No. 28, 11 February 1993

RUSSIA



INITIAL RUSSIAN RESPONSE TO NEW US POSITION ON BOSNIA. Before
the announcement of the new US position on Bosnia, US President
Clinton and Russian President Yeltsin held a telephone conversation
in the evening of 10 February, ITAR-TASS reported. Deputy Foreign
Minister Vitalii Churkin stated at a press conference earlier
that same evening that Russia and the US had maintained "close
contacts" during the US deliberations on the issue. Indeed, Izvestiya
of 11 February reported that a "high-level" Russian diplomat
had unofficially welcomed the US decision to support the Vance-Owen
plan before the new position was announced. The diplomat noted
that there were now "real prospects" for the Vance-Owen plan,
and that the US and Russia had "adopted a single position" on
the issue. The newly appointed US special envoy to the peace
talks, Reginald Bartholomew, will visit Russia immediately to
discuss the new policy. -John Lepingwell

RUSSIAN COUNCIL OF NATIONALITIES DISCUSSES MINSK SUMMIT. In a
debate on 10-February in the Council of Nationalities of the
Russian parliament on the results of the CIS summit in Minsk,
deputies expressed the view that Russia, and particularly its
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was underestimating the integrationary
tendencies of the former republics of the USSR, ITAR-TASS reported.
Deputies suggested that a special service should be set up in
the ministry to study integrationary processes in the Commonwealth.
One of the key points in the resolution at the end of the debate
was the need for the parliament to examine the question of a
concept for the further development of relations in the CIS.
-Ann Sheehy

ZORKIN ON REFERENDUM AND ELECTIONS. At a news conference at the
Russian Constitutional Court on 10 February, reported by various
Russian media, the chairman of the Constitutional Court, Valerii
Zorkin, expanded on his call to postpone the proposed constitutional
referendum. He warned that to hold either a referendum or early
elections at present could create an "explosive situation," but
said that he preferred the idea of simultaneous early presidential
and parliamentary elections to President Yeltsin's suggestion
that early presidential elections take place a year after parliamentary
elections. ITAR-TASS announced that on 11 February Zorkin will
meet with President Yeltsin and parliamentary speaker Ruslan
Khasbulatov to discuss solutions to the constitutional impasse.
-Wendy Slater

CENTRAL BANK DEMANDS DOLLAR BUSINESSES ACCEPT RUBLES TOO. The
Russian Central Bank has ordered enterprises and organizations
in Moscow that sell goods and services for hard currency to reregister
and allow customers to pay in rubles, AFP and ITAR-TASS reported
on 10 February. Reregistration is to take place before 1 April
of this year with the relevant central bank office. Registration
of such businesses can be rejected on the grounds that they are
not offering their goods for rubles. It is unclear whether the
ruble prices charged must be established on the basis of the
current official exchange rate. The Central Bank action is the
latest attempt to reduce the "dollarization" of the Russian economy.
The Bank recently forbid non-imported goods from being sold for
dollars in Russia. -Erik Whitlock

RUSSIAN MINERS STILL NOT SATISFIED. Despite earlier statements
by the chairman of the Russian Independent Miners' Union suggesting
that the dispute in the Vorkuta area had been settled, it now
seems that not all mines in the Vorkuta area are prepared to
accept the deal worked out on 9 February between their union
and the government, ITAR-TASS reported on 10 February. Some mines
are already reported to have staged short warning strikes. According
to the miners, the wage tariff agreement signed by the union
will not even raise wages by 90%, as was initially claimed, and
they point out that workers in the oil, gas and fuel resources
sectors have obtained wage increases of 150%. -Sheila Marnie


CONSERVATIVE ELECTED SPEAKER OF RUSSIAN PARLIAMENTARY CHAMBER.
On 10-February, the Council of the Republic, one of the two chambers
of the Russian parliament, elected Veniyamin Sokolov, a member
of the right-wing nationalist Rossiya faction, as speaker of
the chamber, various Russian agencies reported. The Rossiya faction
is chaired by Sergei Baburin, a prominent opponent of President
Yeltsin. The speaker's post fell vacant after the election of
Nikolai Ryabov as deputy to parliamentary speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov
earlier this year. Sokolov, who before his election as a people's
deputy was second secretary of the CPSU Krasnoyarsk regional
committee, said in an interview reported by the RFE/RL Russian
Service that he opposed early parliamentary elections and was
skeptical that Yeltsin and Khasbulatov could reach a lasting
agreement on the separation of powers.-Wendy Slater

COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN ON RUSSIAN NATIONAL INTERESTS. Evgenii Ambartsumov,
chairman of the Russian parliamentary Committee on International
Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations, said in Krasnaya zvezda
on 11 February that the promotion of Russian national interests
rested first and foremost on three policies: insuring the integrity
of the country; protecting Russians in the former Soviet republics;
joining the world community on the basis of recognition of human
rights. His remarks were briefly summarized by ITAR-TASS. -Stephen
Foye

POLITICAL FORCES IN CHECHNYA CONSOLIDATE. Representatives of
the Chechen parliament and the leaders of virtually all the opposition
parties in Chechnya met in Groznyi on 10 February, and decided
to draw up a joint program for extricating Chechnya from its
political and economic crisis, ITAR-TASS reported. The program,
which is to be ready in a week, will be submitted for a congress
of the peoples of the republics scheduled for March. Yusup Soslambekov.
chairman of the parliament's committee on foreign affairs, said
that the president, parliament, and leaders of various parties
would have to abide by the decisions of the congress; otherwise
each would have to answer to the people. -Ann Sheehy

GENERAL BLASTS START-2 TREATY. Col. General Vladislav Achalov,
since August of 1992 the head of the information-analytical group
of the Russian parliament (and an advisor to Ruslan Khasbulatov),
is quoted in Pravda on 11 February as suggesting that the START-2
Treaty would obligate Russia to finance a shift to more costly
nuclear forces while allowing the US to maintain the basic elements
of its existing strategic force structure. His remarks were summarized
by ITAR-TASS. Achalov is a former commander of Soviet Airborne
Forces and was then a USSR Deputy Defense Minister. He was relieved
of the latter duties as a result of his active participation
in the August 1991 coup. -Stephen Foye

GENERAL COMMENTS ON RUSSIAN DEFENSE BUDGET. Lt. Gen. Vasilii
Vorobev, head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Main Administration
for Budgeting and Finance, said in Krasnaya zvezda on 10-February
that, as a percentage of gross national product, Russia's military
budget was now close to that of the US. The ITAR-TASS summary
of his comments did not provide a figure, however. Vorobev also
said that Russian defense spending had declined steadily since
1989. Turning to the 1993 military budget, Vorobev said that
the more than 3 trillion rubles requested by the Defense Ministry
in fact represented an expenditure of only 66.4 billion rubles
in 1991 prices. In 1991, he said, the military budget was 80.9
billion rubles, while spending in 1992 amounted to 65.5 billion
rubles. -Stephen Foye

D-MARKS NOW TRADED ON MOSCOW CURRENCY EXCHANGE. The first trading
of German marks on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICE)
took place on 10-February, various Western and Russian agencies
reported. The exchange rate ended at 337.5-rubles to the mark
on a very low trading volume of 1.98 million marks. Ruble-mark
trading sessions will be held once a week on the MICE as compared
to twice weekly dollar sessions, and will not serve to determine
the official Russian Central Bank rate. Although Germany is Russia's
single largest trading partner, circulation of the mark in the
Russian economy has been very modest, and the cross-exchange
rate of marks for dollars on the black market has been significantly
lower than the rate on international currency markets. The MICE
rates of 337.5 rubles to the mark and 561 rubles to the dollar
imply a cross rate of 1.66-marks to the dollar, very close to
the international rate. -Erik Whitlock

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA



AZERBAIJANI DEFENSE MINISTER CRITICIZED FOR MILITARY SETBACK
IN KARABAKH. On 9 February, Azerbaijani TV aired a statement
by the ruling Azerbaijan Popular Front claiming that the seizure
by Armenian forces of part of Nagorno-Karabakh's Mardakert raion
was the direct result of "provocative action" by leading officials,
including Defense Minister Rahim Gaziev, and was intended to
bring about a coup, the Azerbaijan News Service reported. Gaziev
protested the report and demanded that an interview with him
explaining the reasons for the military setback be aired immediately;
otherwise he said he would resign. A detachment of the presidential
guard surrounded the TV station the same night; some 2,000 people
gathered at the headquarters of the Azerbaijan Popular Front
to protest Gaziev's conduct of operations. -Liz Fuller

