No. 138, 22 July 1992

SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

YELTSIN CRITICIZES MILITARY LEADERSHIP. At a meeting of some
two hundred military commanders and regional leaders held in
the Kremlin on 21 July, Boris Yeltsin accused the Russian military
leadership of corruption and abuse of office, and ordered it
to put its financial house in order, Russian and Western agencies
reported. According to Yeltsin press aide, Vyacheslav Kostikov,
who was the main source of information on the meeting, Yeltsin
focused in particular on the army's implication in the illegal
sales of military property and warned against a possible merger
of military supply services with commercial interests. He hinted
that there might be some personnel changes in the military command.
At the meeting, which was reportedly devoted to a discussion
on insuring decent living standards for servicemen, Yeltsin also
leveled criticism against regional leaders for failing to provide
housing promised to officers. (Stephen Foye)

LATEST BLACK SEA FLEET DISPUTE. A frigate from the Black Sea
Fleet with a rebellious crew bolted from a training exercise
at its home port of Donuzlav on 21 July, raised the Ukrainian
flag, and set off without permission for Odessa, Western and
CIS agencies reported. Russian commanders sent at least three
ships and a plane to intercept the vessel, but they then let
the ship dock in Odessa. Ukrainian naval commander, Admiral Boris
Kozhin, criticized the action, saying that it violated the Dagomys
agreement reached by presidents Yeltsin and Kravchuk. That accord
forbade taking any unilateral actions with respect to the fleet.
The rebellious crew, which was commanded by an ethnic Ukrainian,
claimed to have fled over humiliations suffered at the hands
of the mainly Russian fleet command. Negotiations were reportedly
taking place on 22 July over the fate of the crew. (Stephen Foye)


PEACEKEEPING TROOPS IN THE CIS. Russian Defense Minister Pavel
Grachev said in Krasnaya zvezda on 21 July that Russian troops
will be trained as peacekeeping troops over the next several
years for possible deployment both with UN peacekeeping forces
and with proposed CIS peacekeeping units. His remarks were summarized
by Western agencies. On the same day, Radio Rossii reported that
Boris Yeltsin signed a protocol, originally prepared by CIS defense
and foreign ministers in Tashkent on 16 July, on the creation
and use of CIS peacekeeping forces. Meanwhile, Ukrinform-TASS
reported on 21 July that a battalion formed in Ukraine would
be leaving that night to join a UN peacekeeping force in Bosnia.
(Stephen Foye)

MOLDOVAN PEACE AGREEMENT SIGNED. Following negotiations launched
by Moldovan President Mircea Snegur with Russian President Yeltsin
in Moscow on 3 July, which were subsequently continued by their
military and political representatives, an agreement on ending
the hostilities in eastern Moldova was signed by Yeltsin and
Snegur in Moscow on 21 July. "Dniester republic president" Igor
Smirnov was present at the meeting but did not sign. The sole
provision known thus far is that Moldova grants the "Dniester"
area the right to decide its own fate if Moldova changes its
statehood, (that is, if it unites with Romania). In fact, this
right was previously offered by Chisinau to Tiraspol in January
1992. This offer was devised by anti-unification officials in
Snegur's chancellery as a way of creating yet another disincentive
to unification with Romania. (Vladimir Socor)

FRENCH MILITARY INSPECTORS ARRIVE IN UKRAINE. In accordance with
the CFE treaty, which came into force in Ukraine on 17 July,
a team of French military inspectors has arrived in Ukraine.
Ukrinform-TASS reported on 21 July that the team will conduct
verification inspections of installations in the Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's press agency certified that
the visitors were given the go-ahead to confirm Ukraine's adherence
to an "open, peace-loving and good-neighborly policy" and its
preparedness in practice to abide by the obligations of the CFE
treaty. (Chris Hummel)

RUSSIAN DEPUTIES DENY HAVING CENSORSHIP INTENTIONS. On 21 July,
Russian TV broadcast a live interview with the chairmen of the
two chambers of the Russian parliament, Nikolai Ryabov and Ramazan
Abdulatipov. They denied that the parliament was going to introduce
censorship in the Russian media, and noted that the public should
evaluate the laws adopted by the parliament rather than the draft
proposals that are circulated in the corridors of power. Ryabov
also pointed out that the executive branch exercises undue control
and censorship over Russian television and cited a memorandum,
signed by acting Prime Minister Gaidar, requesting extensive
coverage of Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev's activities.
The much publicized controversy over the recent attempt by the
parliament to take over Izvestiya was not raised in the course
of the interview. (Julia Wishnevsky)

