RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 144, 00-07-28

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RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 4, No. 144, 28 July 2000

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] SENIOR NATO OFFICIAL VISITS ARMENIA

[02] PROMINENT ARMENIAN WAR VETERAN UNDER INVESTIGATION

[03] ARMENIANS IN SOUTH RUSSIA APPEAL TO PUTIN FOR PROTECTION

[04] FORMER KARABAKH DEFENSE MINISTER ENDS HUNGER STRIKE

[05] AZERBAIJAN, GEORGIA DISCUSS GAS EXPORT PLANS

[06] GEORGIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES 2001 DRAFT BUDGET

[07] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT MEETS WITH POLITICAL PARTIES

[08] JAPAN TO DEVELOP INFRASTRUCTURE OF NEW KAZAKH CAPITAL

[09] KYRGYZ, RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS SIGN ETERNAL FRIENDSHIP

[10] UN WARNS TAJIKISTAN'S POPULATION THREATENED BY DROUGHT

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[11] MONTENEGRIN PRIME MINISTER SAYS 'NO' TO MILOSEVIC'S

[12] SERBIAN OPPOSITION LEADER STRESSES REFUSAL TO TAKE PART IN

[13] U.S. 'CHALLENGES' MILOSEVIC

[14] MILOSEVIC'S MINISTER BLASTS OPPONENTS

[15] MILOSEVIC PLANNING TO REORGANIZE MILITARY?

[16] MONTENEGRO SET TO TAKE CONTROL OF FINANCES

[17] CLINTON, SCHROEDER TAKE STOCK OF THE BALKANS

[18] MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT REORGANIZED

[19] TURKEY SOURING OVER KOSOVA ROLE

[20] BOSNIA, CROATIA SIGN AGREEMENTS

[21] CROATIAN LEADERS TO U.S.

[22] ROMANIAN LIBERALS TO BE OUSTED FROM CDR?

[23] HUNGARIAN OFFICIAL SAYS MINORITY FATE IS KEY TO RELATIONS

[24] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT PROMULGATES PARLIAMENTARY REPUBLIC LAW

[25] OSCE TO SEND PEACEKEEPING FORCE TO TRANSDNIESTER?

[26] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT SACKS DEPUTY SPEAKER

[C] END NOTE

[27] PUTIN TO MEET OLIGARCHS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] SENIOR NATO OFFICIAL VISITS ARMENIA

Yerevan on 26-27 July, NATO Deputy Secretary-General for

Political Issues Klaus Peter Kleiber discussed with Armenian

Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian the ongoing efforts to

resolve the Karabakh conflict and the relevance to that

process of conflict resolution in the Balkans, Armenpress and

Noyan Tapan reported. The two men also discussed Armenia's

relations with Russia and Turkey, NATO-Russian relations, the

proposed South Caucasus Security Pact, and preparations for

NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson's planned visit to

Armenia in September. LF

[02] PROMINENT ARMENIAN WAR VETERAN UNDER INVESTIGATION

police have opened a criminal investigation against Ruben

Gevorgian, a parliamentary deputy and prominent member of the

Yerkrapah Union of Veterans of the Karabakh war, RFE/RL's

Yerevan bureau reported on 27 July. Gevorgian is suspected of

having coerced two men to admit to an armed robbery which

police believe was committed by Gevorgian's nephew. In a

program broadcast last week by Armenian state television, the

two men said Gevorgian had promised them a large sum of money

for admitting to the crime and serving a short jail sentence.

Gevorgian has denied those accusations, which he termed

persecution by the Armenian government because of his

political views. Gevorgian had hinted at the complicity of

President Robert Kocharian in the 27 October Armenian

parliamentary shootings. LF

[03] ARMENIANS IN SOUTH RUSSIA APPEAL TO PUTIN FOR PROTECTION

Armenian community of the Apsheron and Tuapse Raions of

Russia's Krasnodar Kari have addressed an appeal to Russian

President Vladimir Putin expressing "profound concern" at

efforts by local media to incite tensions between Russians

and non-Russians, Noyan Tapan reported on 25 July. The

Armenians affirm support for Russia's war in Chechnya and

call on Putin "as the president of a great power" to promote

"a balanced ethnic policy" and to strengthen friendly

relations between all peoples of the Russian Federation. LF

[04] FORMER KARABAKH DEFENSE MINISTER ENDS HUNGER STRIKE

Babayan has abandoned the hunger strike he began on 17 July

to demand that his trial be held not in the unrecognized

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic but in Armenia. However, he has not

