No. 175, 11 September 1992

SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

RUSSIAN LEADERS BLAME JAPAN FOR POSTPONEMENT OF TRIP. Vyacheslav
Kostikov, the Russian presidential press secretary, has blamed
the Japanese government for the postponement of President Boris
Yeltsin's trip to Japan. He told Izvestiya on 11 September that
the ruling Liberal-Democratic Party wanted to exploit the issue
of the Kuril islands for its electoral campaign. The first deputy
parliamentary speaker, Sergei Filatov, told Ostankino TV on 10
September that the "hysterical" approach to the Kuril islands
in Japan prevents the constructive resolution of the issue by
the two nations' respective leaders. Yeltsin's press department
denied reports that the Russian President also plans to postpone
his forthcoming trip to China. (Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL Inc.)


REACTION TO POSTPONEMENT OF YELTSIN'S TRIP TO JAPAN. Viktor Alksnis
and Vladimir Zhirinovsky, two leading Russian nationalists, celebrated
President Boris Yeltsin's decision to postpone his trip to Japan
as a victory for patriotic forces, Interfax reported on 11 September.
Liberals, such as Russian Minister of Foreign Economic Relations
Petr Aven, warned that the postponement could effect negotiations
on Russia's foreign debt, since Japan maintained the strictest
position in Russia's negotiations with major creditors. Japanese
Foreign Minister Michio Watanabe told the Japanese news agency
Kyodo on 11 September that Yeltsin had indicated that he plans
to visit Tokyo in the beginning of 1993. (Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL
Inc.)

KARABAKH TALKS COLLAPSE. The fifth round of CSCE-sponsored Karabakh
preparatory peace talks ended in Rome on 10 September; disagreements
over procedural issues, such as the designation of the Armenian
delegation from the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, precluded substantive
discussion of Chairman Mario Raffaelli's cease-fire proposal,
Western agencies reported. No date was set for resuming the talks.
On 10 September, Turkey's Anatolia News Agency quoted Azerbaijan's
Foreign Minister Tofik Gasymov as arguing that all Armenian troops
should be withdrawn from Karabakh prior to the convening of a
fully-fledged peace conference in Minsk. (Armenia disclaims responsibility
for the Armenian units fighting in Karabakh.) Speaking in Istanbul,
Armenian Foreign Minister Raffi Hovannissian accused Turkey of
abandoning its neutral position and extending military aid to
Azerbaijan, Western agencies reported. (Liz Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.)


TALKS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ABKHAZ CEASE-FIRE HITS OBSTACLE. The
tripartite Russian/Georgian/Abkhaz talks in Sukhumi on implementation
of the Abkhaz cease-fire agreement were reported deadlocked on
10 September over the status of the Abkhaz National Guard, Interfax
reported. Abkhaz delegate Colonel Viktor Kakalia rejected a demand
by Georgian Prime Minister Tengiz Sigua that there should be
no independently controlled armies on Georgian territory. The
Abkhaz National Guard is composed exclusively of ethnic Abkhazians
and is directly subordinate to the presidium of the Abkhaz Supreme
Soviet. (Liz Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.)

NO ISLAMIC STATE IN TAJIKISTAN. Akbarsho Iskandarov, chairman
of Tajikistan's Supreme Soviet and the closest thing the country
has to a leader, told correspondents at celebrations marking
the first anniversary of Tajikistan's independence that the removal
of President Rakhmon Nabiev will not lead to the creation of
an Islamic state. Iskandarov's statement was reported by various
domestic and Western agencies on 9 September, and broadcast on
the Turkish "Avrasya" TV channel for Central Asia. Correspondents
in Dushanbe reported that large crowds turned out in Dushanbe
for the Independence Day celebrations. However, fighting was
reported to be continuing on 10 September in Kurgan-Tyube between
local supporters of the anti-Communist opposition and an armed
band from neighboring Kulyab Oblast. (Bess Brown, RFE/RL Inc.)