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT RESUMES HEARINGS ON CPSU. After a one-week
recess to review evidence presented on the ban of the Communist
Party (CPSU), the Russian Constitutional Court resumed its hearings
on 21 July, Russian and Western agencies reported. The court
heard testimony from regional Communist Party officials who denied
that the Communist Party had organized or supported the August
1991 coup attempt. Gennadii Sklyar, former party chief in the
town of Obninsk, denied ever having received a telegram from
the CPSU Central Committee instructing him to support the coup.
Another witness, Lyubov Oleinik, former member of the regional
Party committee in Kurgan oblast, also testified that the Party
bosses in Kurgan did not support the coup. (Carla Thorson)

STANKEVICH ANNOUNCES POLICY CHANGE. Boris Yeltsin's chief political
advisor, Sergei Stankevich, announced at a meeting with Russian
journalists that reforms will be slowed down and the reform process
will be conducted with a strong hand, "Vesti" reported on 21
July. He noted that Russia will base its reforms on its own traditions
and customs, suggesting that Russia will no longer follow a strictly
Western-oriented reform course. He said that Russia has to become
a great power again and this idea should unite people behind
the course of reform. He noted that the Russian state should
look to its inner strengths and concentrate all the country's
energy on a future economic and cultural breakthrough. (Alexander
Rahr)

GAIDAR ASSUMING 1100 TO 1600 PERCENT INFLATION IN 1992? Gaidar's
speech to the Russian parliament on 16 July gives a figure for
expected current-price GNP this year of 15 trillion rubles. What
this implies about the government's expected inflation rate for
1992 over 1991 depends on which Russian government agency's figures
it is based on. The Economics Ministry says current-price GNP
last year was 1.42 trillion rubles, and expects a real decline
this year of 11.6%; the State Statistics Committee has been betting
on 1.04 trillion rubles and 15.8%, respectively. The former implies
an 1100% increase in the general price level (GNP deflator),
but Goskomstat's numbers would make the increase in price level
about 1600%. (Philip Hanson)

RUTSKOI FORECASTS GRIM FUTURE FOR AGRICULTURE. Vice-president
Aleksandr Rutskoi predicted that agricultural production would
fall 27% and require no fewer than six years to recover, Trud
reported on 21 July. Rutskoi also warned of state procurement
deteriorating into confiscation if farms did not voluntarily
sell their grain. His comments, which were made at a meeting
with trade union leaders from agro-industrial enterprises, appeared
just after the government released a disappointing estimate for
the 1992 grain harvest. The estimate96 million tonswas less than
projections made earlier in the year. (Erik Whitlock)

LOSSES FROM RUSSIAN OIL EXPORTS. An official of Soyuznefteksport
told Interfax on 21 July that Russia loses about $1 billion a
year on its oil exports. He attributed this to the removal of
tight state control on oil exports, the lack of experience among
oil traders, and speculation. This latter factor was confirmed
by a Gaidar consultant in London, who lamented: "they bought
for rubles and sold for hard cash on the world market." The Soyuznefteksport
representative recommended that oil firms receive a greater share
of hard currency profits, the reduction of export duties, and
the introduction of world prices within the CIS. Interfax reported
that Russia plans to export 60 million tons of oil in 1992. (Keith
Bush)

RUBLE DROPS 10% AGAINST THE DOLLAR. The ruble-for-dollar exchange
rate jumped to 151.1 on 21 July, Interfax and ITAR-TASS reported.
The rate, established by auction at the Moscow Interbank Currency
Exchange, had been 135.4 rubles to the dollar previously. The
recent appointment of Viktor Gerashchenko as head of the Central
Bank is blamed for the ruble dive. Gerashchenko has suggested
that the Central Bank has been too active in supporting the ruble
in the past. (Erik Whitlock)

COPING WITH THE CASH CRISIS. The shortage of cash to pay wages
has become so acute in the Central Russian city Voronezh that
firms are reduced to paying their workers with television sets,
Russian TV reported on 16 July. On 6 July, Russian TV reported
that in Russia's third largest city, Nizhnii Novgorod (formerly
Gorkii), auto workers had only that day received their wages
for April. (Elizabeth Teague)