retracted that demand, Armenpress reported on 27 July (see

"RFE/RL Newsline," 20 July 2000). Babayan faces charges,

which he denies, of masterminding the 22 March assassination

attempt on Karabakh President Arkadii Ghukasian. Meanwhile

the office of the Nagorno-Karabakh Prosecutor-General has

agreed to Babayan's request that three lawyers from Armenia

be allowed to defend him, Groong quoted Snark as reporting on

25 July. Meanwhile Babayan's sister Anush has appealed for

political asylum in a number of Western countries, saying

that she is subject to political persecution and has been

threatened with eviction from her Stepanakert apartment,

Snark reported. LF

[05] AZERBAIJAN, GEORGIA DISCUSS GAS EXPORT PLANS

International Gas Corporation President Aleksei Gotsiridze

told journalists in Tbilisi on 27 July that Azerbaijan plans

to begin construction before the end of this year of a

pipeline across Georgia to export to Turkey gas from

Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz deposit, Interfax reported. That 250

kilometer pipeline will link up with an existing pipeline in

Azerbaijan, and have an initial throughput capacity of 5

billion cubic meters per year, rising to 16-24 billion cubic

meters. Gotsiridze said that a group of companies operating

in Azerbaijan, including BP/Amoco, has agreed to provide

$500-700 million toward the estimated total $1.5 billion

construction costs. Caucasus Press reported on 24 July that

Valekh Alesqerov, who heads the Foreign Investments Division

at Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR, would travel to

Turkey on 26 July to discuss Turkish purchases of Azerbaijani

gas. The decision to begin work on the Azerbaijan-Georgia

pipeline casts further doubts on the prospects for

construction of a Trans-Caspian pipeline to export Turkmen

gas to Turkey. LF

[06] GEORGIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES 2001 DRAFT BUDGET

Finance Minister Zurab Nogaideli told journalists in Tbilisi

on 26 July that the draft budget for 2001 approved by the

government the previous day envisages revenues of 1.049

billion lari ($503 million) and expenditures of 1.45 billion,

Caucasus Press reported. The resulting 440 million lari

deficit is equal to 6.5 percent of projected GDP. Speaking at

the 25 July government session that approved the draft,

President Eduard Shevardnadze said that it demonstrates that

the economic crisis is over. Three weeks ago, a budget

sequester had been introduced (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 July

2000). LF

[07] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT MEETS WITH POLITICAL PARTIES

July with representatives of several political parties and

movements, RFE/RL's bureau in the former capital reported. LF

[08] JAPAN TO DEVELOP INFRASTRUCTURE OF NEW KAZAKH CAPITAL

and Japanese government representatives signed a protocol in

Astana on 26 July whereby Japan's International Cooperation

Agency will draft plans for the water -supply and sewage

systems in the new capital, Interfax reported. The

corporation will also design a road system that will take

into account the anticipated increase in the city's

population from the present 320,000 to 490,000 in 2010 and to

690,000 in 2020. LF

[09] KYRGYZ, RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS SIGN ETERNAL FRIENDSHIP

Askar Akaev and Vladimir Putin signed a

declaration on Eternal Friendship between their two countries

and a 10-year economic cooperation program in Moscow on 27

July. Speaking later at a joint press conference, Akaev

stressed that Kyrgyzstan has always regarded its "strategic

partnership" with Russia as a foreign-policy priority. He

expressed gratitude for Russia's military assistance last

year in expelling Islamic militants from Kyrgyzstan. Putin,

for his part, again expressed appreciation for the Kyrgyz

parliament's decision to raise Russian to the status of an

official language (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 and 29 May