CIS TROOPS TAKE UP POSITIONS ON TAJIK-AFGHAN BORDER. AFP reported
on 10 September that approximately 1,000 border troops from Russia,
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan had taken up positions
on the Tajik-Afghan border to strengthen CIS units trying to
stop the smuggling of weapons from Afghanistan to Tajikistan.
The presidents of the four states announced on 4 September that
the additional border troops were being sent because the situation
on the border posed a threat to the rest of the CIS. Uzbekistan's
President Islam Karimov is so upset over developments in Tajikistan
that he is looking to Russia as a protector, he told an interviewer
from the French daily Liberation on 8 September. (Bess Brown,
RFE/RL Inc.)

RUSSIAN OIL PRICES TO DOUBLE. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor
Chernomyrdin told a news conference after a cabinet meeting on
10 September that the wholesale prices of energy carriers will
be raised next week, ITAR-TASS, Interfax, and the Financial Times
reported. The price of oil will roughly double, from 1,800-2,200
rubles a ton to 4,000-5,000 rubles a ton. This may be seen largely
as a technical correction for inflation: prices throughout the
economy have more than doubled since the last price increase
for oil. At the current rate of exchange, the new price will
represent some 14-18% of the world price. A 50% tax will be levied
on income derived from sales at prices higher than the guidelines.
(Keith Bush, RFE/RL Inc.)

RUSSIAN INDUSTRY HEAD CRITICIZES PRIVATIZATION PLANS. Minister
of Industry Aleksandr Titkin has sent a letter to President Yeltsin
condemning current plans for industrial privatization, Interfax
reported on 9 and 10 September. Titkin claims that the plans
are exacerbating chaos in industry and accuses the State Property
Commission of engaging in a "self-serving process" inconsistent
with national interests. He also outlined his own variant of
privatization that envisages an initial stage of industrial restructuring
managed by the ministry itself. (Erik Whitlock, RFE/RL Inc.)


AVEN AND SHOKHIN ON DEBT RELIEF. Minister for Economic Foreign
Relations Petr Aven and Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Shokhin
are asking Western creditors to approve a medium-term debt rescheduling
plan, Western news agencies reported on 10 September. Aven suggested
in Moscow that only such a longer-term arrangement would provide
Russia a realistic chance to make timely payments on its share
of the more than $70 billion debt of the former Soviet Union.
Shokhin made similar comments in Brussels, where he was meeting
with EC parliamentarians and concluding a $150-million-ecu emergency
credit for medicine and medical equipment imports. (Erik Whitlock,
RFE/RL Inc.)

RUSSIA TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT IN GRAIN? Russian Vice President
Aleksandr Rutskoi told a news conference in Moscow on 10 September
that Russia will need to import only 12-15 million tons of grain
this winter, Interfax reported. The introduction of modern technology
and improved seed should obviate the requirement for grain imports
in 1993, in Rutskoi's opinion. Other estimates have put the total
grain imports required for calendar year 1992 at around 25 million
tons. Rutskoi may later regret having made this prediction, although
it is true that a smaller amount of feed grain will be needed
as livestock herds have been drastically culled. (Keith Bush,
RFE/RL Inc.)

CHERNOBYL TO REOPEN FOR A YEAR? The chairman of Ukraine's nuclear
power utility, Vladimir Fuks, told The Guardian of 10 September
that two of the reactors at Chernobyl will reopen in October.
However, Fuks insisted that the plant will be closed down for
good at the end of 1993. Subject to parliamentary approval, three
pressurized water reactors will be commissioned elsewhere in
Ukraine to replace the Chernobyl output. Official pronouncements
on the final closure of the Chernobyl reactors have been contradictory.
(Keith Bush, RFE/RL Inc.)

RUSSIAN SPACECRAFT FOR SALE. A German-Russian joint venture company
in Munich, Energiya Deutschland, is offering the Soyuz-TM 13
spacecraft for sale to the highest bidder. According to Western
press reports on 10 September, the proposed price is ten million
marks (approximately $7 million), but the company will accept
the highest offer. The Soyuz-TM 13 made only one trip into space.
It was launched from the Tyuratam launch site on 2 October 199,
and carried a Russian, a Kazakh, and an Austrian cosmonaut up
to the Mir space station. The spacecraft returned to Earth on
25 March 1992 with two Russians and a German cosmonaut on board.
Munich's Deutsche Museum has expressed interest in buying the
spacecraft, but said it would need to raise the purchase price
from sponsors. (Doug Clarke, RFE/RL Inc.)

