No. 216, 09 November 1992

SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

YELTSIN TO LONDON, ADDRESSES BALTIC ISSUES. Russian President
Boris Yeltsin left for London on 9 November for an official visit.
Speaking to journalists prior to his departure, the Russian president
said that he would definitely raise the issue of protecting the
Russian-speaking population in the Baltic States during his talks
with British officials. Yeltsin also said he will insist that
the same question be raised at the UN Security Council, Mayak
radio reported. On 7 November, Yeltsin sent a letter via Russian
UN representative Yurii Vorontsov to UN Secretary General Boutros
Boutros-Ghali in an attempt to defend Moscow's stance on troop
withdrawals from the Baltic states, ITAR-TASS reported. (Suzanne
Crow)

KOZYREV CONFIRMS RUSSIAN INTEREST IN TAJIKISTAN. In a trip to
Dushanbe that included a meeting with representatives of the
Russian population and officers of the 201st Motorized Rifle
Division, Russian Foreign Minister Kozyrev reaffirmed Russia's
commitment to "stabilize" the situation in Tajikistan. While
noting that the Russian military was to remain impartial, Kozyrev
also stated that acting Tajik President Iskandarov was the most
legitimate authority in Tajikistan. Kozyrev also warned that
if there was any threat to the Russian population in Tajikistan,
Russia would adopt "a very decisive position." The meetings were
reported by Interfax on 6 November. (John Lepingwell)

NORTH OSSETIAN-INGUSH CONFLICT. Two Russian soldiers were killed
and an officer wounded by snipers in North Ossetia on the night
of 7 November, and isolated shooting between the numerous groups
of irregulars was continuing in the zone of the Ossetian-Ingush
conflict, ITAR-TASS reported on 8-November. The official death
toll so far is 154, with 376 wounded, including 19 servicemen,
but these figures are said to be far from complete. The Ossetian
side has so far handed over 40 Ingush hostages, and the Ingush
side 520 Ossetians. The Russian temporary administration has
demanded that the hostage exchange be completed by 12 November.
Large numbers of Ingush are reported to have sought refuge in
military camps. (Ann Sheehy)

RUSSIAN FORCES IN NORTH OSSETIA DETAILED. According to an Interfax
report of 6-November, Russian forces in Ossetia now number over
10,000 troops. According to Russian Deputy Interior Minister
Evgenii Abramov, there are 5,954 defense ministry troops, 4,536
interior ministry troops, and 745-Russian and North Ossetian
policemen in the area. (John Lepingwell)

TATARSTAN ADOPTS NEW CONSTITUTION. After heated debates, the
Tatarstan parliament adopted a new constitution on 6 November
which states that the republic is a "sovereign state, a subject
of international law, associated with the Russian Federation-Russia
on the basis of a treaty on the mutual delegation of powers,"
ITAR-TASS reported. This is a compromise formula which will not
satisfy the Russian authorities who tried to insist that the
constitution clearly state that Tatarstan is part of Russia.
The deputies also approved a controversial article on citizenship,
Interfax reported, according to which Tatarstan will introduce
its own citizenship, at the same time allowing dual citizenship.
(Ann Sheehy)

KHASBULATOV ON RUSSIAN OVERCENTRALIZATION. In an article in Rossiiskaya
gazeta reported by ITAR-TASS on 7 November, the speaker of the
Russian parliament Ruslan Khasbulatov said that the center in
the Russian Federation was trying to control everything and thus
impeding reform. According to Khasbulatov, in 1991, the last
year of the USSR's existence, the share of the Union budget in
the overall budget was only 40% whereas today the share of the
federal budget in the Russian Federation amounts to 75%. The
budget of the federation's subjects accounts for only 25%. (Ann
Sheehy)

CIVIC UNION DRAWS UP LIST OF NAMES FOR NEW CABINET. Nikolai Travkin,
a leader of the Civic Union opposition group, announced on 8
November that the organization had drawn up a list of politicians
it wishes to see receive seats in a new Russian cabinet, according
to Western agencies on 8 November. Travkin, who is chairman of
the Russian Democratic Party, said that the Civic Union wants
most of all the resignation of Russian State Secretary Gennadii
Burbulis, since, according to Travkin, Burbulis is "the one that
bothers us the most." The Union also favors the resignation of
Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev. Travkin said that the list was
not an ultimatum to President Yelstin; rather, it was "a piece
of information for contemplation." A meeting is planned for next
week between Civic Union leaders and President Yeltsin. (Hal
Kosiba)

