia and to provide for a Russian consulate in Transdniester. But Russia refused to include any of the separatists' demands in the treaty without Moldovan consent.

Diplomat Ion Stavila, Moldova's chief negotiator, told RFE/RL that "representatives from Transdniester came up with suggestions and proposals regarding the treaty during negotiations, but I want to stress that they did not take direct part in the negotiations process."

Transdniester officials were not even invited to the initialing ceremony. A final version of the document was handed to a Transdniester representative by Russian and Moldovan officials only after the ceremony.

At the same time, however, experts say Moldova had to cave in to some demands to reach compromise on the treaty.

Transdniester leaders have always insisted they want Moldova to become a loose confederation of two independent states, despite offers of large autonomy made by Moldova's new communist leadership.

In order to gain official Russian recognition of its independence and territorial integrity, Moldova had to agree that the treaty would include direct mention of Moscow's role as main arbiter and guarantor in the Transdniester dispute. It also agreed to note the "strategic partnership" between Moldova and the Russian Federation.

Furthermore, the document gives the Russian language a more prominent status in a country where some 65 percent of the population of 4 million speaks Moldovan, which is virtually identical to Romanian. Moldova pledges in the treaty to provide "necessary conditions in accordance with Moldovan law" for those who want to study in Russian. Russia's presence is also felt in the form of the some 2,500 troops, 50,000 weapons, and 40,000 tons of ammunition it maintains in the Transdniester region.

Under a 1999 OSCE agreement signed in Istanbul, Moscow pledged to withdraw its troops and arsenal from Transdniester by the end of next year, but the withdrawal started only in July this year under the auspices of the OSCE.

Ivanov said on 5 November that Russia will honor its commitments under the Istanbul conference and will withdraw both its troops and arms from the Transdniester by the deadline.

In turn, Dudau said Moldova is satisfied with the pace of Russian weapons withdrawal, which he said is one month ahead of schedule.
But so far, only old armaments have been destroyed or removed from the Transdniester region -- and even that has drawn repeated protests by Transdniester leaders and residents.

It is still unclear how Transdniestrians will react if and when the real test -- Russian troop withdrawal -- begins.

KUCHMA PLEDGES KYIV'S PARTICIPATION IN HUMANITARIAN ACTION IN AFGHANISTAN... Speaking at an antiterrorist summit in Warsaw on 6 November (see below), President Leonid Kuchma said Ukraine is ready to offer its aviation in a future humanitarian action in Afghanistan, Interfax reported. "One needs to prepare oneself for the next stage of the antiterrorist operation -- rehabilitation of and humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people," Kuchma said. He stressed that the efficient struggle against terrorism needs, apart from united efforts of the global community, a "dialogue of civilizations" which he said should be spearheaded by the United Nations. JM

...SPEAKS IN FAVOR OF NATO EXPANSION. Kuchma also expressed his support for the expansion of NATO, PAP reported. Answering a question from Russian journalists on whether he thinks the expansion of NATO could be effective in the struggle against terrorism, Kuchma said: "What am I to think, since the strategic partner of Ukraine is Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin has stated that he is considering the possibility of joining NATO? I think that, today, there is a deep sense in these words of Putin -- there are no longer two camps that were in confrontation with each other." JM

CRIMEA'S RUSSIAN NATIONALISTS PUSH FOR ETHNIC ENCLAVE. The Russian Bloc of Crimea, established by regional branches of Ukraine's Slavic Party and Party of Slavic Unity, is calling for the transformation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea into a Russian autonomous entity and the reinstatement of Russian as the state language, ITAR-TASS reported on 6 November. According to the bloc's coordinator, Sergei Shuvainikov, "national-patriotic forces" on the peninsula intend to lead a campaign for the rights of Russians and their recognition as the indigenous people of Crimea and Ukraine as a whole. The bloc opposes the Ukrainian leadership's plans to grant the Crimean Tatars membership quotas on official bodies of the autonomous republic or to give them the right to elect their own deputies in constituencies where they constitute a majority. JM

ROMANIAN, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTS TO ACCELERATE SEARCH SOLUTION TO DISPUTES. Meeting at the Warsaw summit on international terrorism on 6 November, President Ion Iliescu and his Ukrainian counterpart Leonid Kuchma agreed to direct experts to find "within one month" a mutually acceptable solution to the dispute involving their border on the Black Sea's continental shelf, Romanian radio reported. The solution should make it possible "to avoid appealing to international arbitration." They also agreed that their joint commission on economic relations should meet "within two months" to examine ways of improving trade. The presidents also agreed on the need to find mutually acceptable solutions to the problem of minorities living in each other's countries. MS

...INITIATES LEGALIZATION OF DUAL CITIZENSHIP. President Voronin submitted to the parliament on 5 November a proposal for a constitutional amendment that would make dual citizenship possible, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. The move follows the recommendations of an ad hoc commission set up by the president about a month ago. Amending the basic document requires a two-thirds majority in the parliament. Some 300,000 Moldovans hold dual citizenship, primarily Romanian, Russian, and Ukrainian, in defiance of the current ban. MS

The foreign ministers of Russia and Moldova, Igor Ivanov and Nicolae Dudau, initialed a bilateral friendship and cooperation treaty between the two countries in Chisinau on 5 November. In the document, Russia recognizes Moldova's independence and territorial integrity and pledges to work toward a political settlement of the dispute between Moldova and its breakaway Transdniester region. Ivanov also said Russia will observe a 2002 deadline for completing the withdrawal of its troops and weapons from Transdniester, and added that the agreement will help build what he called "a strategic partnership" between the two countries and resolve the Transdniester conflict.

