No. 19, 29 January 1993

RUSSIA



CHERNOMYRDIN ON HYPERINFLATION. In his address to the parliament
on 28 January, relayed in full by Russian TV, Prime Minister
Viktor Chernomyrdin reversed his earlier emphasis on restoring
output growth and focused on inflation. "Hyperinflation, which
leads to economic catastrophe and the impoverishment of our people,
represents the main danger at present." He advocated a balanced
budget, indicating future reductions in federal spending and
increases in taxes. He revived the Ryzhkov and Gaidar concepts
of punitive tax rates on excessive pay increases. Increased social
expenditure would be offset by reductions in state subsidies.
But he implied that personal savings would be indexed soon. -Keith
Bush

ZORKIN VS REFERENDUM; COMMUNISTS VS KHASBULATOV. The chairman
of the Russian Constitutional Court, Vladimir Zorkin, has suggested
in a meeting with journalists that the referendum on Russia's
future political system, scheduled for April, should not be held.
Russian TV on 27 January quoted him as saying that new elections
should be held and that the new Constitution should be adopted
only after the economic situation in the country stabilizes.
Meanwhile, Megapolis-express reported on the same day that the
communist parliament faction "Russian Unity" is collecting signatures
for the convening of an extraordinary Congress, during which
it wants to attempt to replace parliamentary speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov.
Communist deputies have criticized Khasbulatov for standing too
close to President Yeltsin. -Alexander Rahr

CHERNOMYRDIN CREATES INSPECTORATE IN CABINET. Russian Prime Minister
Chernomyrdin has started to build up his own inspectorate in
the cabinet staff to monitor the activities of key ministries,
Moskovskii komsomolets reported on 27 January. The new administration
will employ 100 politically reliable officials and is designed
to become a counterweight to the presidential advisory bodies.
As a sign of cooperation with the parliament, Chernomyrdin invited
parliamentary leaders to take part in cabinet meetings on a regular
basis. Chernomyrdin's predecessor, Egor Gaidar, had not favored
the presence of parliamentary leaders, who are known for their
anti-reformist views, in cabinet sessions. -Alexander Rahr

PRIMAKOV OFFERS RUSSIAN MEDIATION ON IRAQ. Evgenii Primakov,
chief of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, said on 28 January
that his agency could organize a special mission to mediate between
Iraq and the international community. While noting that Russia's
leadership had not issued orders to him to make the mediation
offer, Primakov based his proposal on Moscow's belief that it
is necessary to use political measures and strictly to adhere
to UN resolutions on Iraq, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from
Moscow. Primakov played a key role in Moscow's diplomatic efforts
to mediate between Iraq and the Allied coalition prior to the
liberation of Kuwait in 1991. -Suzanne Crow

STATE OF EMERGENCY EXTENDED IN NORTH OSSETIA AND INGUSHETIA.
On 28-January the Russian parliament extended the state of emergency
on the territory of the North Ossetian SSR and the Ingush republic
from 30 January to 31 March 1993, ITAR- TASS reported. The parliament's
decree also directed the interim administration in the area to
ensure public order during the Ingush presidential elections
scheduled for 28 February. Strictly speaking, elections should
not be held during a state of emergency, but the Russian parliament
has agreed to the presidential elections being held rather than
see the population take the matter into its own hands. -Ann Sheehy


DUDAEV REVOKES AUTHORITY OF DELEGATION BUT TALKS CONTINUE. Konstantin
Eliseev, a spokesman for Sergei Shakhrai, the Russian deputy
premier responsible for nationality affairs, told an RFE/RL correspondent
in Moscow on 28 January that a note from the Chechen Foreign
Minister Shamsudin Yusef to the Russian Foreign Ministry had
revoked the authority of a Chechen delegation negotiating in
Moscow. There was no explanation for the move and no immediate
public confirmation from the Chechen authorities. Eliseev said
the talks, aimed at reaching an agreement on a division of powers
between Russia and Chechnya, were continuing despite the note,
but they were becoming strained. It would not be the first time
Dudaev has distanced himself from Chechen negotiators in an apparent
desire to keep his options open. -Ann Sheehy

RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE REVEALS PROLIFERATION "BLACK LIST". At a
28 January press conference, Evgenii Primakov, the head of the
Russian Intelligence Service, presented a report listing 16 countries
that either possessed weapons of mass destruction, or were "on
the road" to gaining such weapons. These were Algeria, Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Libya, North
Korea, Pakistan, Syria, South Africa, South Korea and Taiwan.
As quoted by ITAR-TASS, Primakov said that neither his service
nor its "partners" had evidence that Russian nuclear experts
were working in foreign countries, but he warned that unless
these scientists were given a normal standard of living, some
might seek foreign employment in the future. He denied that there
had been any thefts of nuclear weapons or nuclear materials from
Russia, and claimed that the mysterious substance "red mercury"
was a hoax. -Doug Clarke

YELTSIN CONCLUDES TREATY WITH INDIA. On 28-January, the second
day of a two-day visit to India, Russian President Yeltsin signed
a 20 year friendship and cooperation treaty to replace the 1971
treaty signed by India and the Soviet Union. At a state banquet
on 28-January, Yeltsin said "India is a great country and our
old partner and ally." For Russia, Yeltsin said, ties with India
"are of an absolutely independent and continuous nature," Russian
and Western agencies reported. -Suzanne Crow

RUSSIA AND INDIA RESOLVE DEBT DISPUTE. Russian President Boris
Yeltsin, in New Delhi for negotiations with Indian officials
over a broad range of issues, announced that the two countries
had successfully resolved their debt dispute, according to Western
news agencies on 28 January. At issue was the amount India owed
Russia in debt accumulated during the Soviet period, as well
the repayment terms of that debt. India had been asking for a
more recent, and therefore more advantageous, rupee-ruble conversion
rate for valuing the debt in addition to a significant debt write-off.
Although Yeltsin gave no details on the settlement, he said that
both sides had compromised. -Erik Whitlock

RUSSIAN ARMS DEALS WITH INDIA. During President Yeltsin's visit
to India, several agreements were reached on arms sales and production.
Radio Rossii on 29 January reported that agreement was reached
on supplying military spare parts and that further negotiations
would be conducted over the sale of Russian diesel submarines
to India. Russian TV's "Vesti" on 29-January reported that the
two countries had signed an arms deal worth $73 million for aviation
and shipbuilding, as well as an agreement on joint production
of the MiG-27. The All-India Radio Network also reported that
Yeltsin agreed to continue the sale of cryogenic liquid-fuel
rocket engines to India, a sale which the US has criticized.
-John Lepingwell

RUSSIA TO RAISE NATURAL GAS PRICES. The chairman of the Russian
state monopoly, Gasprom, Rem Viakhirev, told a news conference
in Moscow on 28-January that the Russian government will soon
increase gas prices three-fold, according to Reuters and the
Wall Street Journal. Enterprise customers will pay 4,000 rubles
as compared to the present 1,000 to 1,600 rubles per 1,000 cubic
meters. Households will pay twice as much as at present, a future
price of about 600-rubles. The new prices are to go into effect
on 1-February. The price rises appear to be significantly less
than the fivefold increase for which industry managers had reportedly
been pressuring the government. -Erik Whitlock

RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT CONCERN OVER RADIATION. Russia's Ecology Minister
Viktor Danilov-Danilyan said on 28 January at a press conference
in Moscow reported by ITAR-TASS that a federal program entitled
"Russia's Ecological Safety" would cost over four billion rubles
to implement. The minister revealed that many regions of Russia
met neither Russian nor foreign ecological standards and that
about 100,000 Russian citizens were living in conditions of excessive
radioactivity. On 27 January, a conference on radiation safety
opened in St. Petersburg attended by Russian government officials,
an RFE/RL correspondent reported. According to a report in The
Independent on 25 January, Russia has decided to build more nuclear
power stations in order to increase its current nuclear energy
capacity of 20-million kilowatts to 37 million by the year 2010.
-Sheila Marnie and Wendy Slater

NEW BLACK SEA FLEET CHIEF OFF TO CONCILIATORY START. Vice Admiral
Eduard Baltin, the new Commander-in-Chief of the "Joint Russian-Ukrainian
Fleet on the Black Sea," conducted a conference of the Fleet's
military council on 28 January, according to ITAR-TASS. Baltin
informed the council that he had met with both Russian and Ukrainian
defense ministers before arriving in Sevastopol and both had
expressed their willingness to visit the fleet to resolve outstanding
questions. Russian TV's "Vesti" on 29 January reported that 10%
of the fleet's officers, NCOs, and sailors had taken the oath
of allegiance to Ukraine.-Doug Clarke and John Lepingwell