2000). He also noted Kyrgyzstan's unfailing support for

integration processes within the CIS. Putin stressed that

military, military-technical and humanitarian cooperation

will figure prominently in future bilateral relations,

according to Asia Plus--Blitz. Akaev also met the same day

with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who affirmed

Russia's readiness to "stabilize the economic situation,

fight poverty and create conditions for economic growth" in

Kyrgyzstan, ITAR-TASS reported. Russia is Kyrgyzstan's main

trade partner. LF

[10] UN WARNS TAJIKISTAN'S POPULATION THREATENED BY DROUGHT

UN-funded World Food Program and Food and Agriculture

Organization warned on 27 July that half of Tajikistan's 6

million population faces hunger and under-nourishment and

possibly even death from starvation as a result of the

ongoing drought, Reuters and AP reported (see "RFE/RL

Newsline," 6 June 2000). They note that cereal production has

plummeted because of a shortage of quality seed and the

breakdown of agricultural and irrigation equipment. The two

agencies appealed to the international community for

assistance. LF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[11] MONTENEGRIN PRIME MINISTER SAYS 'NO' TO MILOSEVIC'S

Filip Vujanovic said in Niksic on 27 July that the

governing coalition stands by its previous decision not to

participate in any federal legislative or presidential

elections held under Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's

new constitutional amendments and electoral legislation (see

"RFE/RL Newsline," 27 July 2000). "The governing coalition in

Montenegro has no reason to participate in these elections

since participation would strengthen Milosevic and help keep

him in power," "Pobjeda" reported. Vujanovic added that he

"expects" the army to do its constitutional duty and stay out

of politics. Elsewhere, President Milo Djukanovic's adviser

Miodrag Vukovic stressed that the Montenegrin authorities

will not let Milosevic use the elections to provoke domestic

unrest in Montenegro, Reuters reported. In Belgrade, Serbian

Deputy Prime Minister Vojislav Seselj said that the federal

elections will go ahead in Montenegro whether Djukanovic

chooses to participate or not. PM

[12] SERBIAN OPPOSITION LEADER STRESSES REFUSAL TO TAKE PART IN

Serbian Renewal Movement leader Vuk Draskovic told the

BBC's Serbian Service from Budva on 27 July that the federal

elections are meaningless without Montenegro. He added that

elections without the participation of "official Montenegro"

will serve to undermine the unity of Yugoslavia, including

Kosova as well as Serbia and Montenegro. Vojislav Kostunica

of the Democratic Party of Serbia said in Belgrade that he

hopes that the Montenegrin leaders and Draskovic will change

their minds, Reuters reported. A spokesman for the Otpor

(Resistance) student movement argued that "with a boycott,

everything will be lost" to Milosevic. Democratic Party

leader Zoran Djindjic said that he is "optimistic" that the

opposition can "forge an agreement on a joint electoral

appearance," AP reported. PM

[13] U.S. 'CHALLENGES' MILOSEVIC

Philip Reeker said in Washington on 27 July that "with the

announcement of a September 24th date, we challenge Milosevic

to hold free and fair elections and to allow independent

media to operate freely and to permit outside international

and domestic observers to monitor the election process....

[In this way] this election process will give the people of

Serbia the opportunity to determine their leader through a

free and fair contest at the ballot box," an RFE/RL

correspondent reported. PM

[14] MILOSEVIC'S MINISTER BLASTS OPPONENTS

Minister Goran Matic said in Belgrade on 28 July that

Milosevic' opponents are "a frustrated bunch unable to rally

the rest of the world behind a policy of pressure. There is

no higher expression of democracy than a popular vote, the

democratic ideal. What [Milosevic's opponents] don't like is

the fact the people of Yugoslavia will choose freely in the

elections and that...Slobodan Milosevic has a tremendous

advantage [in popularity that] no opposition candidate could

ever match." Matic added that "Djukanovic is a classic stooge

who goes around and badmouths his own country to Western

leaders. Djukanovic and his policies will collapse at the

elections, [and] his behavior [sic] will be defeated and

punished by the people," AP reported. Matic concluded by

arguing that "the will of our people is peace, freedom and

prosperity...and Milosevic is the symbol of all these. The

West has to come to terms with that." PM

[15] MILOSEVIC PLANNING TO REORGANIZE MILITARY?

