No. 209, 29 October 1992

SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

YELTSIN DECREES BAN OF HARDLINE OPPOSITION. Russian President
Boris Yeltsin has issued decrees banning the National Salvation
Front and the parliamentary guards, ITAR-TASS reported on 28
October. The parliamentary Committee for Mass Media, which is
staffed chiefly by Yeltsin supporters, also recommended that
the nationalistic group, Pamyat, be banned on the grounds that
it, like the Front, violates the constitution. Yeltsin also told
the Russian TV program "Vesti" on 27 October that all democrats
who support the president should unite to fight hardliners at
the upcoming Congress. He said that there was still a chance
that despite parliament's decision to hold the Congress in December,
it might be postponed until spring 1993. (Alexander Rahr)

RUSSIAN REFORMERS ON PRESIDENTIAL RULE. A number of prominent
Russian liberals (supporters of a rapid transition towards a
market economy), such as the former mayor of Moscow and leader
of the Russian Movement for Democratic Reforms, Gavriil Popov,
and the governor of Sakhalin, Valentin Fedorov, have openly demanded
the introduction of presidential rule throughout the country
along with a temporary suspension of parliament, arguing that
Russia is in political deadlock, Kommersant reported on 27-October.
Another liberal, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Shokhin, said,
according to ITAR-TASS on the same day, that he would support
authoritarian rule if all democratic means to stabilize the situation
were exhausted. Shokhin welcomed Yeltsin's decision to ban the
National Salvation Front. (Alexander Rahr)

CENTRISTS REJECT IDEA OF PRESIDENTIAL RULE. Presidential advisor
Sergei Stankevich, who recently argued for a government takeover
of the Civic Union, rejected the notion that presidential rule
should be introduced, and spoke out in favor of preserving parliament
in an interview with Rossiiskie vesti on 27 October. Centrist
parties, including Vice-President Aleksandr Rutskoi's Party of
"Free Russia," also voiced their opposition to an introduction
of presidential rule, and accused President Yeltsin's liberal
advisors, such as Gennadii Burbulis, of pushing the president
toward such action, ITAR-TASS reported on 27 October. The economist
Grigorii Yavlinsky urged Yeltsin not to let himself be pushed
into taking anti-constitutional actions. (Alexander Rahr)

MINISTRY OF SECURITY SUPPORTS YELTSIN. The collegium of the Russian
Security Ministry (the former KGB) met for an extended session
to discuss the worsening situation in Russia, Interfax reported
on 27 October. The ministry issued a statement warning of the
danger represented by the "appearance of anti-constitutional
structures which endanger the rebirth of the Russian state."
The statement was clearly alluding to the danger posed by the
recent establishment of the National Salvation Front, which President
Boris Yeltsin is attempting to ban. In his speech at the Foreign
Ministry, broadcast by ITAR-TASS on 27 October, Yeltsin praised
the analyses of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service and
said they were more informative than those reports sent to him
by the Foreign Ministry. (Alexander Rahr)

KHASBULATOV ABSENT IN OFFICIAL TALKS ON GUARD. The ban of the
parliamentary guard has been discussed at a meeting in the offices
of first deputy parliamentary speaker Sergei Filatov, ITAR-TASS
reported on 28 October. President Yeltsin also called Filatov
(an opponent of Khasbulatov) and invited him to discuss the matter.
The head of the parliamentary Committee for Defense and Security,
Sergei Stepashin, stated that the issue has to be settled by
the parliament itself. It is noteworthy that Yeltsin called Filatov
rather than Khasbulatov to discuss Khasbulatov's guard, and that
Filatov was chairing the meeting to discuss the guard without
Khasbulatov's attendance. (Alexander Rahr)

GUARD COMMANDER PLEDGES CONTINUED LOYALTY TO KHASBULATOV. Interfax
quoted the commander of the guard, Ivan Boiko, as saying that
he will obey the orders only of speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov and
that he will ignore Yeltsin's decree. Rossiiskaya gazeta on 29
October called the ban "perplexing," because the guard supported
Yeltsin during the putsch last year. (Alexander Rahr)