LAW ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ADOPTED. The Russian parliament
adopted at its first reading a law on intellectual property,
ITAR-TASS reported on 27 January. The new law codifies the copyright
regulations on scientific, literary, and visual intellectual
property, according to the international standards established
by the Berne, Geneva and Rome copyright conventions. The new
law establishes more stringent penalties for pirating intellectual
property. Experts estimate that about 90% of intellectual products
on the Russian market, including computer software and video
films, originate from pirated sources. The new law will supplement
a law on computer software and data banks adopted by the Russian
parliament in 1992. -Victor Yasmann

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA



GAS SUPPLIED TO ARMENIA TO RESUME ON 30-JANUARY? GEORGIAN PARLIAMENTARY
CHAIRMAN EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE STATED ON 28 JANUARY THAT GEORGIAN
ENGINEERS HAD SUCCEEDED IN SETTING UP AN EMERGENCY GAS SUPPLY
PIPELINE TO ARMENIA TO REPLACE THE ONE DAMAGED ON 23JANUARY,
WESTERN AGENCIES REPORTED. Georgian officials further reported
that one man had been arrested in connection with the pipeline
explosion, and that he was not an ethnic Georgian. The population
of the area where the explosion took place is 90% Azerbaijani.
Georgian-Azerbaijani relations are currently under strain due
to Azerbaijani charges that Georgia is discriminating against
its Azerbaijani minority. -Liz Fuller

OPPOSITION LEADER FREED IN UZBEKISTAN. Abdumanap Pulatov, chairman
of Uzbekistan's Human Rights Association and younger brother
of Abdurakhim Pulatov, head of the opposition movement Birlik,
was freed by an Uzbek court on 28 January, although the court
declared that he was guilty of the charge on which he had been
arrested. The younger Pulatov told an RFE/RL correspondent about
his release in an exclusive interview in which he credited his
release to the intervention of foreign human rights organizations.
He was abducted from a human rights conference in Bishkek by
Uzbek law enforcement officials and charged with (Kyrgyzstan)
having insulted the President of Uzbekistan. -Bess Brown

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE



CROATIAN SITUATION UPDATE. Croat forces captured the Peruca hydroelectric
dam from Serbs and are pushing forward towards Knin, capital
of the "Serbian Republic of Krajina." According to Radio Croatia,
retreating Serbs detonated mines at the dam's base but there
is no danger of the dam breaking. According to ISKRA, the Krajina
Serb news agency, several political parties in Serbia, Vuk Draskovic's
Serbian Renewal Movement and Vojislav Seselj's Serbian Radical
Party have sent volunteers to join Krajina Serb militia units.
At a 28-January news conference in Zagreb, UNPROFOR commander
Gen. Satish Nambiar called the Croat offensive in the Zadar region
"foolhardy, rash, and ill- advised." -Milan Andrejevich

BOSNIAN IMPASSE. International mediators in Geneva are trying
to break a deadlock by calling for a new meeting with the three
warring parties in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Spokesman Fred Eckhard
denied reports that the mediators will present their plan on
a "take it or leave it basis" but did say that the UN might be
asked to impose a peace settlement "even if one or two of the
parties had not signed on." Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic
said an accord could be reached as early as next weekend. Bosnian
Foreign Minister Haris Silajdzic said the fighting in Bosnia
makes negotiations impossible. Despite several cease-fire agreements,
Bosnian Croat and Muslim forces clashed in the Mostar region.
Muslim and Serbs forces are engaged in heavy fighting in eastern
Bosnia near the Serbian border, and Bosnian officials report
that Serb authorities in Trebinje have ordered all Muslim residents
to leave town by noon on 30 January. Radios Croatia and Serbia
carried the reports. -Milan Andrejevich