streamline the military command structure before the end of

2000 by eliminating the air force, anti-aircraft defense, and

navy as separate commands, "Vesti" reported on 28 July. The

entire Yugoslav military will be grouped together in one

general staff under the command of army General Nebojsa

Pavkovic, who regards the changes as a rationalization

measure, the daily added. Observers note that Milosevic has

never fully trusted the military and long built up the

paramilitary police as his own Praetorian guard. The navy and

air force are relatively small organizations designed for

reconnaissance against and harassment of any invader. PM

[16] MONTENEGRO SET TO TAKE CONTROL OF FINANCES

has drafted a bill to establish a new Central Bank of

Montenegro independent of the Yugoslav National Bank, dpa

reported on 27 July. The Podgorica authorities view the

National Bank as a destabilizing influence and fear a new

round of hyperinflation after the elections. The German mark

is already legal tender in Montenegro alongside the Yugoslav

dinar. PM

[17] CLINTON, SCHROEDER TAKE STOCK OF THE BALKANS

article in the "International Herald Tribune" on 28 July,

U.S. President Bill Clinton and German Chancellor Gerhard

Schroeder summed up the achievements of the international

community in the Balkans in the past 12 months. They

concluded that "we will continue to work with the democratic

opposition in Serbia, to help it unite around a common

platform, to support nongovernmental organizations and the

independent media, and to back President Milo

Djukanovic...until all those who have suffered under Mr.

Milosevic's rule can take their place in Europe. We have no

illusions about the hard work that remains, but the progress

made thus far gives us confidence that it can be completed.

Together we can do for Southeast Europe what was done for

Western Europe after World War II and Central Europe after

the collapse of communism: integrate it into a democratic,

undivided Europe in which the prospect of yet another

terrible war is unthinkable." The two leaders stressed that

the international community must remain firm and united. PM

[18] MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT REORGANIZED

approved measures to cut the size of the cabinet from 27 to

17 seats in keeping with recommendations from the EU and

World Bank, the private MIC news agency reported (see "RFE/RL

Newsline," 19 July 2000). Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski

announced the new cabinet line-up, the fourth since he was

elected in 1998. Among the changes is that Ljuben Paunovski

moves from the culture portfolio to defense, where he

replaces Nikola Kljusev. Georgievski stressed that his

government's priorities remain the same, namely to press for

integration into NATO and the EU. The breakdown of the new

cabinet is: Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization:

prime minister plus seven seats; Democratic Alternative:

Deputy Prime Minister Vasil Tupurkovski and four seats; and

Democratic Party of the Albanians: Deputy Prime Minister

Ernat Fejzulahu and three seats. Opposition Social Democratic

deputy Georgi Spasov said that Georgievski missed an

opportunity to rid himself of unnamed ineffective ministers

and bring in new faces. PM

[19] TURKEY SOURING OVER KOSOVA ROLE

said in Ankara on 27 July that his government will take

unspecified steps to show its disapproval if the UN's

civilian administration does not act to make the Turkish

language equal to Serbo-Croatian and Albanian in Kosova, AP

reported. The UN has been willing to use Turkish as an

official language in areas where the 15,000-strong Turkish

minority is strong, but Ankara wants Turkish to be official

throughout the province, the news agency added. Turkey

provides both an aid program and 1,000 peacekeepers to

Kosova. PM

[20] BOSNIA, CROATIA SIGN AGREEMENTS

Ivica Racan and his Bosnian counterpart, Spasoje Tusevljak,

signed agreements on repatriation and on customs arrangements

in Sarajevo on 27 July (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 July 2000).

They also agreed that citizens of the two countries may cross

their common border by showing only their internal identity

card rather than a passport, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service

reported. Racan said that he was "unpleasantly surprised" by

criticism from Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic of Racan's

decision to meet separately with representatives of the

ethnic Croatian community. Racan stressed that "a stable

Croatia can only exist along with a stable, single, and

sovereign Bosnia-Herzegovina. Croatia is determined to

strengthen its relations with Bosnia," Reuters reported. PM

[21] CROATIAN LEADERS TO U.S.

Montgomery said in Zagreb that Racan and President Stipe

Mesic will visit Washington from 8-10 August, "Jutarnji list"

reported on 28 July. Among the leaders they will meet with

are President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine

Albright. The exact itinerary of the trip has not yet been

completed. PM

[22] ROMANIAN LIBERALS TO BE OUSTED FROM CDR?

