Asia Times: Berezovskii firing wins praise



	March 10, 1999	atimes.com

Central Asia / Siberia

NEWSLINE: Central Asia, Transcaucasia and Russia

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Berezovskii firing wins praise
Russian political figures across the political spectrum have backed President Boris Yeltsin's decision to dismiss Boris Berezovskii as CIS executive secretary, Russian agencies reported on 5 March. Prime Minister Yevgenii Primakov said that the CIS leader failed to act ''with the authorization of the CIS chief executive [Yeltsin].'' State Duma chairman Gennadii Seleznev said Yeltsin's decision was an occasion for raising ''a glass of champagne or something stronger.'' Federation Council Chairman Yegor Stroev said the sacking was of no consequence for Russia itself, while Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov said it was ''long overdue.'' Communist Party leader Gennadii Zyuganov said that ''justice has finally prevailed.'' Yabloko leader Grigorii Yavlinskii called Yeltsin's action ''an insignificant event'' calculated to obscure reports of corruption in the government. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sergei Stepashin said that Russian law enforcement agencies are not currently investigating Berezovskii. (Paul Goble)

Analysts say Primakov wins duel
Russian political analysts generally viewed the dismissal of Berezovskii as a victory for Primakov, Interfax reported. While some suggested that the firing marked the end of Berezovskii's political career, Georgii Satarov on 5 March said he ''does not consider Berezovskii's political future hopeless.'' But the chairman of the State Duma's CIS Affairs Committee, Georgii Tikhonov, told Interfax the same day that Berezovskii's dismissal may lead to more attacks on Primakov's government. ''A person possessing such huge funds as Berezovskii will not just calm down; he will fight together with his team and do a lot of harm,'' Tikhonov concluded. And ''Izvestiya'' suggested on 6 March that Yeltsin may sack others, including members of the government, because ''the president does not make 'asymmetric' firings.'' (P.G.)

CIS leaders voice dissatisfaction
The presidents of several CIS member states have expressed surprise at Yeltsin's decision to fire Berezovskii as CIS executive secretary, suggesting that such a decision does not lie within the competence of the chairman of the CIS Heads of State Council. Azerbaijan's Heidar Aliev said Berezovskii's dismissal should have been discussed beforehand by all CIS presidents. Georgia's Eduard Shevardnadze said he was not consulted in advance. Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Nurlan Balghimbayev told Interfax that consensus is needed to remove the executive secretary from his post. Moldova's Petru Lucinschi told Interfax that he supported the decision, as did spokesmen for Armenia's Robert Kocharian and Kyrgyzstan's Askar Akayev. Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma predicted that his colleagues will endorse Yeltsin's decision at the next CIS summit, but he did not say whether he personally approved it. Ivan Korotchenya, named by Yeltsin on 5 March to succeed Berezovskii, told Interfax that the next summit will be held on 30 or 31 March or 2 April. (Liz Fuller)

Kazakh foreign minister talks trade with Pakistan . . .
Kasymjomart Tokayev was in the Pakistani capital on 5-6 March, ITAR-TASS and dpa reported. Tokayev met with his counterpart, Sartaj Aziz, and President Nawaz Sharif to discuss the potential for trade after the opening in May of a highway from Kazakhstan to the Pakistani port of Karachi via Kyrgyzstan and China. Tokayev said Pakistan is interested in buying wheat from Kazakhstan. He also discussed cooperation in banking and aviation as well as cultural and humanitarian exchanges. Both sides confirmed a commitment to resolving the conflict in Afghanistan on the basis of non-interference in that country's internal affairs. (Bruce Pannier)

. . . And meets with Taleban
Tokayev also met with Wakil Ahmed Mutawakil, an aide to Taleban leader Mullah Omar, and said that Kazakhstan favors peace through the establishment of a coalition government in which all warring factions and groups are represented. The Afghan Islamic Press agency was cited by dpa as reporting that the meeting was ''positive'' and that the two sides agreed to ''maintain contact.'' Tokayev later side-stepped a journalist's question about whether closer ties would be established with the Taleban. ''Recognizing or not recognizing the Taleban is not important. The issue is we had direct talks with Taleban,'' he said. (B.P.)

Gazprom chief explains Turkmen gas shipments
Rem Vyakhirev, addressing the Russian State Duma on 5 March, explained the state of affairs as regards Turkmen natural gas shipments to Ukraine via Russia (see ''RFE/RL Newsline,'' 17 February 1999), ITAR-TASS and Interfax reported. Vyakhirev said the system for those shipments allows Russia ''to control the fuel supply from Turkmenistan to Ukrainian consumers.'' Vyakhirev also said Turkmenistan has lost about $1 billion since Turkmen gas shipments to Ukraine ceased in spring 1997 owing to disputes over shipping terms, Ukraine's large debt, and the low price paid to Turkmenistan for the shipments. Vyakhirev said that Gazprom, as the operator of the pipeline, sets the conditions for transportation of Turkmen gas. He also noted that his company will participate in projects to develop new gas fields in Turkmenistan and ship Turkmen gas to China. (B.P.)

Russian minister advocates blocking trans-Caspian pipeline
Russia's Minister for CIS Affairs Boris Pastukhov said ''the closer we are connected to Turkmenistan's gas and oil sectors, the more the CIS countries, above all Russia, will be the winners.'' Pastukhov noted that Turkmenistan still plans to build a pipeline to Pakistan and India via Afghanistan and that ''sooner or later'' this will take place. He recommended that Russia take part in this project. However, Pastukhov said the Russian government should block plans to lay a pipeline from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan along the bed of the Caspian Sea. (B.P.)