PARIS CLUB TO RESCHEDULE FORMER SOVIET DEBTS? Representatives
of eighteen Western creditor-nations met with Russian and Ukrainian
officials in Paris on 28 October to discuss the repayment of
the convertible currency debts of the former Soviet Union, Reuters
reported. After the meeting, the French Finance Ministry announced
that "the creditor-countries expressed their readiness to consider
rapidly...a rescheduling of the obligations due to them up to
the end of 1993...linked to an appropriate upper credit tranche
arrangement of the Russian Federation with the IMF....Both sides
expressed their expectation that it would be possible to agree
on a rescheduling before the end of November." (Keith Bush)

BUT THE IMF MUST WAIT ON RUSSIA. On 27-October, Aleksei Mozhin,
the head of the department for relations with international financial
institutions in the Russian government, suggested that the next
round of talks between Russia and the IMF, scheduled for 10 November,
would probably be postponed until 1993. The Financial Times of
28 October quoted Mozhin as saying that "normally we would have
a timetable fixed for negotiations with the Fund-but the political
uncertainties in the country now make it impossible." An IMF
official in Washington told an RFE/RL correspondent "It's up
to them. Until they send us a signal they have their program
together, there is not an awful lot we can do." (Keith Bush &-Robert
Lyle)

RUSSIAN ENERGY EXPORTS TO CIS TO BE CUT? Russian First Deputy
Premier Vladimir Shumeiko has said that energy supplies to other
members of the Commonwealth of Independent States may be reduced
by 60-63% in 1993, Interfax reported. He justified this on the
grounds that the former Soviet republics and East European countries
were reexporting Russian fuel and raw materials. As an example,
he named Hungary which, he claimed, had earned $1 billion this
year by reexporting Russian oil, fertilizers, and metals. It
is thought that Russia has recently cut back on oil supplies
to CIS members who were in arrears. (Keith Bush)

RUSSIAN INFLATION HIGHEST SINCE JANUARY. Retail prices grew by
6.4% the third week of October, according to Goskomstat figures
carried in Izvestiya on 27 October. The monthly rate is expected
to be at least 25%, which is the highest since immediately after
January's price liberalization. Official monthly retail price
growth had been settling down to 10% in the summer before turning
up again in September. Monthly inflation in food prices, for
example, was up from 8-10% between May and August, to 17% in
September (Ekonomika i zhyzn, #42). Among the factors contributing
to the rise of retail price inflation are the loosening monetary
and fiscal policy (beginning late spring) and the increases in
prices for grain (in mid-August) and energy-carriers (in mid-September).
(Erik Whitlock)

OFFICIAL SAYS NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS BRAIN-DRAIN. Gennadi Evstafiev,
chief of a newly created division of the Russian intelligence
service responsible for arms control and non-proliferation, told
a Moscow briefing on 28 October that the threat of Russian nuclear
experts leaving the country is "virtually nonexistent." Interfax
reported that Evstafiev said that only about 1,500 people were
engaged in nuclear arms development, and "nuclear secrets" were
known by only "a few dozen people," all living in so-called closed
towns. These numbers appear significantly lower than previous
estimates. He described them as "honorable people" and "patriots"
who were aware of their responsibilities. The new division will
carefully monitor the development of nuclear weapons capabilities
in neighboring countries, as well as prevent attempts to export
controlled materials. (Doug Clarke & John Lepingwell)

RUSSIAN DRAFT TO BE EXTENDED TO STUDENTS? The National Council
of Russian Youth Organizations protested on 28 October that the
Russian Defense Ministry is preparing a decree for President
Yeltsin that would abolish draft deferrals for students. At present,
university students are not drafted, but an increase in draft-dodging
and deferrals for health reasons are creating personnel shortfalls
of up to 40% in the military. The Ministry of Defense confirmed
that a decree was being prepared and noted that removing the
deferral would increase the draft pool by 100,000 men. The story
was reported by ITAR-TASS on 28 October. (John Lepingwell)

NEW GREENPEACE PROTEST IN RUSSIA. A Greenpeace spokesman in Moscow
revealed on 28-October that two Russian warships were preventing
the environmental organization's vessel "Rainbow Warrior" entering
Postovaya Bay on the Pacific coast, the site of a naval base
where decommissioned nuclear submarines are moored. Interfax
quoted Greenpeace as saying that four retired boats, each with
two nuclear reactors, were at the base-which is located within
300 meters of peoples' homes. It charged the submarines were
an environmental hazard. According to the news agency, after
the Greenpeace announcement, the commander of the Russian Pacific
Fleet promised to remove one submarine from the base this year
and the remaining three in 1993. (Doug Clarke)