CHERNOBYL-MODEL REACTORS TO STAY IN SERVICE? The head of Ukraine's
nuclear power industry told a news conference on 3 November that
the Chernobyl nuclear power plant should continue in operation
until the turn of the century, Western agencies reported. Mikhail
Umanets, the president of Ukratomenergoprom, was director of
the Chernobyl station when the disaster occurred in 1986. Last
week, senior Russian nuclear officials told a Vienna meeting
sponsored by the UN International Atomic Energy Agency that the
15 RBMK reactors remaining in the former Soviet Union-the type
in use at Chernobyl-will go on operating indefinitely, The New
York Times reported on 8 November. (Keith Bush)

NEW REGULATIONS TO AFFECT RUSSIAN ENERGY PRICES. According to
a new Russian government resolution issued on 5 November, new
tax and profitability regulations will be established for oil
and gas refineries, Interfax reported on 7 November. The resolution
simultaneously imposes a 5 to 30% excise tax on oil and gas sales
and boosts the upper profitability level from 10-20% for most
refineries. In addition to raising revenue for the state and
improving the financial position of refiners, the resolution
may be a quiet way to increase energy prices charged to Russian
consumers. Refineries enjoying foreign ownership will be exempt
from the excise tax. (Erik Whitlock)

TRADE UNIONS AND GOVERNMENT FAIL TO AGREE ON MINIMUM WAGE. At
a third meeting of the conciliatory commission set up to reach
a compromise between government and the Federation of Russian
Independent Trade Unions on reform-related problems, the two
sides failed to reach an agreement on the level of the minimum
wage to be established for Russia, according to Interfax on 7-November.
The trade unions are insisting that it should be between 3375
and 4000 rubles per month, and that this new level should be
introduced starting in December. The government had proposed
to raise the minimum wage from 900 to 2250 rubles in the first
quarter of 1993, and at the meeting put forward an interim level
of 1800 rubles. Another Interfax report of 7 November indicates
that the two parties agreed to set the current minimum wage at
2250 rubles, and that the trade unions want this to be revised
in December. (Sheila Marnie)

TURKEY SIGNS ARMS DEAL WITH RUSSIA. Russian and Turkish TV announced
on 8-November that the two countries had signed an agreement
calling for Turkey to buy $75-million worth of arms from Russia.
According to the Reuters account, the purchase will include seventeen
Mi-17 "Hip" helicopters, armored vehicles, and rifles. The two
sides had been discussing such a deal since August when it was
announced that Turkey was interested in purchasing as much as
$300 million worth of Russian arms. The Anatolian news agency
quoted Russian Foreign Economic Relations Minister Peter Aven,
in Istanbul to sign the agreement, as saying it was the first
sale of Russian military equipment to a member of NATO. (Doug
Clarke)

LITHUANIA BUYS TWO RUSSIAN FRIGATES. Interfax and the Baltic
News Service reported on 6-November that Lithuania had purchased
two frigates to patrol the country's coast. The warships, acquired
from the Russian Baltic Fleet, were described as Albatros- type
vessels of 1,000 tons, built eleven years ago. The description
matches that of what are known in the West as Grisha III light,
anti-submarine frigates. The agencies reported that the sale
had been contingent on the Lithuanians agreeing to build apartments
in the Kaliningrad oblast for Russian military personnel leaving
the Baltic States. The sales, agreed to in September, were with
the private construction firm "Selma" and not the Lithuanian
authorities. (Doug Clarke & Saulius Girnius)

TACTICAL NUKES REMOVED FROM FLEET. Russian military sources announced
on 5-November that all tactical nuclear weapons had been removed
from the former Soviet Pacific Fleet. The report was carried
by the Japanese Kyodo news agency, which said that the removal
had been completed at the end of September. On 20 October, a
similar announcement was made concerning the Northern Fleet.
In late 1991 both the United States and the Soviet Union made
unilateral pledges to take tactical nuclear weapons off their
warships. (Doug Clarke)

