Debt Remark Irks Kiev
- By Unknown
- May. 08 1998 00:00
KIEV -- Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it was "amazed'' at recent remarks by Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko on debt repayment and it summoned the ambassador of Belarus to express its displeasure.
Lukashenko said Tuesday that his country would not ratify a bilateral border treaty with Ukraine until it pays $215 million in state debts to Belarus.
Lukashenko accused Kiev of "failing to even recognize'' the debt, saying that "one should first earn the money to build a fence and then build it,'' Interfax.
Belarus says Ukraine owes the money for various Soviet-era deliveries.