"This treaty opens the way for a future strengthening of cooperation between our countries in various fields -- political, economic, cultural, and foreign policy," Ivanov said. "The document reflects the objectives and the parameters of the strategic partnership we want to build between our countries, including the fact that this treaty must contribute to a settlement of the Transdniester conflict."

The Transdniester issue has been the main bone of contention between Russia and Moldova for more than a decade. The pro-Russian region broke away from Moldova in 1990 over fears that Moldovans would seek reunification with their ethnic kin in neighboring Romania.

Armed conflict followed in 1992, and several hundred people died in seven months of fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Moldovan security forces. Fighting ended in July 1992 with a Russian-mediated settlement enforced by Russian troops already stationed in the region.

A final agreement on the region's political status has yet to be adopted, despite a series of agreements under international mediation by Russia, Ukraine, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Russian legislators in 1999 refused to ratify a first Russian-Moldovan treaty -- signed by the two sides back in 1990 -- because of what they called the document's failure to reflect the new situation following Transdniester's secession from Moldova. Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin withdrew the document from the State Duma and negotiations on a new bilateral treaty began soon afterward.

The treaty's completion was stepped up after pro-Russian Communists earlier this year won both parliamentary and presidential elections in Moldova. Upon his election in April, Moldova's Communist President Vladimir Voronin said establishing better ties with Russia was one of his top priorities, along with resolving the Transdniester dispute.

"Having initialed the treaty -- which as you noticed, was a very speedy procedure -- we have entered the final phase," Foreign Minister Dudau said on 5 November. "I hope [Moldovan] President Voronin's visit to Moscow will take place in a short time, where the treaty will be signed. We are also preparing for its ratification in Moldova's parliament and in Russia's State Duma."

Voronin and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to sign the treaty during the Moldovan leader's visit to Moscow scheduled for 18-20 November.

Ivanov and Dudau both said that Moldovan and Russian legislators are likely to ratify the document by an overwhelming majority -- despite a pro-Transdniester lobby in the State Duma. Analysts say the treaty is a disappointment to Transdniester's pro-Russian leaders, who had insisted on having a role in negotiations and wanted the document to mention the existence of a "common state" composed of Moldova and Transdniester as two independent entities.

They also wanted the treaty to state their right to establish separate economic, cultural, and social ties with Russia and to provide for a Russian consulate in Transdniester. But Russia refused to include any of the separatists' demands in the treaty without Moldovan consent.

Diplomat Ion Stavila, Moldova's chief negotiator, told RFE/RL that "representatives from Transdniester came up with suggestions and proposals regarding the treaty during negotiations, but I want to stress that they did not take direct part in the negotiations process."

Transdniester officials were not even invited to the initialing ceremony. A final version of the document was handed to a Transdniester representative by Russian and Moldovan officials only after the ceremony.

At the same time, however, experts say Moldova had to cave in to some demands to reach compromise on the treaty.

Transdniester leaders have always insisted they want Moldova to become a loose confederation of two independent states, despite offers of large autonomy made by Moldova's new communist leadership.

In order to gain official Russian recognition of its independence and territorial integrity, Moldova had to agree that the treaty would include direct mention of Moscow's role as main arbiter and guarantor in the Transdniester dispute. It also agreed to note the "strategic partnership" between Moldova and the Russian Federation.

Furthermore, the document gives the Russian language a more prominent status in a country where some 65 percent of the population of 4 million speaks Moldovan, which is virtually identical to Romanian. Moldova pledges in the treaty to provide "necessary conditions in accordance with Moldovan law" for those who want to study in Russian. Russia's presence is also felt in the form of the some 2,500 troops, 50,000 weapons, and 40,000 tons of ammunition it maintains in the Transdniester region.

Under a 1999 OSCE agreement signed in Istanbul, Moscow pledged to withdraw its troops and arsenal from Transdniester by the end of next year, but the withdrawal started only in July this year under the auspices of the OSCE.

Ivanov said on 5 November that Russia will honor its commitments under the Istanbul conference and will withdraw both its troops and arms from the Transdniester by the deadline.

In turn, Dudau said Moldova is satisfied with the pace of Russian weapons withdrawal, which he said is one month ahead of schedule.
But so far, only old armaments have been destroyed or removed from the Transdniester region -- and even that has drawn repeated protests by Transdniester leaders and residents.

It is still unclear how Transdniestrians will react if and when the real test -- Russian troop withdrawal -- begins.