RADIO-TV STRIKE CONTINUES IN KAZAKHSTAN. ITAR-TASS reported on
10 February that most of the employees of Karaganda's state radio
and TV company are on strike for the second week. The journalists
and technicians are occupying the company's studios in Kazakhstan's
most important industrial center to protest the firing of their
chief by the regional administration. Neither side in the dispute
seems inclined to budge: the administration refuses to reinstate
the former chief, whom it had accused of poor professional performance,
and the strikers are demanding that the radio and TV concern
be freed from state control and that what they describe as the
hidden censorship of the work of the company's journalists be
ended. -Bess Brown

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION REJECTS PRESIDENT'S INVITATION. In a statement
by the leadership of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaks)
carried by ITAR-TASS on 10 February, Armenian opposition parties
rejected President Ter-Petrossyan's invitation to participate
in forming a new government to replace that which resigned last
week. Creation of a national government will be possible only
after legislation is passed delineating the respective powers
of the president and the government, the statement continued.
It further identified as the primary cause of Armenia's catastrophic
political and economic situation the lack of a constitution and
the concentration of power in the hands of the president. -Liz
Fuller

KYRGYZ PRESIDENT SEEKS RUSSIAN ASSISTANCE. Kyrgyzstan's President
Askar Akaev met with Russian President Boris Yeltsin on 10 February;
ITAR-TASS noted that their discussion was officially described
as dealing with relations between the two countries, but economic
cooperation was almost certainly at the top of the list. Kyrgyzstan's
economy has declined drastically since the country became independent,
dragging down living standards. Industrial and energy output
has declined a third in comparison with the same period in 1992.
A number of foreign countries have promised assistance to Kyrgyzstan
but it has not materialized. -Bess Brown

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE



US ANNOUNCES POLICY ON BOSNIA. International media on 11 February
generally lead with the story that the US set down its policy
on Bosnia-Herzegovina the previous day. Secretary of State Warren
Christopher announced a six-point approach in Washington, and
President Bill Clinton later referred to Bosnia during a "town
meeting" in Detroit. Christopher's points included: naming veteran
diplomat Reginald Bartholomew as special envoy; stressing that
any solution must be based on negotiations; recommending that
sanctions on Serbia be tightened; urging the establishment of
a war crimes tribunal; making US forces available to enforce
any agreement reached as part of an internationally authorized
effort; and pledging to work closely with America's allies, including
Russia, to find and enforce a solution. -Patrick Moore

SOME SURPRISES. Many observers noted that the six points do not
include some proposals that had been expected on the basis of
some of Governor Clinton's statements during the 1992 election
campaign. These included: a call to enforce a no-fly zone over
Bosnia; the use of American aircraft to attack Serbian tank and
artillery positions, along with other Serbian military targets;
and, above all, a recommendation that the UN lift its arms embargo
on Bosnia to enable the mainly Muslim Bosnian forces to be able
to defend their homes. The suggestion that American ground troops
might be made available to help in a multinational peace effort,
moreover, was anything but a foregone conclusion. -Patrick Moore


DISAPPOINTMENT AMONG MUSLIMS. The Muslims had hoped for a significant
American departure from the Vance-Owen plan, which they regard
as sanctioning Serbian gains made through ethnic cleansing. But
the Washington Post quoted an unnamed US official as saying that
the final map of a peace settlement "will reflect the results
of 'ethnic cleansing' to some degree [which] is regrettable,
but that is the reality we must deal with." The BBC said that
Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic gave the American statement
a "cautious welcome," but added that the Muslims were bound to
be disappointed by Washington's policy, which they had come to
regard as their "last hope." The Serbs did not seem to share
the Muslim's view, and the Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic
told the BBC that the American approach is "very good," adding
that he welcomes a US role in the Balkans. -Patrick Moore