UKRAINE STILL UNDECIDED ABOUT CIS INTERPARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY.
Ukraine has yet to make a decision whether or not it will take
part in the first plenary session of the CIS Interparliamentary
Assembly, Ukrainian TV reported on 8 September. The Presidium
of the Ukrainian parliament may discuss the question in the next
few days. The session is scheduled to take place in Bishkek on
16-18 September. According to the report, Ukrainian lawmakers
have been cool to the idea. (Roman Solchanyk, RFE/RL Inc.)

FIRST JEWISH GYMNASIUM IN KIEV. The first Jewish gymnasium (secondary
school) in Ukraine opened in Kiev this school year, Nezavisimost
reported on 5 September. The gymnasium, which was formerly school
No. 299, has 520 students who will be studying humanitarian subjects,
including the history, culture, religion, and languages of the
Jewish people. (Roman Solchanyk, RFE/RL Inc.)

REPORTS OF ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE AZERBAIJAN'S PRESIDENT DENIED.
Azerbaijani presidential press secretary Niazi Ibragimov was
quoted by the Turan News Agency on 10 September as denying reports
made in unspecified mass media that an attempt had been made
on the life of Azerbaijan's President Abulfaz Elchibey by unknown
persons on the night of 9 September. An assassination attempt
on Elchibey two weeks ago failed. In a further indication of
domestic instability, former Azerbaijan Deputy Prime Minister
and Ambassador-designate to Italy Rufat Agaev was arrested in
Baku for allegedly organizing hooliganistic actions in front
of the Azerbaijan parliament building during the visit to Baku
last weekend of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher,
TASS reported. Agaev is also said to be implicated in illegal
currency transactions. (Liz Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.)

REGIONALISM INCREASING IN TAJIKISTAN. Attempts to restore stability
in Tajikistan are likely to be frustrated by regional loyalties,
the Dushanbe correspondent of Moskovskiye novosti notes in issue
no. 36. The political organizations that have been formed in
Tajikistan during the summer all have a regional, rather than
an all-Tajikistan, base, and have been formed to protect purely
local interests. This phenomenon has been reported by other observers
in Tajikistan as well. It remains unclear whether Nabiev has
sought refuge in his home region, Leninabad Oblast, but should
he do so he might well use regional loyalties to try to regain
power. (Bess Brown, RFE/RL Inc.)

MOLDOVAN PRIME MINISTER VISITS SIBERIA. Moldovan Prime Minister
Andrei Sangheli, accompanied by several ministers and other economic
officials, began a tour of Siberia and the Russian Far East,
Moldovapres and Interfax reported on 9 September. The delegation
seeks medium-term contracts for fuel and raw material deliveries
in exchange for Moldovan foodstuffs. They also signed an agreement
along these lines for 1993 with Tyumen oil producers. In addition,
the Modovan delegation is concerned about the status of the thousands
of Moldovans working on Siberian oil and gas projects; they are
proposing that the labor of these workers be counted toward Moldova's
payment for the resources. (Vladimir Socor, RFE/RL Inc.)

"DNIESTER REPUBLIC" ESTABLISHES MINISTRIES. The current session
of the "Dniester Republic Supreme Soviet" is discussing the establishment
of a full-fledged government with ministries, DR-Press reported
in recent days from Tiraspol. Ministries of defense and national
security have already been established, Aleksandr Nevzorov's
TV program "600 Seconds" reported on 9 September. Echoing a theme
often heard from Russian ultranationalist supporters of the "Dniester
republic," Nevzorov hailed the progress of "this first republic
free of democrats." (Vladimir Socor, RFE/RL Inc.)

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

ANOTHER BOSNIAN CEASE-FIRE; MORE UN TROOPS. International media
report on 10 September that UN envoy Cyrus Vance and EC envoy
Lord Owen met separately with the leaders of the Muslim and Serbian
warring sides in Bosnia-Herzegovina. A new cease-fire agreement
was hammered out, and both sides agreed to meet in Geneva on
18 September. Vance said the most important outcome of the talks
is that Alija Izetbegovic, Bosnia's President, agreed to attend
the conference. Izetbegovic had previously rejected all efforts
at getting the Muslims to sit in the same conference room with
the Serbs. On 9 September Bosnian Croat leader Mate Boban agreed
to participate. Vance said Boban, Izetbegovic, and Serb leader
Radovan Karadzic would all be meeting in Geneva for the first
time. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has
formally requested an additional 6,000 peacekeepers for Bosnia
and proposed expanding UN relief efforts to an additional 11
regions in the republic. (Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL Inc.)

