No. 207, 27 October 1992

SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

YELTSIN VERSUS CONGRESS. The last weekend meeting of Russian
President Boris Yeltsin with senior ministers at the government
dacha in Staro-Ogarevo was not a meeting of the Security Council
to select a new prime minister as reported by Russian media but
a routine government meeting, Vice Prime Minister Aleksandr Shokhin
was quoted by Radio Rossii on 25 October as saying. Shokhin denied
that any talks on government personnel changes had been discussed.
He stated that the meeting focused on the government's tactics
at the forthcoming Congress. He hinted that Yeltsin may organize
a referendum concerning the abolition of the Congress--an idea
which is being supported by democratic leaders such as Gavriil
Popov, Anatolii Sobchak and others. (Alexander Rahr)

RUSSIAN TRADE UNION CHALLENGES GOVERNMENT. The chairman of the
Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, Igor Klochkov,
told journalists that 1.5 million people have participated in
anti-government demonstrations throughout the country on 24 October.
ITAR-TASS quoted him as saying on 26 October that these have
been the largest trade union demonstrations in Russia in recent
memory. He stressed that the trade unions demand a correction
of the government's economic reform policy away from shock therapy.
He warned that if the government rejects the demands, the trade
unions will press for the creation of a government of national
trust. According to Klochkov, the Russian trade unions are being
supported by trade unions in other CIS states. (Alexander Rahr)


RUSSIAN TROOPS ORDERED TO RETURN FIRE IN ABKHAZIA. Russian troops
have been ordered to return fire if they come under attack in
Abkhazia, AFP reported on 26 October, quoting a Russian defense
ministry spokesman. To date, the Russian defense ministry has
insisted that its troops are remaining neutral in the Abkhaz-Georgian
conflict. In an interview given to Ostankino TV on 26 October
and summarized by ITAR-TASS, Georgian parliament Chairman-elect
Eduard Shevardnadze argued in favour of a "civilized solution"
to the continued stationing of Russian troops in Georgia. In
a Tbilisi Radio address Shevardnadze argued that Georgia still
needs Russian troops to guard its borders and to provide anti-aircraft
missile defenses. (Liz Fuller)

YELTSIN ON REFORMS; BONNER WARNS OF FASCISM. Russian President
Boris Yeltsin told a delegation of US financiers that although
he may replace some of the present ministers, his strategy of
reform remains unchanged and that the main obstacles to reform
have been overcome, ITAR-TASS reported on 26 October. The same
day, some former Russian human rights activists, including Elena
Bonner, criticized the National Salvation Front's struggle for
power in an open letter in Izvestiya, warning of the danger of
fascism. (Alexander Rahr)

BLACK SEA FLEET VESSELS BLOCKADED IN POTI. ITAR-TASS reported
on 26 October that ships and sailors of the Black Sea Fleet were
being blockaded in the Georgian port of Poti. Tanks have been
positioned on the approach to the naval base, while barges have
been positioned in the harbor to prevent the departure of naval
vessels. Weapons are reportedly being demanded from the sailors.
The Black Sea Fleet has been conducting refugee evacuation operations
from Abkhazia, moving over 20,000 refugees from the region. (John
Lepingwell)

TAJIK GOVERNMENT AGAIN CONTROLS DUSHANBE. On 26 October the government
of Tajikistan regained control of the capital, according to domestic
and Russian news agencies, and armed forces from Kulyab Oblast
had left Dushanbe, escorted out of the city by Russian armored
vehicles. The fighters from Kulyab had tried to overthrow the
government during two days of fighting in Dushanbe that caused
considerable damage to the city and paralyzed public services
and retail trade. The number of casualties is unknown, but Western
correspondents in Dushanbe report a number of bodies lying in
the streets. Occasional gunfire could still be heard in the city,
according to various reports. Acting President Akbarsho Iskandarov,
encountered by a Reuters correspondent as he surveyed the wreckage
of the Supreme Soviet chamber, said that the Kulyab forces were
regrouping in Tursunzade near the Uzbek border. (Bess Brown)