RUSSIA, GERMANY READY FOR INTELLIGENCE COOPERATION. The Russian
foreign intelligence service (SVR) is prepared to cooperate with
the Bundesnachrichtendienst (German foreign intelligence agency)
in countering international terrorism, the smuggling of weapons
and radioactive materials, and illegal drug trafficking, according
to a high-ranking officer of the SVR, Vladimir Karpov, Bild Am
Sonntag reported on 8 November. In what appears to be a generous
offer, Karpov mentioned the readiness of the Russian side to
share information about drug trafficking routes from the so-called
"golden triangle" in South East Asia to Europe. Karpov repeated
the proposal of the SVR director, Evgenii Primakov, for a reciprocal
moratorium on intelligence activities between Western and Russian
services, and for a reciprocal bilateral moratorium on Russian
and German intelligence activities. Primakov's previous offer
was received by Western intelligence experts with scepticism.
(Victor Yasmann)

RUSSIA MIGHT RETURN NUCLEAR MATERIAL TO UKRAINE. General Valerii
Manilov, spokesman for the CIS joint military command, was quoted
by ITAR-TASS on 6 November as saying that Russia might be willing
to return to Ukraine some of the nuclear material from strategic
nuclear warheads given up by Ukraine for destruction. Some Ukrainian
officials have been balking at turning warheads over to Russia,
saying that Ukraine should be given some compensation in return,
or should keep the nuclear materiel for eventual use as fuel
in atomic power plants. (Doug Clarke)

REFERENDUM CAMPAIGN IN UKRAINE. The "Rukh" press agency reported
that an additional thirteen initiative groups for gathering signatures
in support of a referendum on the dissolution of the parliament
have been officially registered, DR-Press reported on 6-November.
At the moment, 115 such groups have been registered in twenty-three
oblasts and the Crimean republic. According to the main opposition
leader Vyacheslav Chornovil, about one and a half million signatures
are ready. The law requires three million signatures to hold
a referendum. (Roman Solchanyk)

BELARUS TO EXPAND USE OF COUPONS. The director of the Belarusian
Economy Department told Interfax on 6 November that, starting
10 November, all food, tobacco, and alcoholic beverages may be
purchased only with coupons throughout Belarus. Coupons were
introduced in October in the areas of Belarus near the Lithuanian
and Ukrainian borders. Anatolii Dremov explained that the expanded
use of coupons is intended to protect the nation's economy from
an influx of rubles from neighboring CIS members. He stated further
that the Belarusian government has no immediate plans to introduce
a new national currency because of the economic upheaval it would
cause. (Keith Bush)

KAZAKHSTAN TO SELL LESS GRAIN TO RUSSIA. Kazakhstan's Minister
of Agriculture and Deputy Prime Minister Boltash Tursunbaev was
quoted by Interfax on 6 November as stating that Russian acting
Prime Minister Egor Gaidar's assertion that Kazakhstan will sell
Russia seven or eight million tons of grain in 1992 is mistaken.
Tursunbaev said that Kazakhstan can sell Russia three million
tons, but the country's export balance dose not permit the sale
of a larger quantity. One million tons of grain is to be sold
for hard currency, with which Kazakhstan intends to buy agricultural
equipment. (Bess Brown)

LEFT-BANK MOLDOVANS APPEAL TO WORLD. In an appeal to international
human rights bodies, the CSCE, and the US government, forwarded
on 4-November, hundreds of parents of Moldovan school children
on the left bank of the Dniester called attention to the "Dniester
republic"'s recent measures imposing the Cyrillic script in place
of the Latin for the "Moldovan" language, reducing instruction
in that language, replacing Moldovan textbooks with Russian-language
textbooks from the communist era, and closing down all local
Moldovan newspapers and radio programs. The appeal further noted
that the "Dniester republic" is taking these measures under the
protection of Russia's 14th Army based there and "under the pretext
of defending the Russian-speaking population." The parents appealed
for the sending of fact-finding missions to the scene and for
international action to restore legitimate authority in the area.
(Vladimir Socor)

