Ukrainian Prime Minister Discusses Transdniester in RFE/RL’s Kyiv Studio

(Prague, Czech Republic–March 16, 2006) Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov was a guest in the Kyiv studio of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service on March 15, answering questions for an hour in a live broadcast of the service’s “Evening Liberty” show (Transcript in Ukrainian and English available on RFE/RL’s website)

Yekhanurov declined comment on most domestic political issues related to the approaching March 26 parliamentary elections, but spoke about Ukraine’s current border dispute with Moldova’s breakaway region of Transdniester. The prime minister warned that “Ukraine has simply introduced international rules of the game and smuggling won’t be tolerated any longer. And it looks like in recent days, after we introduced the international (customs) regulations, there hasn’t been any smuggling or so-called shadow economy on the border.”

Ukraine imposed new regulations on March 3 requiring all cargo to be cleared by Moldovan customs officers. The measure was taken amid pressure from the European Union, which is concerned about smuggling into and out of the internationally-unrecognized Transdniester region.

RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service broadcasts 6 hours of programming a day in the Ukrainian language, with programs produced in Prague and the service’s Kyiv Bureau and transmitted to listeners via shortwave, satellite and AM and FM signals provided by 11 local affiliate partners in Ukraine. Ukrainian Service programming is also available via the Internet, at the service’s website www.radiosvoboda.org and at www.rferl.org.