DISPUTE OVER BLACK SEA FLEET APPOINTMENTS. The command of the
Black Sea Fleet has rejected Ukrainian Defense Minister Morozov's
complaint that its chief of staff, Vice Admiral Petr Svyatashov,
had been improperly appointed. According to an ITAR-TASS report
of 26 October, the Black Sea Fleet claims it is under the joint
command of the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, and therefore
the Ukrainian minister of defense should not interfere in the
direction of the fleet. The statement did not indicate whether
the decision to appoint Svyatashov was coordinated between the
presidents. ITAR-TASS reported on 27 October that Admiral Kasatonov
in an interview with Krasnaya zvezda had called for maintaining
a strong Russian Navy and stated that Russian and Ukrainian interests
in the Black Sea coincided rather than conflicted. (John Lepingwell)


KHASBULATOV BACK AT WORK. Parliamentary speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov
recovered from his collapse last week and chaired a meeting of
the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, ITAR-TASS reported on 26
October. He rejected congressional plans to oust the government,
noting that, according to the Constitution, parliament can pass
a vote of no confidence against the government without convening
a Congress. He also stated that the Congress should adopt a basic
law on land ownership which would end accusations that the parliament
was against private land ownership. He emphasized that he personally
was in favor of convening the Congress next year, but since parliament
had decided differently, everyone must obey. (Alexander Rahr)


RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT REJECTS PROPOSAL TO ACCELERATE WORK ON NEW
CONSTITUTION. On 23 October the Russian parliament rejected a
proposal to speed up work on the draft of the new Russian constitution
to have it ready by the opening of the 7th Congress of People's
Deputies on 1 December, ITAR-TASS reported. Nikolai Ryabov, the
chairman of the Council of the Republic, who put forward the
proposal, argued that, if the draft was not ready, the integrity
of the Russian Federation would be threatened inasmuch as the
majority of the republics of the Russian Federation are likely
to adopt new constitutions before the end of the year and they
will not be based on the new Russian constitution, which will
create a very complicated legal situation. (Ann Sheehy)

RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT RATIFIES AGREEMENT ON STATUS OF CIS ECONOMIC
COURT. On 23 October the Russian parliament ratified the agreement
on the status of the CIS Economic Court, signed in Moscow in
June by the heads of state of Armenia, Belorussia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, ITAR-TASS
reported. Each signatory state is to appoint or elect two judges
for ten years. The chairman of the court and his deputy will
be elected by the court's judges and approved by the Council
of the CIS Heads of State. The economic court, which will adjudicate
disputes between enterprises in different CIS states, is one
of the five coordinating bodies called for by Kazakhstan President
Nursultan Nazarbaev. (Ann Sheehy)

DELAY SOUGHT IN REPAYMENT OF RUSSIAN FOREIGN DEBT. The Russian
Foreign Economic Relations Minister Petr Aven told Interfax on
26 October that Russia will seek a two month delay in this year's
payments on its foreign debt. The proposal will be made at the
28 October meeting of the Paris Club of Western creditor-nations.
Aven said that Russia will seek the short-term postponement because
creditor-nations "are not ready" to make "a final decision with
respect to a ten or fifteen year delay of the Russian debt" in
the near future. Aven thought that Russia will be able to repay
$2.5-3 billion in 1993. (Roughly the same amount will be repaid
this year, against a non-deferred due amount of about $10 billion).
(Keith Bush)

RUSSIA AND KAZAKHSTAN SIGN ECONOMIC PROTOCOL. The Prime Ministers
of Russia and Kazakhstan, Egor Gaidar and Sergei Tereshchenko,
on 22 October signed economic agreements concerning debt settlement
and coordination of economic policies, Interfax reported. The
central bank chairmen of the two countries were also present
at the signing in Moscow. The protocol included measures for
rapidly reducing mutual enterprise debts (Kazakh enterprises
owe Russian enterprises about 75 billion rubles, Russian enterprises
owe Kazakhstan about 150 billion rubles) as well as creating
a special bilateral committee to help coordinate interest rate,
credit emission, trade, taxation and state spending policies.
(Erik Whitlock)

ELECTIONS FAIL TO TAKE PLACE IN KARACHAEVO-CHERKESIA. The elections
that were to have been held in Karachaevo-Cherkesia on 25 October
did not take place, ITAR-TASS reported. Voters were supposed
to elect deputies to the new republican bodies to be set up as
a result of the transformation of the territory from an oblast
into a republic, but the various nationalities inhabiting the
republic have been unable to agree on what the structure of the
new institutions should be. It has been suggested that the oblast
soviet of deputies, elected at the last election, be allowed
to function until 1995 as the republic's supreme soviet. (Ann
Sheehy)