INTERENTERPRISE DEBTS STILL MOUNTING. Deputy Chairman of the
Russian Parliament Yurii Voronin told Interfax on 21 July that
interenterprise debts in the Russian economy now total 3 trillion
rubles. This appears to indicate a considerable increase in outstanding
debts since the beginning of the month. Yet, the presidential
decree of 1 July ordered the freezing of such debts as of that
date and the introduction of new payments system. It was then
expected that old debts would be netted out to discover which
enterprises were net debtors. Just what was to be done with them
has yet to be decided. (Keith Bush)

MILITARY INDUSTRY BROKERAGE OPENS. In its July 1992 issue (no.
27), Ekonomika i zhizn reported the 1 July opening of the Military-Industrial
Bureau (VPB) in the city of Kaliningrad. VPB trades goods from
the specialized instruments and materials, electronics, chemical,
metallurgical and construction industries for in-demand consumer
goods. VPB also offers around-the-clock access to information
resources and trading partners. VPB joins the ranks of a growing
number of military-industrial exchanges, such as "Konversiya,"
"ESTRA," and others. (Brenda Horrigan)

RUSSIAN BRAIN DRAIN. Some 100 scientists are leaving Russia to
work in Mexico because of higher wages, AFP reported on 21 July.
While Russia is beginning to export labor, it is concerned with
a possible brain drain, and has taken steps to avoid this. For
example, the Russian government launched a program to regulate
intellectual migration (ITAR-TASS, 18 February). The program
called for a law on scientific and intellectual property rights,
simplification of the process for scientists returning from abroad,
and the introduction of dual citizenship rights. On the international
front, ITAR-TASS of 19 July reported that the European Community
intends to allocate DM 8 million to help preserve the scientific
and technical potential of CIS countries. The United States has
already promised $25 million for establishing an international
center in Moscow where former nuclear scientists could work.
(Sarah Helmstadter)

RUSSIAN EFFORTS TO PROTECT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. ITAR-TASS
of 21 July reported that the Russian Agency on Intellectual Property
Rights (RAIS) will represent the country at the Worldwide Convention
on Authors' Rights. ITAR-TASS noted that never before in Russian
history had there been a court case on the illegal use of an
author's work. RAIS will strengthen oversight of the use of authors'
works, and is declaring a war against video and audio pirating.
(Sarah Helmstadter)

KYRGYZ NATIONAL SECURITY DISCUSSED. Deputy Chairman of the State
Committee on National Security of Kyrgyzstan Valerii Verchagin
told Nezavisimaya gazeta in an interview published on 21 July,
that the committee had begun to develop the main principles of
Kyrgyz national security. While Kyrgyz priorities focus mainly
on relations with major regional powers such as China, Turkey,
Iran and Pakistan, the committee will also take into account
the interests of the United States and Russia. The committee,
based on the former republican KGB, will concern itself mainly
with the prevention of terrorism, the investigation of corruption,
the narcotics trade, and the defense of citizens' constitutional
rights. Verchagin emphasized that it will not interfere in the
activities of political parties. (Cassandra Cavanaugh)

SOLZHENITSYN TO RETURN TO RUSSIA. Nataliya Solzhenitsyna told
Trud on 21 July that her husband, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, will
soon return to Russia but has no intention of becoming a representative
for any political organization. She stated that Solzhenitsyn
wants to unite, not disunite people and that after his return
he will start meeting with the general public. She noted that
the her husband is aware of the many hostilities which still
await him in Russia, particularly from national-Bolshevik forces
which charge him with helping to destroy the Soviet empire through
his literature. She argued that Solzhenitsyn's political convictions
fall in between liberal Westernizers and conservative Slavophiles.
(Alexander Rahr)

COLLECTING FINES PROVES PROFITABLE BUSINESS. Kuranty of 21 July
warned "rabbits" to beware. Racketeers, posing as ticket controllers
on the Moscow public transport system, are collecting fines from
unsuspecting, if not wholly innocent, passengers. Police raids
have shown that only half of those posing as controllers are
genuine. In one day of intensive work, a "controller" can make
over 2,000 rubles. Kuranty advised passengers to ask controllers
for identification and official receipts for imposed fines. (Sarah
Helmstadter)