Turkmenistan, Pakistan in electricity deal
The Energy Ministries of Turkmenistan and Pakistan have signed a memorandum on conducting a feasibility study for the export of Turkmen electricity to Pakistan via Afghanistan, Interfax reported on 6 March. Two routes will be examined: Mary-Sherberghan-Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar and Mary-Herat-Kandahar-Quetta, both of which are some 1,150 kilometers long. Regions in Afghanistan would also receive supplies and two transit stations would be built in that country. (B.P.)

Former Armenian ruling party holds congress
Some 350 delegates attended the 11th congress of the center-right Armenian Pan-National Movement in Yerevan on 5-6 March, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The congress adopted a resolution describing the present Armenian leadership's advent to power as ''illegal'' and as resulting in the ''criminalization'' of the government and the establishment of a ''military-police system.'' Delegates vowed to thwart the present leadership's alleged ''plans to form a puppet parliament'' by falsifying the outcome of the 30 May parliamentary elections. The resolution also called for the creation of a shadow cabinet. The congress failed to elect either a new 40-person ruling board or a new board chairman to replace former Interior Minister Vano Siradeghian, who left Armenia in late January and is wanted for questioning in connection with his suspected complicity in a series of murders. (L.F.)

New loan for Armenian power sector
The International Development Association (IDA) approved a loan of some $21 million on 4 March to help Armenia put its electric power industry on an efficient commercial footing, according to an RFE/RL correspondent in Washington. The credit is the first of an anticipated total of some $53 million the World Bank plans to allocate to Armenia over the next four-and-a-half years to support power sector restructuring. It will be used to make sure that Armenia's power needs are met in a reliable and cost-effective manner while the industry is updated and made self-sufficient. The plan includes ending subsidies and will focus on three enterprises: Armenergo, High Voltage Electronic Network Company, and Yerevan Distribution. (L.F.)

Azerbaijan implicates CIA in alleged death plot
Azerbaijan's National Security Ministry issued a statement on 6 March claiming that a former CIA agent advised former parliamentary speaker Rasul Guliev on the latter's alleged plan to assassinate former Azerbaijani President Abulfaz Elchibey, AP reported (see ''RFE/RL Newsline,'' 3 March 1999). A CIA spokesman in Washington declined to comment on the allegations. The Baku-based committee to defend Guliev, who has lived in the U.S. since his resignation in September 1996, will stage a protest demonstration outside the Ministry of National Security on 12 March, Turan reported on 5 March. (L.F.)

Shevardnadze pessimistic on NATO membership
Speaking in Tokyo on 5 March, Eduard Shevardnadze admitted that Georgia is unlikely to be admitted to NATO however much it aspires to membership in that alliance, Caucasus Press reported. Shevardnadze also said that Georgia's intensifying military cooperation with Turkey will not extend to the opening of Turkish military bases on Georgian territory. ''The subject has never been discussed, the Turkish side has never even mentioned that possibility,'' ITAR-TASS quoted Shevardnadze as saying. (L.F.)

Yeltsin aide criticizes 'complacent' Primakov
Appearing on ORT television on 6 March, Oleg Sysuev, President Yeltsin's first deputy chief of staff, criticized Prime Minister Primakov for ''complacency'' and added that Yeltsin ''undoubtedly has no complacency about the government,'' Interfax reported. Sysuev noted that Primakov enjoys a great deal of public support ''but this does not mean that this confidence is endless.'' And he noted that Yeltsin is not ''unconditional'' in his support of the government and is especially concerned about the slow pace of negotiations with the IMF. If things do not improve on that front, Sysuev said, Yeltsin may intervene directly. Asked if all this meant that the president is preparing to make new changes in the government, Sysuev said that such changes are ''the prerogative of the president'' and that no official should conclude that he will remain ''in the government forever.'' (P.G.)

Draft Yeltsin address reaffirms reform
''Izvestiya'' on 6 March reported that it had acquired a copy of a draft speech that Yeltsin plans to give once he has recovered, ITAR-TASS said. The newspaper indicated that the text is a manifesto of liberal reforms and reaffirms Yeltsin's commitment to market-oriented transformations. But on 8 March, Russian agencies reported that Yeltsin will remain in the hospital until the end of March. (P.G.)

Central Bank promises to defend ruble
As the ruble fell below 23 to $1 on 5 March, Russian Finance Minister Mikhail Zadornov said that the Central Bank of Russia has sufficient resources ''both to prevent a sharp drop of the ruble exchange rate and to make foreign debt payments,'' Interfax-FIA reported. He added that Moscow has extended until 1 May the period in which Treasury bills and Finance Ministry bonds are to be restructured. (P.G.)

Inflation slows in January
The State Statistics Committee told Interfax on 5 March that monthly inflation fell to 4.1 percent in February, down from 8.5 percent in January and 11.6 percent in December. (P.G.)

Corruption reaches 'unprecedented' levels
Acting Prosecutor-General Yurii Chaika told the Duma on 5 March that corruption in Russia has reached ''unprecedented'' levels and become ''a destructive force'' in the country, Interfax reported. Chaika said that prosecutors have exposed some 56,000 crimes involving government officials over the last three years. The same day, Interior Minister Stepashin asked the Duma to ratify an extradition accord with Europe in order to help fight corruption, and he announced that a new agreement with Switzerland will allow Moscow to track down funds illegally transferred to that country. (P.G.)

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