WESTERN MISSIONS IN CHISINAU. Germany, which earlier this year
established diplomatic relations with Moldova at embassy level,
opened its mission in Chisinau on 5-November, the Moldovan media
reported. On the same day Israel opened in Chisinau an Information
and Cultural Center. On 3-November, Sweden's ambassador to Moldova
presented his letters of accreditation to President Mircea Snegur,
Moldovapres reported. Snegur appealed to Sweden, whose Foreign
Minister is due shortly to assume the chairmanship of the CSCE
Council of Ministers, to help involve the CSCE in peacekeeping
operations on the Dniester and in the political settlement of
the conflict and also in monitoring the stalled Moldovan-Russian
negotiations on the withdrawal of Russia's 14th Army from Moldova.
(Vladimir Socor)

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

DUBCEK IS DEAD. Alexander Dubcek, the symbol of "communism with
a human face," died of multiple organ failure on 7 November in
a Prague hospital, where he spent the final nine weeks of his
life. The 70-year-old former First Secretary of the Communist
Party of Czechoslovakia suffered chest and spinal injuries in
a car crash on 1 September and subsequently underwent several
operations. Several leading Czech and Slovak officials praised
him for his achievements. Former Czechoslovak President Vaclav
Havel said that he was "deeply moved" by Dubcek's death, Reuters
reported. He said that he knew Dubcek as a "kind, open, and modest
human being," and added that he was an "important personality
of modern Czechoslovak history." A spokesman for the Slovak government
said that Dubcek left his mark on Slovak politics which "helped
Slovakia to be seen by the world." (Jan Obrman)

BOSNIAN UPDATE. Western news agencies on 6-November said that
UN relief workers had given up their efforts to reach besieged
Muslims in Srebrenica after Serb civilians had blocked the convoy's
path. On the weekend of 7-8 November, Serbian forces continued
to shell Gradacac, Maglaj, and other towns in northern Bosnia,
as well as Sarajevo. British UN troops were caught in the fighting
near Tuzla and made use of their right to self-defense by returning
the fire. On 7 November, Iran's foreign minister again criticized
the West for failing to intervene to prevent the killing of Bosnian
Muslims, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference's secretary
general also repeated his group's call on the UN to intervene.
Iran has provided some aid to the Bosnians, but its role has
largely centered on rhetoric; the burden of any concrete intervention
under UN sponsorship would probably fall to Turkey rather to
Iran. Finally, the 7-November Washington Post reported that the
US had given the UN its third report on Balkan atrocities, noting
that "by far the largest number of offenses have been committed
by Bosnian Serbs." (Patrick Moore)

UNREST IN MACEDONIA. Radio Serbia and international media reported
on 6 November that four people were killed and 36 injured in
rioting in Skopje. The violence erupted after police arrested
a 19-year old Albanian youth in a working-class district. Interior
Minister Ljubomir Frckovski told reporters on 7-November that
the riot was planned in late October by Albanian "extremists"
from Kosovo. The police arrested about 70 people during the riots,
but most have been released. Tensions remain high and Macedonian
officials fear an outbreak of renewed violence between Macedonians
and ethnic Albanians, who make up between 20 and 40% of the republic's
population, depending on whose figures are used. The coalition
government includes Albanians. (Milan Andrejevich)

RUSSIAN GENERAL IN BELGRADE, CRITICIZES KOZYREV. The visit of
Russian General Viktor Filatov to Herzegovina and Belgrade has
received considerable attention in the Belgrade media. On 6 November
Belgrade TV showed the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party
President Vojislav Seselj and his wife hosting a formal dinner
for the general. Filatov, who wants Russian intervention in Herzegovina
on Serbia's behalf, said during the dinner that Russia understands
Serbia's difficulties well, arguing that Moscow's leadership
is conducting a policy that is contrary to Russian interests.
He said: "neither the army, nor the Cossacks, nor the foreign
ministry trust Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev," adding that
the Russian army "knows the National Salvation Front is the solution
for Russia." (Milan Andrejevich)

YELTSIN TO VISIT IMRE NAGY'S GRAVE. Before his visits to England
and Hungary next week, Russian President Boris Yeltsin gave an
interview to the Russian correspondent of Radio Budapest. In
the interview, broadcast on 5 November, Yeltsin said that Russia
was lagging behind in the reestablishment of relations with the
countries of Eastern Europe. Hungary was an exception insofar
as a comprehensive agreement had already been reached on 3 December
1991 and followed by a basic treaty. Yeltsin admitted that many
questions remained open and that he would try to settle some
of them during his visit to Hungary on 10-November. Yeltsin said
that all the documents kept in Russian archives about the 1956
revolution would be returned to Hungary. He pledged to visit
what he called "three 1956 cemeteries", among them the grave
of Imre Nagy and those of the Russian soldiers. He said that
he would try to settle questions of the countries' mutual debts.
He called for more agricultural cooperation and said that the
West could help by buying Hungarian agricultural products for
Russia. (Judith Pataki)