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

UN COMMANDER IN SARAJEVO SAYS BELLIGERENTS SHELL THEMSELVES.
Reuter on January 21 quoted Gen. Lewis Mackenzie as calling his
Bosnian operation "the most bizarre situation I've ever seen."
He noted that he had "evidence that both sides shell themselves
in order to create a particular image," and added that he told
the Serbs and the Muslims: "if you'll stop shelling yourselves,
maybe we'll have peace around here." Mackenzie also said that
both sides use Red Cross vehicles to move their weapons around
and place guns near hospitals or schools. Meanwhile, EC chief
negotiator Lord Carrington shared Mackenzie's "a plague-on-both-your-houses"
attitude, saying: "all three sides . . . have broken the cease-fire,
. . . the Muslims as much as, if not more than, anyone else."
Croatian president Franjo Tudjman and his Bosnian counterpart,
Alija Izetbegovic, signed a formal declaration in Zagreb, but
it appears only to repeat the vague formulas about cooperation
found in their earlier joint documents. Meanwhile, on 20 July
Greece and Croatia established diplomatic relations, and a Greek
official was on his way to Slovenia to formalize official ties
there was well. (Patrick Moore)

PANIC IN NEW YORK. Yugoslav Prime Minister Milan Panic visited
the United Nations on 21 July, seeking an end both to the fighting
in Bosnia-Herzegovina and to Yugoslavia's international isolation.
In a letter delivered to Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali, Panic
suggested that UN monitors be stationed at all Yugoslav military
bases, thereby allowing them to determine whether Yugoslav troops
are involved in the Bosnian fighting. Panic repeated his previous
claim that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic will not be permitted
to stand in the way of Panic's efforts to bring peace to the
region, which Panic has described as his first priority. The
UN and other international organizations have demanded an end
to alleged Yugoslav involvement in Bosnia as a precondition to
the lifting of economic sanctions against that country. International
media carried the reports. (Gordon Bardos)

GERMAN DAILY SAYS ROMANIA, GREECE VIOLATE EMBARGO. The Sueddeutsche
Zeitung writes on 21 July the two countries are breaching the
UN embargo against rump Yugoslavia by supplying it with oil.
The paper says Greece is also buying electricity from Bosnia-Herzegovina
and paying Serbia a fee because the power lines stretch across
Serbian territory. According to the daily, the German intelligence
agency has a "range of information" that the two countries are
circumventing the sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro. The
paper says Romania is allowing Russian oil to be transported
across the Danube to Serbia. Romania has repeatedly denied such
allegations. (Michael Shafir).

AVEL CONCERNED ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS IN SLOVAKIA. In an interview
published in the Czech weekly Respekt on 19 July, and reprinted
in the German daily Frankfurter Rundschau on 20 July, former
Czechoslovak president Vaclav Havel said that he is concerned
about the future of human rights in an independent Slovakia.
Havel said he was concerned because the Slovak National Council
refused to include a statement on minority rights in the declaration
of sovereignty. Havel described this as "a serious political
signal." He said that until now the new Slovak government has
not taken steps which would threaten minority rights. Should
that happen, "I would protest," said Havel. (Jiri Pehe)

SLOVAK COMMUNISTS WANT DUBCEK AS SLOVAKIA'S PRESIDENT. The Party
of the Democratic Left (formerly the Slovak Communist Party)
plans to nominate Alexander Dubcek, formerly the chairman of
the Federal Assembly and the leader of the Prague Spring in 1968,
for the post of Slovak president when the position is created
next month. In an interview with CSTK on 21 July, Pavol Kanis,
the deputy chairman of the party, argued that Dubcek is the only
Slovak politician known to the world. Dubcek said that it is
premature to react to the proposal. (Jiri Pehe)

