GUUAM NEWS
Embassies of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Uzbekistan – Washington, D.C.- 29 January, 2002
GUUAM:
*The 8th meeting of GUUAM national coordinators was held in Tbilisi on January 24-25. Among other documents, the national coordinators adopted the action-plan for the organization's activities in 2002-2003, initialed draft agreements on establishing the GUUAM Free Trade Zone and the GUUAM Information Office in Kyiv. All of the above agreements will be submitted to be finalized by the Heads of States during the next GUUAM Summit in Yalta in June, 2002.
Azerbaijan:
*On January 25, exercising his authority, U.S President George W. Bush waived the infamous Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, which prevented American assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan.
*Mr. Yashar Aliyev was appointed as the head of Azerbaijan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York and was granted the rank of Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary by a presidential decree on January 21.
Georgia:
*On January 28, Speaker of Georgia’s Parliament, Nino Burjanadze, arrived in Azerbaijan on an official visit to discuss close bilateral ties between the two countries, efforts to ensure peace and stability in the region as well as cooperation in fighting terrorism. Her program includes meetings with Azerbaijan’s President Heydar Aliyev, Parliamentary Speaker Murtuz Aleskerov, Foreign Minister Vilayat Guliyev, and other high-ranking officials.
*On January 25, President George W. Bush named Richard Miles as U.S. ambassador to Georgia.
Nomination of Mr. Miles, who previously served in Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia, Azerbaijan and Germany, is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Moldova:
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is open for active cooperation with the Moldovan authorities, - EBRD President Jean Lemierre stated during his meeting with President Vladimir Voronin of Moldova on January 24 in Chisinau. President Voronin in his turn has expressed hope in fruitful cooperation with the EBRD owing to improving the quality of the joint projects.
Moldova (continued):
*President Voronin met with Lord Russel Johnston, Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, who visited Moldova on January 17. Their meeting focused on the social and economic situation in the country. In related news, the EU Commission will send negotiators to Chisinau to discuss the conditions of a 15-million-euro loan for Moldova.
Ukraine:
*On January 25, the Cabinet of Ministers issued a decree to instructing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy and European Integration to determine the measures aimed at finalizing the GUUAM Free trade zone Agreement.
*Speaking on January 12, while on working visit to Georgia, Foreign Minister Anatoly Zlenko stated that Ukraine is ready to work for a settlement of the Abkhaz conflict. Mr.Zlenko said that Ukraine's joining the peace-keeping operation in Abkhazia would be possible only under the United Nations flag after the UN decides to participate in the operation,
*18-year-old Ruslan Ponomariov from Ukraine – has become the youngest FIDE world chess champion. On January 23 in Moscow he played vs. 32-year-old Vasyl Ivanchuk from Lviv. For the first time in the history of the World Chess Championship two Ukrainians met in the finals.
Uzbekistan:
*President Islam Karimov received general Tommy Franks, Commander of the US Army's Central Command, on January 22. During the meeting, President Karimov stressed that the first phase of the anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan was reaching its completion successfully with minimal military losses on the US side. In his turn, General Franks highly praised Uzbekistan’s role in the anti-terrorist operation, in particular provision of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
*A US delegation, led by the Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle, was received by President Karimov on January 17. The sides discussed issues of regional security, combating international terrorism and further deepening of bilateral relations, including cooperation in the military-technical sphere.
GUUAM NEWS is published monthly by Embassies of GUUAM countries - Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Moldova – in Washington, D.C.