SECOND SANCTION-BREAKING CONVOY REACHES SERBIAN WATERS. The Romanian
border authorities said on 28 January that a second convoy of
oil barges sailed into Serbian Danube waters on the same day.
A spokesman told AFP that the Serbian tug and its four barges
entered Serbian waters after refusing to stop at Romanian and
Bulgarian checkpoints. The command said that three other convoys
are heading towards Serbia and that the Romanian authorities
are preparing to stop them on the river. Radio Bucharest said
Romania has told the ambassador of rump Yugoslavia that the captains
of the tugboats must be told to obey orders to halt. The ambassador
was warned that Romania and Bulgaria will cooperate on all measures
to halt at the Vidin-Calafat frontier point the tugboats still
heading for Serbia. Romanian and Bulgarian border guard officers
met on 28 January to coordinate measures for stopping the tugboats.
Speaking to Western ambassadors in Sofia, Bulgarian Prime Minister
Lyuben Berov called on the international community to stop sanction-breaking
at the source by not allowing the barges to load the fuel in
the first place, BTA reports. Berov stressed that, if the Serbian
crews carry out their threat to set the barges on fire, the ecological
effects on the Danube would be devastating. -Michael Shafir and
Kjell Engelbrekt

ALBANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER ON KOSOVO. According to Radio Serbia
on 28 January, Albanian Defense Minister Safet Xhulali said his
country has no territorial claims on Kosovo but questions whether
the province is an integral part of Serbia. "Albania does not
regard Kosovo as an integral part of its territory, but if Kosovo
must be a part of Serbia, then Albania demands that all its compatriots
there must have international guarantees that their human and
minority rights will be respected," Xhulali said in an interview
with a Hungarian daily. He also said that his country favors
demilitarization of Kosovo and deployment of a UN peacekeeping
force there. -Milan Andrejevich

MECIAR NOT TO ATTEND HAVEL'S INAUGURATION. Slovak TV reported
on 28 January that Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar will not attend
new Czech President Vaclav Havel's inauguration on 2 February.
Anna Nagy, the spokeswoman of the prime minister, was quoted
as saying that Meciar "is too preoccupied with work duties."
Immediately after his election on 27-January, Havel said that
he would appreciate Meciar's presence at the ceremony. Czech
Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus sent a formal invitation to Meciar
to attend the inauguration, but Slovak TV reports that it was
turned down. It is not yet clear who will represent the Slovak
leadership at the ceremony. -Jan Obrman

KNAZKO ON DISPUTES OVER FOREIGN POLICY. In an interview with
Narodna obroda published on 29-January, Slovak Deputy Prime Minister
and Foreign Minister Milan Knazko said that the building of the
future Slovak foreign policy has been complicated by a series
of "incompetent and radical remarks." Evidently referring to
his disputes with Prime Minister Meciar over Slovak foreign policy,
Knazko added that if such comments continue, Slovakia will come
to be viewed as an unreliable partner. The foreign minister also
indicated in the interview that he has no intention of initiating
a split within the ruling Movement for a Democratic Slovakia.
Knazko had been quoted in recent days as charging the Slovak
leadership with "certain authoritarian attitudes." After Parliament
failed to elect a president on 28 January, Prime Minister Meciar
pointed out that Knazko had "grossly violated party discipline"
of the MDS. -Jan Obrman

WALESA WANTS FILES OPENED. President Lech Walesa requested on
28 January that the head of Poland's Supreme Court review Internal
Affairs Ministry files and issue an unambiguous ruling on allegations
that he collaborated with the communist secret police. One day
earlier Walesa appealed to Internal Affairs Minister Andrzej
Milczanowski to make available all files collected on him to
an independent, non-partisan evaluation. Walesa asked that secrecy
restrictions be lifted because of the nature of the accusations
made against the head of state. Meanwhile, the president's accusers-supporters
of the ousted government of Prime Minister Jan Olszewski-prepared
for their "March on Belweder," scheduled for 29-January, to demand
Walesa's resignation. At a rally in Katowice on 27January, former
Defense Minister Jan Parys told a chanting crowd of 2,500 people
that "we are ruled by agents who have cheated us." Solidarity's
Network, the association of union locals from large state firms,
issued a statement expressing their distress that "instead of
presenting their arguments in parliament, a handful of political
bankrupts is attempting to satisfy its overgrown political ambitions
on Warsaw's streets." -Louisa Vinton