PRESENTATION OF NEW UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT. The newly-chosen Ukrainian
prime minister, Leonid Kuchma, is scheduled to present his choices
to the Ukrainian parliament for consideration on 27 October.
During the past week Kuchma has been holding talks with various
political parties concerning the composition of the new government.
Thus far, only two former cabinet ministers, Minister of Defense
Konstantin Morozov and Minister of Foreign Affairs Anatolii Zlenko,
can rest assured that they will retain their jobs. The formation
of the new Ukrainian government is taking place against a backdrop
of disarray within the camp of the reformist opposition and growing
popular dissatisfaction with the economic situation, particularly
price increases. (Roman Solchanyk)

SCHEDULE FOR PULLOUT OF RUSSIAN MISSILES FROM BELARUS. Interfax
reported on 26 October that a schedule had been drawn up and
approved for the withdrawal of nuclear-armed strategic missiles
from Belarus to Russia. It calls for the pullout of eight missile
brigades in 1993 and the remaining eight in 1994. By the end
of that year, Belarus will be free of nuclear weapons. The last
command and support sub-unit will leave for Russia in June 1995.
(As of 1 September 1990 there were 54 mobile SS-25 missiles based
at Mozyr and Lida in Belarus. Subsequently, additional missiles
were deployed, bringing the total to 81.) (Doug Clarke)

BELARUS TO RECALL TROOPS. The Belarusian government has called
for all citizens of Belarus serving in the Caucasus, Central
Asia, and Baltic states to return to Belarus by 1 January 1993,
according to an ITAR-TASS report of 26 October. Apparently, troops
located in Russia and Ukraine will remain with their units. (John
Lepingwell)

RUSSIAN SPACE ROCKET BUILDER SIGNS US DEAL. NPO Energomash, the
builder of rocket engines that have placed all Soviet space vehicles
and payloads in orbit since the 1957 Sputnik launch, signed an
agreement on 26 October with the American firm Pratt & Whitney
Space Propulsion. According to a U.S. Information Agency report,
the deal provides Pratt & Whitney with exclusive U.S. rights
to market the Russian firm's rocket engines and other technology.
The American company is particularly interested in the giant
RD-170 rocket engine, capable of delivering over 734,000 kilograms
of thrust and considered to be the most powerful liquid-fueling
rocket engine in the world. An official of Pratt & Whitney said
that the company might eventually manufacture the RD170 in the
United States under license. (Doug Clarke)

AKAEV FEARS TENSIONS IN SOUTHERN KYRGYZSTAN. Kyrgyzstan's President
Askar Akaev met with demonstrators in Dzhalal-Abad in southern
Tajikistan on 26 October, Interfax reported, to try to defuse
tensions that he said could lead to a Tajikistan-style civil
war in the region. The demonstrators, supporters of Dzhalal-Abad
oblast administration chief Bekmamet Osmanov, were protesting
the Kyrgyz government's decision to monitor the activities of
the Dzhalal-Abad oblast administration in Osmanov's absence.
Akaev intended to discuss the situation in Dzhalal-Abad Oblast
with both supporters and opponents of Osmanov. The report gives
no indication whether interethnic tensions are involved, but
Dzhalal-Abad is located in the Fergana Valley, the site of bloody
fighting between local Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in 1990. (Bess Brown)


MOLDOVAN-UKRAINIAN TREATY. The Presidents of Moldova and Ukraine,
Mircea Snegur and Leonid Kravchuk, met in Chisinau on 23 October
to sign a "treaty of good neighborliness, friendship and cooperation."
It provides for the observance of the rights of Moldovans in
Ukraine and of Ukrainians in Moldova in accordance with internationally
recognized standards; expanded cooperation in the fields of education
and culture; bilateral coordination of customs procedures; transit
facilities across Moldova for Ukraine's western trade and across
Ukraine for Moldova's eastern trade; and the prohibition of the
formation and transit of armed groups hostile to one of the sides
on the territory of the other. The latter two provisions clearly
benefit Moldova, 80% of whose foreign trade moves across Ukraine,
and which contends with irregular Russian armed groups crossing
Ukraine from Russia to fight on the Dniester. (Vladimir Socor)


CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

MORE LITHUANIAN ELECTION RESULTS. Preliminary results of the
Seimas elections on 25 October indicate that five groups captured
the 70 seats allocated proportionally, Radio Lithuania reports.
The Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party (LDLP), the successor to
the Lithuanian Communist Party, won 44.7% of the vote; Sajudis
- 19.8%; the three-party Christian Democratic coalition - 11.6%;
the Social-Democratic Party (LSDP) - 5.9%; and the Union of Poles
(UP)2.3%. Only 14 of the 71 contests for seats in single-mandate
districts were decided on 25 October; 11 of these went to the
LDLP. The fate of the rest of the single-mandate districts will
be determined in the second round of the elections, to be held
on 8 November. (Saulius Girnius)

BRAZAUSKAS CALLS FOR BROAD COALITION IN LITHUANIA. At a press
conference on 25 October, chairman of the Lithuanian Democratic
Labor Party Algirdas Brazauskas urged all political forces in
the future Seimas to form "a broad coalition in the name of civil
concord and prosperity in Lithuania," Radio Lithuania reports.
He said that relations with Russia should be normalized, with
adjustments on economic matters and trade, but added that he
will continue to demand both the complete withdrawal of Russian
troops from Lithuania and compensation for the damages they inflicted.
(Saulius Girnius)

CZECHS AND SLOVAKS AGREE ON CUSTOMS UNION, COMMON CURRENCY. On
26 October Czech and Slovak leaders, meeting in Javorina, Slovakia,
agreed on a customs union between the Czech and Slovak republics
after Czechoslovakia splits on 1 January 1993. Under the terms
of the agreement, there will be duty-free exchange of goods and
services between the Czech Republic and Slovakia and the two
states will have common trade and customs policies toward third
countries. A joint council and a permanent secretariat will coordinate
these policies. The two sides also reached agreement on retaining
a common currency. CSTK reports Slovak Premier Vladimir Meciar
as saying that the Czechoslovak koruna will remain the common
currency indefinitely, but that either side could pull out of
the arrangement at any time. Meciar also said that he and Czech
Premier Vaclav Klaus had decided against a "common citizenship."
The status of Czechs in Slovakia and Slovaks in the Czech Republic
will be decided by the two republics' parliaments. Czech and
Slovak leaders also approved draft laws on the abolition of federal
laws and federal institutions. The federal government approved
these drafts the same day and submitted them to the Federal Assembly.
(Jiri Pehe)

MORE ON MASS GRAVE NEAR VUKOVAR. The 27 October Los Angeles Times
says that a mass grave found near Vukovar appears to contain
the remains of over 170 Croatian soldiers. The paper quotes Clyde
Snow, a US forensic anthropologist working with the UN human
rights investigation team headed by former Polish Prime Minister
Tadeusz Mazowiecki, as saying that three more months of investigations
will be needed. The wounded men were reportedly taken by Yugoslav
army soldiers and Serbian irregulars from the Vukovar hospital
following that strategic town's fall last November. Witnesses
claim that the men were beaten and killed by their abductors.
(Patrick Moore)

US TO TAKE 1,000 BOSNIANS. Major US dailies report on 27 October
that the State Department announced the previous day that Washington
has agreed to allow 1,000 Bosnian camp inmates to immigrate.
The US had sought to keep the refugees as close to Bosnia as
possible to permit their eventual easy return home, but international
aid agencies have been urging Washington to take some former
camp inmates to help speed up emptying the camps. Over 10,000
inmates are awaiting resettlement. Some two million people have
been displaced in the Yugoslav conflict, and the lives of up
to 400,000 people may be at stake in the upcoming harsh Bosnian
winter. (Patrick Moore)

BOSNIAN TOWN REPORTED WIPED OFF THE MAP. Radios Bosnia-Herzegovina
and Serbia reported on 26 October that the predominantly Muslim
town of Prozor was wiped off the map by forces of the Croatian
Defense Council (HVO) during an attack on 24 October. A statement
released by the Bosnian Army command in Sarajevo said "Prozor
no longer exists." There has been no independent confirmation
of the report, however. The Bosnian presidency has refused comment,
fearing a chain reaction in other villages where tension between
Croats and Muslims is running high. Radio Croatia reports on
26 October that key Muslim leaders and the army are on the verge
of breaking with Bosnia's President Alija Izetbegovic, on the
grounds that his policy of maintaining a close alliance with
Croatia has failed to benefit Muslim interests. (Milan Andrejevich)