SOME IN UKRAINE WANT NUCLEAR WEAPONS. Ukrainian Defense Minister
Konstantin Morozov presented a draft concept of the republic's
military doctrine to the Ukrainian parliament on 28 October.
According to the Interfax account of the debate, several deputies
criticized provisions in the draft which renounced nuclear weapons.
Morozov stated that Ukraine had wanted to get rid of all the
ex-Soviet strategic weapons on its soil by the end of 1994, but
had received none of the foreign assistance required. Accordingly,
he reported that Ukraine "made corrections in our course of actions"
and joined the START agreement-which has a seven-year elimination
deadline. Morozov also revealed that the Ukrainian armed forces
would include a detachment of "rocket-space" troops. (Doug Clarke)


KRAVCHUK TO CHINA. Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk leaves
for China on 29 October for talks that are expected to focus
on China's experience in developing market mechanisms in a state-dominated
economy, Reuters reported. The two sides may also discuss the
sale of military equipment, according to the report. This is
the first visit to China by a Ukrainian leader. (Roman Solchanyk)


BLOCKADE OF BLACK SEA FLEET LIFTED. On 27 October the blockade
of Black Sea Fleet vessels stationed in Poti was lifted according
to an ITAR-TASS report of 28 October. The report also stated
that Abkhazian parliamentarians had expressed concern over the
lifting of the blockade, because they fear the ships will be
transferred to Georgia for use against Abkhazia. Interfax reported
on 28 October, however, that the deputy commander of the Georgian
Navy, Guram Pirveli, denied Georgian responsibility for the blockade.
The ships are now engaged in evacuating Russian naval personnel
and dependents from Poti. (John Lepingwell)

GEORGIAN ELECTION RESULTS. The final results of the Georgian
parliamentary elections of 11 October were published in Tbilisi
on 27 October, Interfax reported. Four political blocs and twenty
parties are now represented in parliament. The Mshvidoba (Peace)
bloc won the greatest number of seats with twenty-nine; its membership
is comprised of seven parties, including former communist party
representatives, members of the intelligentsia, some monarchists,
and others. The October 11 bloc placed second with eighteen seats;
its membership includes the National Front, the Republican Party,
the Christian Democratic Party, and the Organization "Democratic
Election for Georgia." Georgian elections did not take place
in nine constituencies in Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Western
Georgia. (Hal Kosiba)

CASPIAN FLOTILLA OUT OF AZERBAIJAN. The chief of staff of the
Caspian Flotilla told ITAR-TASS on 28 October that the main combat
units of the flotilla had been withdrawn from Azerbaijan. Captain
Yurii Startsev said that only one warship and twenty ships support
would remain at the flotilla's former headquarters in Baku. At
one time the flotilla consisted of some sixty warships. Early
the this year decision was taken to split the flotilla among
the four republics bordering the Caspian Sea: Russia, Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. In August, the Russians announced
that the headquarters of the flotilla would be moved to Astrakhan.
(Doug Clarke)

UZBEK HELP SOUGHT IN TAJIK CONFLICT. Tajikistan's Interim Prime
Minister Abdumalik Abdullozhanov met with deputies of Uzbek President
Islam Karimov on 28 October to ask that Uzbekistan close its
border with Tajikistan in order to prevent anti-government Tajik
forces from escaping into Uzbekistan, Abdullozhanov told a Reuters
correspondent. The Uzbek representatives agreed to raise the
issue with Karimov, he said; an Uzbek delegation is to be sent
to Dushanbe to discuss economic assistance. (Bess Brown)

NABIEV CHAIRS MEETING; MORE RUSSIAN TROOPS TO DUSHANBE? In the
northern Tajik city of Khuzhand, Tajikistan's deposed President
Rakhman Nabiev chaired a meeting of anti-government supreme soviet
deputies from Kulyab, who demanded the convocation of a session
of the legislature, Interfax reported on 28 October. The meeting
ended after news arrived of the murder by unknown gunmen of the
chairman of the Kulyab Oblast soviet executive committee, Dzhumakhon
Rizoev. The same source quoted the deputy commander of Russia's
land forces, Eduard Vorobev, as saying that units of the Russian
division stationed in Tajikistan might be transferred to Dushanbe
to give the Tajik government the force it lacks to ensure stability
in the city. Russian forces are already guarding important buildings
in Dushanbe. (Bess Brown)



CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT RESIGNS. Early on 29-October, following
defeat in a confidence vote in the National Assembly, Prime Minister
Filip Dimitrov announced his cabinet's resignation, Bulgarian
and Western agencies report. The Union of Democratic Forces (UDF)
government, Bulgaria's first communist-free government since
1944, was brought down by a coalition of the Bulgarian Socialist
Party and Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). The vote was
120 to 111. The UDF government's requested a confidence vote
last week, after nearly three months of intense political turmoil.
The cabinet had been accused of not doing enough for the country's
economy, of going too far with its anticommunist stance, and
of neglecting national security interests by considering a possible
arms deal with Macedonia. Reuters quoted a Western diplomat as
saying that the resignation was "a step backwards" in the reform
process. Although the UDF is likely to be asked to form a new
government, it is unclear whether the coalition is prepared to
make major concessions to the MRF, its former political partner.
If not, the current political crisis might lead to new elections.
(Kjell Engelbrekt)

BOSNIAN SERBS REJECT VANCE-OWEN PLAN. AFP reported on 28 October
that Bosnian Serbian leaders said that the constitutional program
drafted by international mediators is unacceptable because it
sets up autonomous regions chiefly on geographic and economic
criteria and not on an ethnic basis. Reuters said that the plan
provides for up to 10 regions, which would control their own
affairs except for foreign policy, defense, and foreign trade;
these would remain with the central authorities. The regions
would have their own police forces, but other armed militias
would be banned, and there would be only one Bosnian citizenship.
The mediators said that the international community would not
accept ethnically-based cantons set up by force. Ethnic Serbs
constitute only one-third of the republic's population but have
seized over two-thirds of its territory in the course of the
year. (Patrick Moore)

MAZOWIECKI SAYS MUSLIMS "VIRTUALLY THREATENED WITH EXTERMINATION."
The 29-October Los Angeles Times quotes a new report by special
UN envoy and former Polish Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki
on the worsening human rights situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
He says that the Serbs' policy of "ethnic cleansing does not
appear to be the consequence of the war but rather its goal."
Mazowiecki adds that "this goal, to a large extent, has already
been achieved through killings, beatings, rape, destruction of
houses, and threats." He calls for outsiders to take urgent action
before winter sets in. Reuters on 28 October said that France
and Germany plan to build "villages" in Bosnia for refugees.
About 10,000 people are waiting to be freed from detention camps
but have nowhere to go, an RFE/RL correspondent noted. French
UN troops will guard the new settlements, but earlier plans to
set up "safe havens" were criticized as providing potential magnets
for ethnic cleansing. Finally, the Los Angeles Times article
quotes forensic pathologists as saying that they now put the
number of suspected mass graves near the Serb-held Croatian town
of Vukovar at at least four. (Patrick Moore)

SERBIAN AIRCRAFT UNDER UN CONTROL? The BBC on 29 October reports
that UN negotiators and Bosnian Serb officials have reached an
agreement to place the Serb aircraft at Banja Luka under UN observation
there. The Serbs had previously promised to transfer the planes
and helicopters to Serbia, but then claimed this was too costly
and impractical. On 27 October Croatian media reported that the
Serbs were using the aircraft to attack Jajce in violation of
the UN ban on such flights. Lord Owen on 28 October told Western
agencies that the Serbs had indeed used helicopters, but no planes.
It is not yet clear whether UN control over the aircraft will
be unconditional or whether the Serbs will reserve the right
to use them under certain circumstances, as they have with artillery
they have registered with the UN in Sarajevo. (Patrick Moore)