Party Christian Democratic (PNTCD) Deputy Chairman Ioan

Muresan said on 27 July that the National Liberal Party

will "expel itself" from the Democratic Convention of

Romania (CDR) if it fails to attend a meeting of CDR

leaders scheduled for 1 August, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau

reported. The CDR statutes stipulate that if a formation

fails to attend two consecutive CDR leadership meetings, it

will be automatically excluded from the alliance. MS

[23] HUNGARIAN OFFICIAL SAYS MINORITY FATE IS KEY TO RELATIONS

Addressing the annual Balvanyos Summer

University in Baile Tusnad on 27 July, Zsolt Nemeth,

political secretary in the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, said

Hungarian-Romanian relations are primarily determined "by

what happens in Romania itself," Mediafax reported. He said

the participation of the Hungarian Democratic Federation of

Romania (UDMR) in the government since 1996 has been a

"turning point" in Budapest's relations with Bucharest and

that the future of those relations depends on Bucharest's

attitude toward the Hungarian minority in Romania. Peter

Eckstein-Kovacs, who is minister in charge of minority

affairs in the Bucharest cabinet, denied that in the UDMR

leadership there are "pro-communist forces" ready to

collaborate with the Party of Social Democracy in Romania,

as claimed by UDMR "radical wing" member Tibor Torro on 24

July at Balvanyos. MS

[24] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT PROMULGATES PARLIAMENTARY REPUBLIC LAW

Moldova into a presidential republic, RFE/RL's Chisinau

bureau reported. Lucinschi said that "as of the moment the

law becomes effective, responsibility for the over-all

situation in Moldova falls on the parliament's shoulders."

Lucinschi on 20 July vetoed the law but was overridden by

the legislature the next day. He said he still "vehemently"

opposes the bill but had no choice but to promulgate it,

otherwise he would have violated the constitution. He once

more called on the parliament to call a referendum on his

proposal to increase the presidential powers. MS

[25] OSCE TO SEND PEACEKEEPING FORCE TO TRANSDNIESTER?

of the State Commission on the Transdniester Yevgenii

Primakov and OSCE rotating chairwoman Benita Ferrero-

Waldner have held "preliminary talks" on the possibility of

deploying an OSCE peace-keeping force in the separatist

region, OSCE Secretary-General Jan Kubis told an RFE/RL

correspondent on 27 July. Primakov and Ferrero-Waldner met

in Vienna earlier this week. Kubis confirmed that the

Russians are again attempting to link the full withdrawal

of their troops from the region to the conclusion of an

agreement between Chisinau and Tiraspol on the future

status of the Transdniester. He said the OSCE agrees that

the region should have a special status but insists on the

territorial sovereignty of Moldova as a whole. MS

[26] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT SACKS DEPUTY SPEAKER

on 27 July approved a resolution proposed by the ruling

Union of Democratic Forces on removing deputy speaker

Blagovest Sedonov from that post. Sedonov recently co-

signed a letter to the Israeli parliament praising the

decision of the Jewish National Fund to replace a memorial

to King Boris III with one that hails the role played "by

Bulgarians" in saving Jews during World War II (see "RFE/RL

Newsline," 18 and 21 July 2000). The vote was 130 in favor

with 80 against and 16 abstentions. The resolution said

Sedonov had "discredited Bulgaria's parliament and people

and damaged Bulgaria's image abroad." Sedonov, an

independent, was elected to the parliament on the lists of

the opposition Socialist Party, which said the government

is ignoring the country's history and "glorifying the

wartime monarchist regime." MS

[C] END NOTE

[27] PUTIN TO MEET OLIGARCHS

In recent weeks, Russian President Vladimir Putin has

seemingly begun to carry out his election promise to reduce

the influence of the notorious "oligarchs," who grew rich

during the Boris Yeltsin era owing to their close ties to

government officials and easy access to public funds. So far,

however, he has largely settled scores with the Kremlin's

political and business opponents, leaving magnates close to

him untouched.

His meeting with a group of leading oligarchs on 28 July

may be a first step toward the creating a fairer economic

playing field or toward reasserting the role of the state.

But it is unlikely to address a more fundamental problem--

namely, the relationship between property and political

power. Putin's rhetoric notwithstanding, he does not have the

power, nor has he so far revealed the intention, to seek to

break the link between the two.