POLITICAL STALEMATE OVER HUNGARIAN MEDIA CONTINUES. Prime Minister
Jozsef Antall's attempt to appoint new vice presidents to head
Hungarian Television and Hungarian Radio was defeated on 6 November,
MTI reported. Parliament's Cultural Committee failed to endorse
the two new appointees by a two-thirds majority and President
Arpad Goncz refused to back the appointments. The main opposition
party, the Association of Free Democrats, supported the President's
refusal. (Karoly Okolicsanyi)

HUNGARY SENTENCES YUGOSLAV SPY TO TEN YEARS. The Metropolitan
Court's Military Council in Budapest sentenced ensign Rudolf
Szanto to ten years in jail for spying for Yugoslavia in the
1980s, MTI said on 6-November. Szanto sent military information
about the Soviet and Hungarian military to Belgrade in exchange
for small amounts of hard currency and free vacations. He was
arrested in January 1991. (Karoly Okolicsanyi)

HUNGARY TO STRESS RESERVE MILITARY FORCE. Defense Minister Lajos
Fur said at a Budapest conference of the European Military Press
Association that Hungary will emphasize the organization and
training of reserve forces in conjunction with its overall force
reduction, MTI reported on 6 November. Fur said that in the next
couple of years, 12 to 14-territorial army units will be established,
based on Swiss and Austrian militia models. The first reserve
unit started its military training last week. (Karoly Okolicsanyi)


KENNAN ASKS US TO BUILD HOUSING. In a commentary in the 9 November
Washington Post, retired American diplomat George Kennan called
on the US government to "take on itself the greater part of the
burden" of building suitable housing in Russia for all professional
officers and NCOs currently stationed in the Baltic states. Noting
other European offers of the same, Kennan said the US would not
be alone in making a move he saw "as a gesture of goodwill toward
the Russian and Baltic peoples and as a contribution to the stability
of the Baltic region." (Riina Kionka)

YELTSIN APPEALS TO UN ON ALLEGED RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. In the latest
escalation in a war of words between Russia and the Baltic states,
Russian President Yeltsin on 6 November called on the UN "to
take all measures" within its power to help stop what he said
were human rights violations against Russians living in the Baltic
states. In a letter to UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali
reported by Western agencies, Yeltsin reiterated Russia's intention
of withdrawing its troops, and noted Russia's role in the Baltic
states' achievement of independence. Without citing evidence
of human rights abuses, Yeltsin said that "discriminatory policies
and practices of...Latvia and Estonia toward Russians run "contrary
to the fundamental principles of the United Nations." Estonia
and Latvia have repeatedly denied any allegations of human rights
violations. (Riina Kionka)

ESTONIA'S RUSSIANS POINT TO OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE, WANT COOPERATION
WITH TALLINN. Some 2,000 people gathered in Sillamae on 7 November
to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the October Revolution
and to call for cooperation with Tallinn, BNS reports. Rallying
under the banner "For the Right to Live Humanely," the demonstrators
called on politicians to pay more attention to the economy. In
a clear reference to manipulation by political forces outside
Estonia, the meeting adopted a resolution stating: "we are ready
to work for the benefit of Estonia...but we are under the pressure
of economic incompetence and political intrigues directed against
the Russian population." The rally featured city council member
Lydia Dolmachova, who said in her reconciliatory speech that
"We must think in terms of cooperation with the State Assembly
and the government. It is important that Estonian authorities
not consider us enemies." Similar demonstrations were reported
in Narva and other cities in the northeast. (Riina Kionka)