POLAND'S 1993 BUDGET HITS SNARES. Rzeczpospolita reported on
28 January that the Sejm's economic policy committee has requested
the government to revise its proposed 1993 budget. The government
is reportedly resisting this pressure. The Sejm has upset the
government's calculations by voting down several budget-related
proposals to cut spending and raise revenues. In addition, the
Sejm's budget committee has proposed raising spending by 20 trillion
zloty ($1.3billion). Finance ministry officials say this would
mean a dramatic increase in the deficit and dangerous levels
of inflation. In other economic news, the finance ministry announced
that home heating costs would rise 26% and electricity for businesses
12% on 1 February. Gasoline prices are also expected to rise
8% at the end of January. Officials said the price hikes are
necessary to keep pace with inflation. They are expected to prompt
a 3% increase in the overall price level. Three additional gasoline
price hikes are planned for 1993. Finally, former finance minister
and presidential adviser Andrzej Olechowski was appointed on
28 January to supervise the privatization of the petrochemical
industry. -Louisa Vinton

CORNEA SUMMONED BY ROMANIAN PROSECUTOR. Doina Cornea, a leading
dissident under Ceausescu and a prominent opponent of the postrevolution
regime, has been summoned to the chief prosecutor to answer accusations
of undermining state power. An RFE/RL correspondent said that
Cornea was ordered to come in on 8 February to answer charges
in connection with two articles in the criminal code banning
armed and other violent action aimed at weakening state power.
Cornea told reporters on 27 January that these articles should
rather be applied to those responsible for the deaths of more
that 1,000 persons in December 1989-an allusion to President
Ion Iliescu and his associates. She said she does not intend
to defend herself against the accusations. -Michael Shafir

ROMANIAN-HUNGARIAN PARLEYS. Following talks on 26-28 January
in Bucharest with a Hungarian delegation, the Romanian Ministry
of Foreign Affairs said they had reviewed their May 1992 aide-memoire
and further discussed a Hungarian-Romanian treaty. The ministry
said that some progress had been registered, but apparently not
on items raised earlier by the Hungarian side "unilaterally"-i.e.,
an agreement on consulates and the problem of the Hungarian minority
in Romania. The Romanians made new proposals on border issues
and the status of national minorities. They called the talks
"pragmatic and open." -Michael Shafir

NEW HUNGARIAN AGRICULTURAL SUBSIDIES ANNOUNCED. The Cabinet has
decided to give 7.4-billion forint ($87 million) in new subsidies
to agricultural producers, MTI reports. The new aid will provide
loan guarantees, interest rate adjustments, and direct cash supports.
Maize, wheat, and vegetable growers will be affected. With the
new help, total agricultural subsidies will amount to 20-25 billion
forint in 1993, Agriculture Minister Elemer Gergatz said. Gergatz
is rumored to be on the list of ministers to be replaced by Prime
Minister Jozsef Antall in a government shakeup. -Karoly Okolicsanyi


BULGARIAN ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE. Data just released by the National
Statistical Institute show a 20% reduction in overall production
and a 22% drop in industrial output for 1992, according to Duma
of 28-January. One of the few positive trends was observed in
private farming, but food production in state enterprises fell
sharply. The new figures seem to confirm that the Bulgarian economy
is gradually deteriorating despite reform efforts. Recent Western
studies suggest that performance hit bottom in 1992, which means
that official Bulgarian statistics may tend to exaggerate negative
trends by failing to take developments in the private sector
fully into account. However, NSI officials assured Duma that
its figures cover everything but the illegal economy. Other data
reveal that 46% of the property claimed by the former owners
of nationalized homes, shops, and other small businesses has
now been restored. -Kjell Engelbrekt

RUKH VERSUS UKRAINIAN COMMUNISTS. Rukh leader Vyacheslav Chornovil
told a press conference in Kiev that his organization now intends
to support President Leonid Kravchuk and Prime Minister Leonid
Kuchma, DR-Press reported on 28 January. Chornovil also said
that Rukh will begin another referendum campaign in the spring
on dissolution of the parliament. And, should the situation in
the country worsen, Rukh is prepared to add another question
to the referendum regarding support for the dissolution of the
Communist Party. -Roman Solchanyk

BELARUS REJECTS PRIVATIZATION SCHEME. Parliament has rejected
a plan to distribute privatization vouchers to the population,
which would entitle all citizens to a stake in state enterprises,
according to Reuters on 28 January. Such schemes have already
been introduced in Russia and Ukraine. This is the latest in
a series of decisions that show the reluctance of Parliament
to take decisive steps towards a market economy. It follows last
week's adoption of an economic program that relies heavily on
central control of the economy. Earlier this month Parliament
also rejected legislation on private land ownership. Agrarian
deputies are reported to be the most vocal opponents of the voucher
scheme, while industrialists are said to favor limited privatization,
with state property being sold to those able to pay for it. -Sheila
Marnie