IRAN DENIES ARMS DELIVERY. At a news conference in Beijing, Iranian
President Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani stated that Iran will
consider sending arms to Bosnia's Muslim-lead government if diplomatic
efforts fail to end the war. The Los Angeles Times reports on
11 September that Rafsanjani also dismissed as "lies" and "fabrications"
US newspaper reports that Croatia had impounded a planeload of
Iranian arms headed for Bosnia. However, on 10 September, Radio
Croatia reported that Croatia's government officially confirmed
that the Iranian arms were confiscated at Zagreb airport on 4
September. (Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL Inc.)

TURKEY URGES ACTION. Turkish media report that Prime Minister
Suleyman Demirel, speaking at a meeting of Council of Europe
representatives in Istanbul, urged member states to convene a
summit to discuss means of ending the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Turkey, which has historic ties to Bosnia dating back centuries,
fears that the conflict could touch of a Balkan-wide war. Turkey
is especially concerned about the fate of Muslims in Bosnia and
has offered 1,000 peacekeeping troops to assist the UN force
there. (Duncan Perry, RFE/RL Inc.)

IS LIBYA SUPPORTING "REUNIFICATION?" Belgrade media are widely
speculating about an alleged proposal by Libya's leader Mu'ammar
al-Qadhafi's support for the reunification of the former Yugoslav
republics of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia with the rump Yugoslavia,
made up of Serbia and Montenegro. Panic reportedly described
Qadhafi's idea as "very good" and indicative of the Libyan leader's
support of Panic's efforts toward establishing a Balkan economic
association. Radio Serbia carried the report on 9 September.
(Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL Inc.)

MUSLIM MERCENARIES? Reuters reports on 10 September that Ashark
al-Aswat, a London-based Arabic-language daily, carries an interview
with one Abu Abdel-Aziz, identified as the leader of foreign
Muslim warriors who have gone to Bosnia to defend their faith.
Abdel-Aziz (a nom de guerre) would not give his nationality and
provided no estimate of the size of the foreign Muslim forces.
The story was datelined "Mujahideen Headquarters in Central Bosnia."
Rumors of mercenaries and other irregular fighters in Bosnia
have circulated before. (Charles Trumbull, RFE/RL Inc.)

JOVANOVIC RESIGNS; BLASTS PANIC. Vladislav Jovanovic, minister
of foreign affairs of the rump Yugoslavia, submitted his "irrevocable
resignation" on 10 September. In a letter sent to Prime Minister
Milan Panic, Jovanovic said Panic's approach to resolving the
crisis in the former Yugoslavia profoundly clash with Jovanovic's
"notion of national duty and dignity," adding that "I find it
impossible to continue to remain in a government that is increasingly
and openly pursuing a policy opposed to the interests of Serbia
and the Serb nation." Panic accepted the resignation saying that
he "greatly respects" Jovanovic as a person, but also made it
clear that there are differences between the two "in approach
and style of conducting foreign policy." Ilija Djukic, Belgrade's
ambassador to the People's Republic of China has been tagged
as Jovanovic's successor. Radio Serbia carried the report. (Milan
Andrejevich, RFE/RL Inc.)

SCREENING CONTINUES IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA. CSTK reports that the
Czechoslovak Ministry of Internal Affairs has received more than
214,000 applications for screening government employees and other
people for their ties with the former secret police since 1 November
1991, when the screening (lustration) law went into effect. The
law stipulates that all government employees be screened for
police ties under the communist regime and that those found guilty
of collaboration be dismissed from their jobs. Moreover, the
law provides that any Czechoslovak citizen may themselves apply
to the ministry to be screened. The ministry has been able to
process some 146,000 cases so far; 10,244 people have been identified
as secret police collaborators. A ministry official said that
in light of the planned division of Czechoslovakia, the future
of the screening process is unclear. He suggested that one of
the republican ministries of internal affairs could taker over.
(Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL Inc.)