"VISEGRAD TRIANGLE" LEADERS MEET EC OFFICIALS. Hungarian Prime
Minister Jozsef Antall, Polish Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka,
Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus, Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir
Meciar, and Czechoslovak Deputy Prime Minister Antonin Baudys
met with EC officials in London on 28 October to discuss criteria
for their countries' full membership in the EC. International
media report that EC leaders, including EC Executive President
Jacques Delors and British Prime Minister John Major, whose country
now holds the EC presidency, promised to provide the information
after the EC summit in Edinburgh in December. Major said that
an exact timetable for the three countries' membership cannot
be set; the three must wait until they are economically prepared
to join. A joint statement issued after the meeting spoke of
"a common commitment to democracy and human rights, market economics,
and liberal trade." It also cited the need "to make up for lost
opportunities since World War II." The Polish daily Rzeczpospolita
summed up the summit with the headline, "Lots of Words, Few Hard
Facts." (Jiri Pehe)

CZECHOSLOVAKIA AND HUNGARY NEAR COMPROMISE ON GABCIKOVO? Reuter
reported on 28-October that Hungarian and Czechoslovak officials,
meeting during the London summit, had agreed in principle on
a four-point plan as the basis for settling their dispute over
the Gabcikovo hydroelectric dam project on the Danube. Hungarian
Secretary of State Janos Martonyi told reporters that the four
points include an immediate halt to work on the dam by Czechoslovakia;
the acceptance of binding international arbitration; a commitment
to maintain the normal volume of water in the river; and the
creation a small group to examine the immediate consequences
of the Danube's damming. British Prime Minister John Major told
reporters that he was optimistic a settlement would be reached.
CSTK reported on 28 October that the dam had been generating
some 40-megawatts of power per hour since 26 October. (Jiri Pehe)


LAST COMBAT TROOPS LEAVE POLAND. With the departure of four Russian
torpedo boats from the Baltic port of Swinoujscie, the last former
Soviet combat troops left Poland on 28 October. The Russians
were eighteen days ahead of schedule; the Polish-Russian agreement
signed in Moscow in May stipulated that all combat troops leave
Polish soil by 15-November. Some 6,000 Russian troops will remain
in Poland until the end of 1993 to assist in the troop withdrawal
from Germany. In a statement carried by PAP, Polish President
Lech Walesa said the withdrawal was final confirmation of Polish
sovereignty. Together with recent revelations about the Katyn
massacre, the withdrawal laid foundations for mutual trust and
good-neighborly relations, Walesa said. According to Rzeczpospolita
of 29 October, the withdrawal ceremony was marred by Russian
complaints that Poland had failed to help construct housing for
officers, imposed customs controls on Russian military transports,
and promoted anti-Russian propaganda in the mass media. (Louisa
Vinton)

NEW DEADLOCK IN ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT NEGOTIATIONS. Despite the
progress reported by Radio Bucharest on 27 October, negotiations
on the creation of a minority government headed by the Democratic
National Salvation Front (DNSF) reached a deadlock again on the
following day. Radio Bucharest said that the two sides, the DNSF
on one hand and the Democratic Convention of Romania (DCR) and
the National Salvation Front (NSF) on the other, could not agree
on the "political neutrality of some state institutions," (meaning
the demand of the opposition that a number of pro-DNSF figures
be removed from office) and on the chairmanships of the parliament's
two chambers. (Michael Shafir)

ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT ELECTS CHAIRMEN. As a result of the deadlock,
the parliament convened to elect its chairmen. Adrian Nastase,
foreign minister in the outgoing government and vice-president
of the DNSF, was elected chairman of the Chamber of Deputies.
He defeated Victor Babiuc, the candidate of the NSF and the DCR.
The vote was 180 to 145. In addition to his own party, Nastase
was supported by the Greater Romania Party and the Socialist
Labor Party. Enlisting the support of the same alignment of forces
as Nastase, the DNSF candidate Oliviu Gherman was elected chairman
of the Senate. He defeated Emil Tocaci, the joint candidate of
the DCR and the NSF, by 81 votes to 59. Gherman is the president
of the DNSF. (Michael Shafir)

HUNGARIAN MINISTER ON 1956 COMMEMORATION INCIDENT. Hungarian
Interior Minister Peter Boross rejected as "great lies" charges
by the opposition that Hungarian border guards had participated
under orders from his ministry in the demonstration that prevented
President Arpad Goncz from delivering his address on the anniversary
of the 1956 revolution. Contrary to what Western media reported,
Boross stated that not just a group of extremists, but also much
of the crowd of 8,000-10,000 people jeered Goncz. He estimated
that only 6 or 7 people wore Nazi symbols and that at most 70
skinheads were present, MTI reported on 28 October. (Edith Oltay)