SLOVAKS, HUNGARIANS IN FLAP OVER TROOP RUMORS. Czechoslovak Defense
Minister Imrich Andrejcak, who was nominated for the post by
Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, questioned
on 21 July recent statements by Meciar that Hungary is conducting
large-scale military exercises on Slovakia's border. CSTK reports
Andrejcak as saying that the Czechoslovak and the Hungarian armies
have close contacts and that they keep each other informed about
their military moves. Andrejcak said that the information on
which Meciar based his statements is exaggerated. MTI reports
that the Hungarian Defense Ministry has denied Meciar's allegations.
Defense Ministry state secretary Antal Annus said that there
are no large-scale exercises in progress or planned near the
Slovak border, and warned that Meciar's "absurd assertion" could
damage bilateral relations. (Jiri Pehe & Edith Oltay)

HUNGARY'S NATIONAL MINORITIES IN PARLIAMENT. The Hungarian government
will soon submit to parliament draft legislation ensuring parliamentary
representation by 1994 for the country's national and ethnic
minorities, MTI reported on 17 July. According to Janos Wolfart,
chairman of the National and Ethnic Minorities Office, this will
be done through "positive discrimination," i.e. instituting preferential
conditions to enable each minority to elect deputies. At general
elections, minorities will gain seats by running in individual
districts, on territorial and national lists, and on a minority
national list. If passed, the measure will increase by 13 the
present number (386) of deputies to provide parliamentary seats
for Hungary's Gypsy, German, Slovak, Serb, Croat, Slovene, Romanian,
Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Ruthenian, Greek, Armenian, and Polish
minorities. (Alfred Reisch)

INTERVIEW WITH ETHNIC ROMANIAN LEADER. Gyorgy Petrusan, chairman
of the Association of Romanians in Hungary, told the daily Magyar
Hirlap on 21 July that the 25,000-strong Romanian minority today
is served by 13 elementary schools, one secondary school, and
four teachers' collegesabout the same number as in 1989. Petrusan
noted an improvement in the field of culture and religion, and
came out in favor of bilingual instruction for Hungary's Romanian
minority. Turning to the problems faced by Hungarians in Romania,
Petrusan condemned the prohibition on the teaching of geography
and history in Hungarian in Romania's Hungarian schools and charged
that educational policies are still directed by apparatchiks
surviving from the Ceausescu regime. The current anti-Hungarian
campaign, Petrusan said, is the "last revenge" of the servants
of that regime. (Alfred Reisch)

ROSEN: SECURITATE BEHIND ANTI-SEMITISM. The chief rabbi of the
Jewish community in Romania, Moses Rosen, says that there is
no anti-Semitism among the Romanian people as such; the latest
wave of anti-Semitism is an "artificial" productthe result of
manipulations by the former secret police. Rosen made the statement
in an interview with Baricada, parts of which were carried by
Rompres on 21 July. (Michael Shafir)

ABISALA IS LITHUANIAN PRIME MINISTER. On 21 July the Lithuanian
Supreme Council by a vote to 67 to 5 with 22 abstentions elected
former minister without portfolio Aleksandras Abisala as prime
minister replacing Gediminas Vagnorius, who was removed in a
no-confidence vote on 14 July, Radio Lithuania reports. Abisala
said that he would present his cabinet, with only 4 or 5 new
members, to the parliament's factions today and to the full parliament
for approval at its next session on 23 July. He expressed the
hope that Lithuania will be able to introduce its own currency,
the litas, before the elections to the new parliament on 25 October.
(Saulius Girnius)

LITHUANIAN-RUSSIAN TREATY SIGNED. On 21 July in Vilnius Russian
Justice Minister Nikolai Fedorov and his Lithuanian counterpart
Vytautas Pakalniskis signed an interstate treaty, On Legal Assistance
and Legal Relations in Civil, Family, and Criminal Cases, Radio
Lithuania reports. (Saulius Girnius)

ESTONIA PROPOSES 1920 BORDERS. In a surprise move, the Estonian
government issued a statement on 21 July, reported by BNS, calling
on Russia to pull its border guards back to the frontier set
in the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty. By the terms of the proposal,
prepared by the Estonian government working group on border questions
and issued by the Foreign Ministry, Russian border authorities
would take up guard at the interwar frontier, which in the northeast
and southeast runs a few kilometers to the east of the present
frontieri.e., in what is currently Russian territorywhile Estonian
border guards would remain on the current border. The move is
the first formal indication that Estonia may seek the return
of territory annexed after World War II by the RSFSR. Although
the Estonian government proposal is probably only intended as
a bargaining chip in upcoming negotiations with Russia, given
the current heightened tension in Estonian-Russian relations,
the move will undoubtedly be seen by Russia as throwing oil on
the fire. (Riina Kionka)