GABCIKOVO TO BEGIN OPERATING IN NOVEMBER. Ivan Carnogursky, the
general director of the company that is building the Gabcikovo
hydroelectric plant on the Danube, told CSTK on 10 September
that the facility will partly be put into operation at the beginning
of November. Construction will be fully completed by the end
of 1992. Carnogursky rejected claims made by Hungary that the
so-called "C" variant of the project, adopted by Czechoslovakia
after Hungary withdrew from the project, would change the Slovak-Hungarian
border. The variant requires diverting the Danube. Carnogursky
also said that he approves the setting up of a joint parliamentary
review committee with Hungary to deal with disagreements over
the project. (Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL Inc.)

POLAND'S "LITTLE CONSTITUTION" SURVIVES SENATE VOTE. Disregarding
the recommendation of its constitutional commission, the Senate
voted on 10 September not to reject the "little constitution"
adopted by the Sejm on 1 August. The "little constitution" was
designed as a provisional measure to delineate the respective
powers of the president, government, and parliament. The motion
to reject the bill in its entirety failed by a wide margin: 18
to 63, with 3 abstentions. The constitutional commission had
argued that the "little constitution" unduly curtailed the powers
of both the president and the Senate and complicated the formation
of the government. The Senate is to vote on over fifty proposed
revisions to the bill on 11 September. (Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL
Inc.)

SUCHOCKA: FSM STRIKE "IRRATIONAL." Polish Prime Minister Hanna
Suchocka issued the government's sharpest warning yet to the
strikers at the FSM auto plant. In a written response to a plea
for action from one of the Solidarity regions most at risk if
FSM were to close, Suchocka called the strike "completely irrational"
because it was making a bankrupt of a firm with guaranteed growth
prospects. The government will not permit a minority to thwart
a majority with economic rationality on its side, she said. The
"state of unlawfulness" in Tychy could drive the government to
take "harsh measures" to restore the legal order. PAP carried
the text of Suchocka's letter. Meanwhile, a two-hour warning
strike called for 10 September by the Network (Solidarity locals
at large industrial plants) drew only a scattered response. (Louisa
Vinton, RFE/RL Inc.)

ROMANIAN HIGH COURT RULES ON ILIESCU'S SENATE CANDIDACY. On 10
September the Supreme Court of Justice rejected an action by
attorney Nicolae Cerveni against the Democratic National Salvation
Front (DNSF), the party backing Ion Iliescu's candidacy for a
seat in the Senate. Cerveni contends that the DNSF's decision
to field Iliescu violates the electoral law, which provides that
parliament candidates be members of the party they run for. Iliescu,
who is also the DNSF's presidential candidate, has no official
party affiliation. Meanwhile, Radio Bucharest reports that Iliescu
continues his electoral campaign in the provinces. On 10 September
he visited the town of Calarasi. (Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL Inc.)

ROMANIA ACCUSES DIPLOMATS OF MEDDLING. On 9 September Traian
Chebeleu, a spokesman for the Romanian Foreign Ministry, suggested
that diplomats in Bucharest are meddling in the electoral campaign.
Rompres quoted Chebeleu as saying that his ministry has received
several complaints about alleged attempts by foreign diplomats
to influence the electorate. Chebeleu, who refused to say which
embassies were involved in these actions, insisted that Romania
welcomes foreign election observers, including members of the
diplomatic corps, on the condition that they observe neutrality.
(Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL Inc.)

SOLE MAGYAR OFFICIAL IN ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT DISMISSED. Radio
Budapest reported on 9 September that Andor Horvath, state secretary
for education and the only Romanian cabinet official of Hungarian
nationality, has been dismissed from his post. No reason was
given for the move. The educational sector is considered crucial
by Romania's two million ethnic Hungarians who are fighting for
more schools with instruction in Hungarian. (Judith Pataki, RFE/RL
Inc.)