HUNGARIAN BISHOPS CONDEMN RACISM. In a statement issued on 28
October, the Catholic bishops' council expressed concern about
the "emergence in the world and in Hungary of racial discrimination
and anti-Semitism," MTI and Radio Budapest report. The council
warned that extremist views and attitudes "lead not only to discrimination
in social life but also create serious [social] conflicts." The
statement condemns differentiation between human beings on the
basis of race, color, social situation, or religion, and stresses
that all forms of racism and anti-Semitism offend God and mankind.
(Edith Oltay)

MEMBERS OF HUNGARIAN NEO-NAZI GROUP SENTENCED. On 28 October,
the Gyor municipal court sentenced Istvan Gyorkos, the leader
of the "national socialist action group" in Gyor, to one year
in prison for "instigation against the community" and abuse of
firearms and ammunition, MTI reports. The group had accumulated
a stock of military equipment and had been suspected of an armed
plot to establish a "national socialist state." The sentence
was suspended for five years. One of Gyorkos's sons received
a one-year suspended sentence; a second was placed on probation
because he was a juvenile at the time of the crime. One other
defendant was fined, and a last one was acquitted. (Edith Oltay)


BRAZAUSKAS PRESS CONFERENCE. On 28 October Lithuanian Democratic
Labor Party chairman Algirdas Brazauskas held a press conference
at the Lithuanian parliament, Radio Lithuania reports. He denied
charges that he had called for the burning of all KGB files in
Lithuania and said that the files contain valuable historical
information worth preserving. He called for the creation of a
broad coalition government. The general wage freeze suggested
by the IMF was impossible, he argued, and necessary economic
reforms should be made "less painful" for the public. He said
he knew nothing of Russian attempts to influence the Seimas elections
and said he thought the Lithuanian public was too intelligent
to attempt a coup against a new government. (Saulius Girnius)


POLISH GOVERNMENT PREPARES 1993 BUDGET. Meeting on 27 October,
the cabinet accepted draft budget outlines for 1993 that forecast
slight growth in production and national income; no major improvement
in the financial condition of state firms; inflation at a yearly
rate of 38%; and a deficit amounting to up to 5.5% of GDP. To
meet this last goal, the government will have to keep the deficit
from rising more than .8% above the ceiling for this year, according
to Rzeczpospolita of 28 October. Difficulties in financing the
deficit are also expected. Efforts will be made to limit social
security benefits and enforce tax and customs discipline. Real
wages are to drop by 2% in 1993. (Louisa Vinton)

LATVIAN-RUSSIAN ECONOMIC ACCORDS. Several economic cooperation
accords were signed by Latvia's Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis
and Russia's acting prime minister Egor Gaidar on 28 October
after their meeting in Moscow, Baltfax reported that day. The
documents include accords granting their countries most-favored
nation status and deal with bank payment transfers (necessary
because the two countries no longer have the same currency).
Although the issue of Russia's supplying fuel to Latvia was not
directly discussed, Gaidar indicated that delivery problems stemmed
from unresolved payment procedures, which, he said, could be
settled shortly. (Dzintra Bungs)

UN HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS IN LATVIA. On 27-October UN experts on
human rights arrived in Riga at the invitation of Latvia's Supreme
Council Chairman Anatolijs Gorbunovs. The experts' group, headed
by Ibrahim Falla of Somalia, are to assess the human rights situation
in Latvia, especially with regard to Russians and other Slavs,
who have complained recently of rights violations. (Dzintra Bungs)


BILDT SUPPORTS NEW ESTONIAN GOVERNMENT. In a visit just five
days after Estonia's conservative-center government was formed,
Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt expressed strong support for
the market-oriented path chosen by his Estonian counterpart Mart
Laar. Bildt, who ended his visit on 27-October, devoted discussions
with Laar, Foreign Minister Trivimi Velliste, Defense Minister
Hain Rebas, and Social Welfare Minister Marju Lauristin to security
issues and economic cooperation, according to Paevaleht of 29
October 92. Government sources say the strength of Bildt's support
came as a welcome surprise. (Riina Kionka) [As of 1200 CET] Compiled
by Hal Kosiba & Louisa Vinton