PAVLO LAZARENKO, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF UKRAINE, ISSUES STATEMENT REGARDING HIS

PAVLO LAZARENKO, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF UKRAINE, ISSUES STATEMENT REGARDING HIS RELOCATION TO SAN FRANCISCO AND STATUS OF HIS APPLICATION FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM Change of Venue for INS Hearing Allows Mr. Lazarenko to be Near His Family He Refutes Press Reports in Ukraine That His Political Asylum Has Been Denied San Francisco March 18 - Mr. Pavlo Lazarenko, former Prime Minister of Ukraine who is fighting to bring about gradual reform leading to an improved economic climate in his native country, today issued a statement regarding his relocation from a U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) facility in New York to San Francisco and the status of his application for political asylum. Mr. Lazarenko said: ''On March 12 in New York, before an immigration judge, I reaffirmed my desire to seek political asylum in the U.S. I am thankful to the immigration judge for granting my request for a change of venue from New York to San Francisco so I can be close to my wife and children who are living in the Bay area. This relocation will allow me an opportunity to work more closely with my legal counsel to better prepare for my political asylum hearing. It will also give me a chance to spend time with my wife and children whom I dearly miss. At this point, no date has been set for my full political asylum hearing. When that hearing is held, I will have an opportunity to fully present my case. I remain confident that once U.S. officials have a clear understanding of all the facts in this matter they will grant my request. ''I also want to refute press reports circulating in Ukraine and across Russia that the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service has denied my application for political asylum. I want the world to know these reports are blatantly false and represent the worst kind of irresponsible reporting. My request for political asylum is being processed and I will soon know the date of my full hearing on the matter. Those spreading these false rumors in Ukraine are the same forces that have attempted to discredit me and the Hromada party. I will not let these reports go unchallenged. ''I want to again tell my many supporters in Ukraine, the Ukrainian community around the world, and the American public that the warrant for my arrest issued by Ukrainian prosecutors is totally without substance. I am a victim of political persecution by the Government of President Leonid Kuchma. Criminal investigations in Ukraine and Switzerland are part of a systematic, politically motivated plot to repress opposition. I will not be intimidated by such tactics and remain the official Presidential candidate of the Hromada party for the October 1999 elections. ''While my supporters in Ukraine continue to advance my platform for a vibrant economy, I will continue to seek temporary political asylum in the United States. I am confident that officials here will understand my situation and act accordingly. I want to again thank Ukrainians around the world who back my cause for economic stability and lasting reforms in Ukraine.'' Contact: Richard P. Crane, Jr., Esq. of Musick Peeler and Garrett, LLP, +1-213-629-7600, or Richard E. Nicolazzo or Joe M. Grillo, +1-617-951-0000, both of Nicolazzo and Associates, for Musick Peeler and Garrett, LLP