BULGARIAN SOCIALIST PARTY TO BE EXCLUDED FROM SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL.
The Bulgarian Socialist Party, successor of the Bulgarian Communist
Party, reportedly will not be invited to join the Socialist International,
a forum for socialist and social-democratic parties around the
world. In an interview on 10 September Hans-Eberhard Dingels,
chief of the international relations section of the German Social
Democratic Party, informed an RFE/RL correspondent that the BSP
does not meet the admission criteria. Moreover, one Bulgarian
party is already affiliated with the Socialist Internationalthe
Social Democratic Party. (Duncan Perry, RFE/RL Inc.)

UDF CRITICIZED FROM WITHIN. On 10 September the chairman of Bulgaria's
Alternative Social Liberal Party (ASLP) and Deputy Premier Nikolay
Vasilev said it is time for the ruling UDF coalition to "think
carefully," BTA reports. The admonishment comes after a wave
of criticism of top UDF leadership and its ten-month-old minority
cabinet that was triggered by the remarks of President Zhelyu
Zhelev, a founder of the UDF. Vasilev, speaking after an ASLP
national conference, acknowledged that mistakes had been made
and characterized the present confrontation with trade unions
as "political suicide." ASLP economist Asen Michkovski also took
the opportunity to explain his objections to the policies of
Finance Minister Ivan Kostov. (Kjell Engelbrekt, RFE/RL Inc.)


ABISALA'S SPEECH IN PARLIAMENT. On 10 September Lithuania's parliament
began its sixth and final session; the new Seimas will be elected
on 25 October, Radio Lithuania reports. Prime Minister Aleksandras
Abisala gave an hour and a half long speech, broadcast live,
on the socioeconomic situation in the republic and the government
program that had been outlined in a memorandum to the IMF. Because
of inflation since December 1989 prices have increased 21 times,
wages 19 times, and the minimum living standard 13 times, he
said. Although government revenue has increased, the budget deficit
will be greater than the planned 1.4 billion rubles. The drought
had created huge agricultural losses especially in grain feeds.
Lithuania exported goods for 38.5 billion rubles and imported
for 30 billion in the first half of the year. He said that there
are now about 9,000 unemployed people in Lithuania, but it is
estimated that their number will rise to between 40,000 and 200,000
by the end of the year. (Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL Inc.)

BALTIC PRIME MINISTERS IN TALLINN. Estonia's Tiit Vahi, Latvia's
Ivars Godmanis and Lithuania's Aleksandras Abisala will meet
on 11 September in Tallinn to sign a number of interstate agreements
on trade, joint customs and visa regulations, and mutual accounting,
BNS reports. Meanwhile, Estonian Foreign Ministry counselor Ago
Tiiman said "Estonia not satisfied with the current [state] of
Baltic cooperation," adding that today's meeting of prime ministers
should help address the problem. Further, the Baltic Council
has scheduled its next meeting for 16 September in Tallinn, BNS
reports. (Riina Kionka, RFE/RL Inc.)

THWARTED EXPECTATIONS IN RUSSIAN-ESTONIAN TALKS Estonia's expectations
were not fully met during the latest round of general disengagement
talks with Russia, BNS reports. Estonian Foreign Ministry counselor
Ago Tiiman told BNS that during the two-day round, the sides
initialed only two of four humanitarian-legal agreements and
only one of two economic pacts. Tiiman noted, however, that Estonia
is pleased that "we have reached the stage of serious negotiations
rather than the mere introduction of each other's positions."
Tiiman said the other two working groupsthose considering military
and border questionsmade progress. (Riina Kionka, RFE/RL Inc.)


TALKS ON LATVIAN TAKEOVER OF MILITARY FACILITIES CONTINUE. Supreme
Council deputy Juris Dobelis told Diena of 9 September about
some of the oral agreements achieved that day with Lt. Gen. Petr
Ledyaev, deputy commander of Russia's Northwestern Group of Forces,
and Maj. Gen. Nikolai Tailakov, who is in charge of NWGF troop
withdrawal. Dobelis said that the two military leaders had agreed
that the Latvian side would be informed two weeks in advance
of military objects that the NWGF intends to vacate and would
be allowed to examine them. In the future regular meetings between
the Latvian and NWGF representatives are planned to resolve issues
of mutual interest. (Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL Inc.)

[As of 1200 CET] Compiled by Hal Kosiba & Charles Trumbull