Putin has moved against several leading business

empires, including Media-MOST, LUKoil, and Norilsk Nickel,

whose owners have been accused of crimes ranging from

embezzlement to tax evasion. Media-MOST owner Vladimir

Gusinskii has long been critical of the government,

especially the war in Chechnya, and last year he supported

the Fatherland movement of Yevgenii Primakov and Yurii

Luzhkov, at the time both rivals of Putin. LUKoil's Vagit

Alekperov is close to powerful Tatarstan President Mintimer

Shamiev and also backed Fatherland, while Norilsk Nickel

owner Vladimir Potanin has never been close to this Kremlin.

By contrast, Kremlin "bankers" Roman Abramovich and

Aleksandr Mamut, who financed Putin's election campaign, have

been spared by the president. In fact, several of Putin's

steps so far have benefited their business interests.

Accusations of tax evasion against LUKoil, for example, may

have been intended in part to eliminate it from the running

for the state-controlled oil-company ONAKO, Russia's 12th

largest oil producer, whose majority stake went on sale on 21

July. Abramovich's Sibneft company and Transneft, controlled

by Semyon Vainshtok, another pro-Putin oligarch, are said to

be considering strong bids.

While there has been much ado about Boris Berezovskii's

public break with the president and his intention to create

an opposition party, Berezovskii himself recently installed

his daughter on the board of Russian Public Television, which

remains in his control. The state-owned Vneshtorgbank, for

its part, indicated it may lend Berezovskii $85 million to

operate the channel.

Putin's strong-arm tactics have relied on the Ministry

of Internal Affairs, the Federal Security Service (FSB), the

tax police, and the prosecutor-general--rather than the

courts--to bring the oligarchs to heel. The "Family"--the

Kremlin group that includes former Yeltsin speechwriter

Valentin Yumashev, Yeltsin's daughter, Tatyana Dyachenko, and

presidential administration chief Aleksandr Voloshin, as well

as Mamut and Abramovich--reportedly favors maintaining a few

large oligarchic empires that are independent but close to

the Kremlin (Prosecutor-General Vladimir Ustinov is reported

to be an ally of The Family).

A second group, concentrated in the FSB and the newly

empowered Security Council, would prefer to wipe out the

oligarchs and transform Russia's large businesses into state

companies headed by proteges of the president. Putin does not

appear to have firmly committed to either option to date.

Even if the most notorious oligarchs were removed,

however, it would do little to untangle the interpenetration

of business and politics that is a fundamental aspect of the

Russian political scene. Alliances between governors and

regional oligarchs--sometimes forged against the will of

better known magnates from Moscow--are common. At the federal

level, ministries routinely engage in commercial activities.

And even presidential administration head Voloshin qualifies

as an oligarch in his own right.

Perhaps more significantly for Putin, the security

services on which he relies have long been as much motivated

by money as by serving the public interest. Many large firms

employ former FSB intelligence officers, and ties undoubtedly

remain strong between the latter and Lubyanka. Interior

Minister Vladimir Rushailo, one of Russia's major law

enforcement officers, was reported to have been extensively

involved in entrepreneurial activity when he headed Moscow's

organized crime directorate in the early 1990s. Among his

alleged activities was providing protection to major Moscow

firms in exchange for corporate contributions. In the

regions, governors and the firms that support them often

supplement the federal salaries of law enforcement officials

out of their own pocket--a telling indicator of their lacking

loyalty to the Kremlin.

Among the 18 business officials invited to attend

Putin's 28 July meeting with business leaders are Alekperov,

Gazprom chief Rem Vyakhirev, and Yukos head Mikhail

Khororkhovskii, as well as an executive from the

telecommunication company Vympelcom. Berezovskii and

Gusinskii reportedly have not been invited. Union of Rightist

Forces faction leader Boris Nemtsov, who along with Voloshin

pressed for the meeting, has predicted that business leaders

will propose a three-point declaration in which the Kremlin

agrees to stop investigations into past privatization deals

and get rid of corrupt bureaucrats, "beginning with the

Prosecutor-General's Office." In return, the oligarchs would

agree to "play by the rules"--that is, pay all taxes and obey

the law.

Predictably, Kremlin sources have said it is unlikely

that any agreement will be signed.

The author is associate director of RFE/RL's Broadcasting

Division.

28-07-00

Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org

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