POLISH GOVERNMENT UNYIELDING ON STRIKES. Striking workers at
the Polska Miedz copper combine threatened on 21 July to shut
down copper mill furnaces to force management to agree to wage
demands. Meanwhile, 1,600 coal miners dumped sacks of coal in
front of the industry ministry. The miners demand job security
and an end to the recession. The picket line was organized by
the former official miners' unions, which are more radical in
their methods than Solidarity. The Mielec airplane factory is
also on strike. In a statement issued on 21 July, the government
restated its willingness to negotiate general restructuring plans
with all trade unions "operating within the law." But it warned
that one branch would not be allowed to gain privileges at the
cost of others. "Exceptions will not be coerced through strikes."
Disassociating itself from wage negotiations, the government
warned it would sack directors who granted raises their firms
could not afford. (Louisa Vinton)

UDF-PODKREPA TENSION CONTINUES. The ruling UDF coalition and
the Podkrepa trade unionpreviously close alliesremain in sharp
conflict following last week's strike among Sofia's transport
workers. An article in the UDF daily Demokratsiya on 20-21 July
alleges that Podkrepa leader Konstantin Trenchev had ties to
the former communist nomenklatura. Then the daily Podkrepa on
21 July printed a statement of the trade union's confederate
council attacking the government's economic policy as well as
accusing the UDF leadership of media manipulation. The CITUB
trade union declared that it agrees with Podkrepa's analysis.
(Kjell Engelbrekt)

BULGARIAN FARMERS TO GET PREFERENTIAL CREDITS. The Bulgarian
National Bank and the finance ministry will grant a total of
370 million leva in preferential credits to farmers, Demokratsiya
writes on 21 July, quoting deputy agriculture minister Rumen
Hristov. The credits, which will reduce interest rates by 40%,
will be available for short-term use until the end of 1992. According
to Hristov, 200 million leva are predestined for private farmers
and cooperatives, while 150 million will go to pig and poultry
breeding in farms with more than 50% state involvement. The credits
will be administered by the so-called commercial banks. (Kjell
Engelbrekt)

SMOOTH SWITCHOVER TO THE LATVIAN RUBLE. The changeover to a single
legal tender in Latvia on 20 July went smoothly, according to
a report of an RFE/RL correspondent in Riga. There were only
minor problems, such as an inadequate supply of smaller-denomination
Latvian-ruble bills in some shops. Businesses expecting payment
in hard currency were inconvenienced by the Supreme Council decision
regarding the Latvian ruble, because they now are required to
price their goods and accept payment also in the Latvian ruble.
Several such establishments, still preferring hard currency,
posted exorbitant ruble prices. (Dzintra Bungs)

LATVIAN INVESTMENT BANK FORMED. BNS reported on 20 July about
the establishment of the Latvian Investment Bank, a joint-stock
company intended to serve local and foreign businesses and investors.
The new bank is affiliated with the Helsinki-based Nordic Investment
Bank and will work together with the EBRD as well as the EC's
PHARE program. The new investment bank has received a starting
capital of 100 million rubles from funds under the jurisdiction
of the Latvian government; this sum is to be paid back by 1 January
1993. (Dzintra Bungs)

UNEMPLOYMENT TOPS 10% IN HUNGARY. According to the Ministry of
Labor, the country's unemployment rate at the end of June stood
at 10.1% compared to 9.7% a month earlier, MTI reported on 21
July. The number of unemployed rose by 24,000 in June and stood
at 547,000 at the end of the month. Hungary had 406,000 unemployed
at the end of 1991 and their number could reach 700,000 by the
end of 1992. (Edith Oltay)

NASTASE WINDS UP ASIAN TOUR. In Dushanbe on 20 July, Romanian
foreign minister Adrian Nastase and Khudoberdy Khalikhanazov,
his Tajik counterpart, signed an agreement to establish diplomatic
relations, Radio Bucharest and Rompres report. Flying on to Ashkhabad,
on 21 July Nastase and Turkmenistani foreign minister Avdy Kuliev
signed a similar protocol providing for the establishment of
diplomatic relations between their countries, Rompres and Radio
Bucharest announced. (Michael Shafir).

[As of 1200 CET]