TENSIONS RUNNING HIGH IN THE SANDZAK. Tensions are also rising
in the Sandzak in southwest Serbia after the abduction on 22
October of some 20 Muslims traveling from Bosnia to their jobs
in the town of Priboj. Unconfirmed reports say the Muslims were
executed near Priboj. Rump Yugoslavia's Prime Minister Milan
Panic ordered an investigation on 26 October and said that every
effort will be made to reduce tension. Panic and cabinet members
also met with military officials and ordered increased border
patrols in the Priboj region along the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Sandzak Muslim leaders urged local residents to remain calm.
Radio Serbia carried the reports. Muslims have been complaining
of provocations and other incidents since the summer, and about
60,000 of them have moved from mixed areas to largely Muslim
areas as a result. (Milan Andrejevich)

CZECHOSLOVAK GOVERNMENT UNABLE TO AGREE ON GABCIKOVO. Meeting
in the early hours of 27 October, the Czechoslovak federal government
failed to reach agreement on stopping work on the controversial
Gabcikovo hydroelectrical dam project. Speaking to reporters
in Prague, Federal Premier Jan Strasky said that "the Slovak
ministers were against stopping work at Gabcikovo." Deputy Prime
Minister Miroslav Macek said that the Czech ministers had demanded
that "the damming of the Danube be stopped immediately," which
would create conditions for a special EC commission to evaluate
the project and for further negotiations. According to Macek,
the Slovak ministers insisted that the damming of the Danube,
which began on 24 October, must continue so that shipping on
the river can be renewed on 3 November. (Jiri Pehe)

HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE ON GONCZ INCIDENT. Hungarian deputies
debated at the 26 October parliamentary session the demonstration
that prevented President Arpad Goncz from delivering his address
at the commemoration of the 1956 revolution on 23 October, MTI
reports. Opposition parties called for an ad hoc committee to
investigate the incident. Sandor Olah, a member of the Smallholder
deputies in the governing coalition, said that Nazi symbols had
surfaced for the first time at an official celebration organized
by the interior ministry and urged the interior minister to draw
the consequences and resign. Prime Minister Jozsef Antall rejected
charges that his government was in any way responsible for the
incident and said no investigation was necessary. Several Hungarian
Democratic Forum deputies, including parliamentary caucus leader
Imre Konya, said that the major reason for the incident was that
Goncz opened himself to criticism by getting involved in everyday
politics. (Edith Oltay)

DEADLOCK REPORTED IN ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT TALKS. Petre Roman,
National Salvation Front (NSF) leader and Romania's former prime
minister, suggested on 26 October that political leaders had
reached an impasse in efforts to form a government. He accused
President Ion Iliescu and his Democratic National Salvation Front
(DNSF) of continuing a campaign of calumnies against his party.
The DNSF, which broke away from the NSF in March-April, is generally
seen as opposing radical reforms. In a statement broadcast by
Radio Bucharest, DNSF deputy leader Adrian Nastase said that
his party might withdraw from the race to form a new cabinet
and join the opposition instead. Neither the DNSF, which failed
to win a majority in recent elections, nor the opposition seems
eager to govern during what is likely to be a difficult winter.
(Dan Ionescu)

TENSION OVER ETHNIC AUTONOMY IN ROMANIA. Radio Bucharest broadcast
on 26 October excerpts from a statement adopted the previous
day by the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (HDUR) at a
conference in Cluj-Napoca. The statement, which insisted that
ethnic Hungarians "neither want to emigrate nor be assimilated
into the Romanian nation," demanded "self-administration" for
Hungarian communities. It also said that "autonomy for ethnic
and religious communities" is part of Transylvania's political
tradition. The extreme nationalist Greater Romania Party warned
in a communique of possible ethnic strife following the HDUR
declaration, which it described as "an irresponsible attack on
the country's Constitution." (Dan Ionescu)