BELARUS ARMS SALES. According to Russian TV's "Vesti" of 29 January,
Belarusian First Deputy Minister of Defense Aleksandr Tushinski
stated that Belarus will begin a cautious program of conversion
while continuing to export arms. Belarus can sell tanks, tank
parts, and firearms. Production of a version of the Israeli Uzi
submachine gun is also being considered. -John Lepingwell

"DNIESTER REPUBLIC" SHELTERS OFFICERS SOUGHT BY LATVIA. On 26
January the supreme soviet of the "Dniester republic" unanimously
voted to express confidence in the minister of state security
and the deputy minister of internal affairs and to deny Latvia's
request for their extradition, Basapress reports. The two officials,
who go by the name of Shevtsov and Matveev in Tiraspol but were
known as Antyufev and Goncharenko as officers of the Riga OMON,
are among 13 fugitive OMON officers wanted for trial on criminal
charges in Latvia in connection with their actions in the events
of January and August 1991. -Vladimir Socor

RUSSIA BUYS LATVIAN RUBLES TO PAY ITS RETIRED MILITARY. Ilmars
Rimsevics, vice president of the Bank of Latvia, told an RFE/RL
correspondent in Riga on 20 January that Russia has purchased
Latvian rubles for $5 million in order to pay the pensions of
its retired officers living in Latvia. The action was a first
and was necessitated by the fact that the only legal tender in
Latvia is the Latvian ruble, worth about three Russian rubles.
This raises the question of how long Russia will be willing to
pay hard currency for military pensions. -Dzintra Bungs

MORE MOVEMENT ON ESTONIAN-RUSSIAN BORDER? ESTONIA IS READY FOR
"SERIOUS COMPROMISE" IF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION RECOGNIZES THE
BORDER SET DOWN IN THE 1920 TARTU PEACE TREATY, ACCORDING TO
VELLO SAATPALU, CHAIRMAN OF THE PARLIAMENTARY FOREIGN AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE. Saatpalu told BNS on 28 February that in a Moscow
meeting the day before, he had told his Russian counterpart,
Evgenii Ambartsumov, that Russia need not make a formal statement,
rather Russia's acceptance of the Tartu border as a legal point
of departure in negotiations would suffice. A draft Estonian
government proposal setting out just such terms for jump-starting
talks with Russia has been circulating in Estonian government
and parliamentary circles for three weeks. -Riina Kionka

PARLIAMENTARY COMPROMISE ON ESTONIAN BUDGET. Representatives
of the governing coalition and the opposition have reached a
compromise on Estonia's budgetary stalemate, according to Postimees
of 27 January. Leaders of the opposing factions met on 25-January
to hammer out a procedural compromise that they hope will break
an ongoing pattern of political maneuvering and filibustering
over the budget. For the last several weeks the Center Faction-led
opposition has attacked on the Pro Patria-led governing coalition's
draft 1993 budget, threatening to stall approval until the end
of February, when the constitution will mandate new elections.
-Riina Kionka

BRAZAUSKAS PUBLISHES CAMPAIGN PLATFORM. On 28 January Tiesa published
the presidential platform of Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party
chairman Algirdas Brazauskas, BNS reports. It calls for changes
not only in the process of the implementation of reforms, but
also in the legislation regulating them. The main objectives
of the economic reform are: "straightforward privatization, use
of economic and financial control leverage, adoption of an updated
tax system encouraging production and entrepreneurship, and introduction
of the republic's own currency." Foreign policy will be "pragmatic,
aimed at protecting state interests and promoting peaceful coexistence
with all of its neighboring states." "Lithuania is not the adversary
of any country, nor does it have any territorial claims," the
document says. -Saulius Girnius

MAZEIKIAI REFINERY SIGNS CONTRACT WITH LUKOIL. On 28 January
Vagit Alekperov, president of the Siberian oil concern Lukoil,
signed a contract with the Mazeikiai facility to process 6 million
tons of oil this year, Radio Lithuania reports. At a press conference
after the signing Prime Minister Bronislovas Lubys noted that
the agreement is beneficial to Lithuania, since these deliveries
will represent about half of the refinery's annual production.
The facility will retain one-fifth of the oil as payment. -Saulius
Girnius

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Wendy Slater and Charles Trumbull