PROBLEMS WITH RUSSIAN MILITARY IN LITHUANIA. Lithuanian defense
officials expressed regret that the Russian military continues
to violate Lithuanian laws and disregard the agreements signed
on 8 September regarding their withdrawal, BNS reported on 6-November.
On 5 November Lithuania held talks in Vilnius with deputy commander
of the Russian Air Force 15th Army Dmitrii Lomako about almost
1,700 unsanctioned flights that violate the Lithuanian border
law passed on 20 July, requiring advance permission from the
Lithuanian Foreign Ministry for military flights. The Russians
agreed to hand over the Lithuanian demands to their commanders,
but said that the flights would continue as they were needed
to maintain a "fighting trim." Lithuanians were also not allowed
to inspect a military base in Marijampole whose commander said
that he had received orders from his commander in Kaunas not
to allow any inspection of the base that he considers to be the
property of Russia. (Saulius Girnius)

LITHUANIA REGRETS OIL NEGOTIATION STRATEGY. Deputy Energy Minister
Robertas Tamosiunas told a press conference in Vilnius after
returning from Moscow where agreements for oil and gas were signed
that Lithuania made a mistake by dealing with the Russian authorities
and not directly with the oil producers, Radio Lithuania reported
on 6 November. Russia only agreed to seek possibilities of providing
Lithuania with 600,000-650,00 tons of oil (at $110 per ton) and
1.2-1.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas (at $85 per thousand
cubic meters) for 1992 and 1.5 million tons of oil and 4 billion
cubic meters of gas for 1993. Lithuania will also get about 20%
of the oil refined for Russia at its refinery in Mazeikiai. In
the talks Lithuania was also forced to acknowledge debts of 2.6
billion rubles for gas and 1.6-billion rubles for oil for products
received earlier in the year. (Saulius Girnius)

EC CALLS ON CZECHOSLOVAKIA TO TEMPORARILY HALT CONSTRUCTION AT
GABCIKOVO. The European Community called on Czechoslovakia to
temporarily stop construction on the controversial hydroelectric
dam project on the Danube, Reuters reported on 6 November. The
EC Commission, which has been mediating the dispute over the
dam between Hungary and Czechoslovakia, said that work should
go on for now to avert the risk of flooding, but should stop
on 21 November. Czechoslovakia will respect the EC's decision,
Czechoslovak Deputy Foreign Minister Zdenko Pirek told reporters
in Brussels. The EC Commission is sponsoring a thorough study
of the project's environmental and sociological impact and specialists
of several countries are to meet in Brussels on 15 November to
discuss the its findings. (Jan Obrman)

POLISH BUDGET PASSED. On 6 November the Sejm approved a revised
national budget for 1992 that widened the deficit from 5% to
nearly 7.5%, raised sales taxes by an average of 3%, and cut
government spending. The revision was necessary to make Poland
eligible for World Bank loans, IMF credits, and the continuation
of debt reductions negotiated with the Paris club of creditor
governments. The revised budget foresees total spending of about
$25,900,000,000 and revenues of about $20,400,000,000, PAP said.
The vote of 224-to 171-with 10 abstentions was a major political
victory for the current coalition government, suggesting increasing
political stability in the country. (Jan-de Weydenthal)

BULGARIAN AGRARIANS UNITE. At a congress held in Sofia on 7 and
8 November 1,300 Agrarians voted to restore the Bulgarian Agrarian
National Union (BANU), BTA reported. As chief secretary the delegates
elected Anastasia Dimitrova-Moser, daughter of the former Agrarian
leader in exile Georgi M. Dimitrov. The congress also adopted
a new platform according to which the BANU committed itself to
thoroughly reforming the country. Bulgarian President Zhelyu
Zhelev welcomed the merger as a "bold step toward national understanding."
Since early 1990 the BANU-United and BANU-Nikola Petkov had both
been claiming the legacy of the original party, established in
1899. It was broken by the communist regime as an independent
force in 1947 but continued as a docile "front" party. (Kjell
Engelbrekt)

ROMANIAN PRIME MINISTER DESIGNATE WANTS STABLE GOVERNMENT. Nicolae
Vacaroiu told Adevarul on 6 November that he intended to form
a government "to last four years, even if one or another of its
members may change." Vacaroiu, who is a non-affiliated financial
expert, suggested that his top priority would be the economy.
He said that his main targets were to ensure monetary stability
and tighten control over state-owned enterprises without impeding
privatization. Vacaroiu pledged to present his cabinet's short-term
program to the parliament by the end of the week. (Dan Ionescu)


[As of 1200 CET] Compiled by Hal Kosiba & Patrick Moore