LATVIAN FOREIGN MINISTER RESIGNS. Latvia's Minister of Foreign
Affairs Janis Jurkans has resigned, according to an RFE/RL correspondent's
report on 27 October. Jurkans had been widely criticized by members
of the Latvian Supreme Council. He survived a parliamentary vote
of confidence last week after legislators evaluated the performance
of the government of Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis. (Dzintra
Bungs)

DANISH LEADER OFFERS ASSISTANCE FOR TROOP WITHDRAWAL. While discussing
the Russian troop withdrawal from the Baltic States, Danish Foreign
Minister Uffe Ellemann-Jensen told his Russian counterpart Andrei
Kozyrev that Denmark had worked vigorously to establish an international
fund to finance the construction of military housing in Russia,
Interfax reported on 26 October. Ellemann-Jensen said that the
efforts had led nowhere so far and his country had thus decided
on a unilateral initiative to expand housing in Russia using
Danish funds. Kozyrev endorsed this idea. (Dzintra Bungs)

KOZYREV LINKS HUMAN RIGHTS WITH TROOP WITHDRAWAL. Kozyrev also
told the Danish Foreign Minister that the issues of Russian troop
withdrawal from the Baltic States and the rights of Russian speakers
in the Baltics are interrelated. When asked how far Moscow would
go to protect Russian speakers in the former USSR republics,
Kozyrev said: "We are prepared to resort to the most far-reaching,
tough, radical measures, but within the framework of international
law." He did not rule out the possibility of using force "for
the purpose of ceasefire and other peacekeeping functions in
the areas of armed conflicts," but not for the purpose of "ethnic
cleansing." Kozyrev stressed that Russia "is categorically against
the Yugoslav version," Interfax reported on 26 October. (Dzintra
Bungs)

SALVATION FRONT PLANS ACTIONS IN THE BALTIC STATES. The program
of the newly formed National Salvation Front in Russia includes
actions in the Baltic States, according to BNS and Interfax reports
of 24 and 26 October. The organization has announced plans to
visit Russian army garrisons in the Baltic States in the period
20-30 November for the purpose of securing the rights of the
troops and their families. Among the leaders of the Salvation
Front are Col. Viktor Alksnis and Russian TV journalist Aleksandr
Nevzorov. (Dzintra Bungs)

BULGARIA TO LAUNCH LARGE-SCALE PRIVATIZATION. According to a
detailed plan distributed to the media on 26 October, the Bulgarian
government aims to begin the privatization of at least 92 companies
before the end of the year. The Agency on Privatization, which
prepared the plan, is to deal with eleven companies worth more
than 10 million leva. While the agency has attributed first priority
to companies involved in industry and agriculture, it is advising
municipalities to concentrate on sectors such as building, trade,
services, transport, and communications. Although political differences
have delayed large-scale privatization, the government has in
the meantime managed to spread ownership through its policy of
restoring property rights to precommunist owners. (Kjell Engelbrekt)


POLAND COURTS WESTERN INVESTMENT. A three-day forum designed
to promote Western investment in Poland, sponsored by the Polish
government and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization,
opened in Warsaw on 26 October. President Lech Walesa, the forum's
honorary chairman, said that without foreign capital Poland's
economic transformation would take a hundred years. Deputy Prime
Minister Henryk Goryszewski pledged that Poland will remain friendly
to investors, despite public fears of foreign domination. An
opinion poll published in Rzeczpospolita on 26 October showed
that 44% of respondents feel there is too little foreign investment
in Poland; 25% think the level is just right; and only 20% believe
that there is too much. However, 51% of respondents said they
would oppose the sale of their own work place to a foreign investor.
(Louisa Vinton)

WORLD BANK OPENS BUDAPEST OFFICE. The World Bank opened a new
office for the East Central European region in Budapest on 26
October, MTI reports. Finance Minister Mihaly Kupa said at the
inauguration ceremony that the presence of the office will facilitate
the Hungarian government's goal of turning Budapest into the
region's financial center. Kemal Dervis, the director of the
World Bank's East Central European department, told Radio Budapest
that the World Bank is concerned about Hungary's large budget
deficit and hopes that the government will take resolute measures
to reduce it. (Edith Oltay)

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Hal Kosiba & Louisa Vinton