Informal Meeting Between Yeltsin, Ukraine's Kuchma Expected In Crimea Friday

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma is expected to hold an informal meeting with the first Russian president, Boris Yeltsin, in the Crimea on Friday, Kuchma told a news conference in Feodosia on Thursday, RIA Novosti reported. The first president is vacationing with his wife at an executive retreat in the Crimea, Ukraine. Kuchma on Thursday kicked off a 4-day working tour across the Crimea by visiting the Black Sea resort of Feodosia. He held an extended meeting with leaders of the Crimean Autonomy's parliament, government, and local authorities in the city. Contacted by RIA Novosti, the Ukrainian presidential press service confirmed reports that Yeltsin traveled to the peninsula after consulting Kuchma by telephone. Last year, Boris and Naina Yeltsin spent their summer vacation as early as in May in the Crimea, but this year, they only made it to the resort by late autumn as rains set in and temperatures dropped to 8 degrees Centigrade, marking the passing of the Indian summer.