UKRAINE CLEARED IN SANCTIONS CASE. Western press agencies reported
on 10 February that a UN inspection team found no evidence that
Ukraine had violated UN sanctions by shipping oil to Serbia.
The oil barges did leave from a Ukrainian port but had documents
listing destinations elsewhere in central Europe. The inspectors
noted that the presence of Serbian oil barges with Serbian crews
should have raised some suspicions among Ukrainian customs officials,
however. -John Lepingwell

UN DEMANDS RELEASE OF ROMANIAN SHIPS. The UN Security Council
demanded on 10-February that the Belgrade authorities release
three Romanian tugboats still detained in Serbian Danube ports,
Western agencies reported. The Security Council said it is unacceptable
for rump Yugoslavia to detain ships in retaliation for enforcement
of UN sanctions. A fourth tug, towing three barges with a cargo
of sugar, was released and reached Romanian waters on 8-February.
-Dan Ionescu

SERBIA'S NEW GOVERNMENT. Radio Serbia reports on 10 February
that Serbia's national assembly elected a new government headed
by Nikola Sainovic, a Socialist. Sainovic resigned last November
as economics minister protesting former Prime Minister Milan
Panic's "practice of catering to foreign interests." Sainovic's
government is comprised of five deputy prime ministers and 21
ministers and remains fundamentally the same as the one headed
by Radoman Bozovic. Sainovic's program calls for the revitalization
of federal functions with Montenegro, an emphasis on "entrepreneurship"
in the economy, continuity in foreign policy, and continued support
for peace efforts in Bosnia and Croatia. He also called for talks
with leaders of Serbia's large Albanian and Hungarian minorities.
-Milan Andrejevich

MECIAR'S PLANS TO VISIT BRUSSELS HIGHLIGHT GROWING SPLIT. The
Slovak daily Narodna obroda reported on 10 February that Prime
Minister Vladimir Meciar will travel to Brussels on 23 February,
where he is to meet with European Commission head Jacques Delors.
CTK reported from Bratislava on 10 February that Foreign Minister
Milan Knazko, his ministry, and other ministries were not informed
about Meciar's plans. The trip was allegedly prepared by Meciar's
foreign policy adviser, Roman Zelenay, who, according to some
observers, could replace Knazko as foreign minister. Knazko was
to visit Brussels on 8 and 9-February, but his trip was cancelled
by the Slovak government allegedly because Knazko failed to consult
with other ministers in preparing the trip. During a meeting
of the leadership of the ruling Movement for a Democratic Slovakia
on 6 February, called to discuss disciplinary actions against
Knazko and another MDS leader, Rudolf Filkus, Meciar called on
Knazko to resign as foreign minister. Knazko refused to do so.
-Jiri Pehe

SUCHOCKA: ALL OR NOTHING. "If we do not succeed in defending
a good budget in the parliament, the government will be unable
to pursue its economic policy." This was Prime Minister Hanna
Suchocka's message to parliamentary leaders on 10 February. Suchocka
hinted but did not publicly confirm that the government will
resign if the Sejm approves a budget with a deficit exceeding
81 trillion zloty ($5 billion). After a two-hour session with
coalition leaders, the prime minister held a joint meeting with
ruling and opposition parties: a first in Poland's postcommunist
history. The only party not to send a representative was Jan
Olszewski's Movement for the Republic. The meeting failed to
sway the opposition, however, and the budget vote on 12 February
remains too close to call. Gazeta Wyborcza calculated on 11 February
that the coalition controls 206 votes and the opposition 209,
of a total 460. Coalition members have been instructed to cancel
all travel and urged not to leave the Sejm building. Solidarity
union deputies may now control the outcome; the union leadership
meets on 11 February to decide how to vote. President Lech Walesa
met on 10-February with the Solidarity caucus, and repeated his
threat to dissolve parliament if the vote goes against the government.
-Louisa Vinton

POLISH POLICE TO GET NEW POWERS. The government on 9 February
approved draft legislation drawn up by the internal affairs ministry
that would significantly increase the powers of the police in
the fight against corruption and organized crime. The legislation
would impose stiff prison sentences for the possession of narcotics
and radioactive materials; permit "sting" operations against
people suspected of corruption, forgery, and terrorism; ease
restrictions on wire-tapping and postal surveillance; allow police
officers to use firearms when pursuing crime suspects and forcibly
take fingerprints from suspects who refuse to show identification.
Internal Affairs Minister Andrzej Milczanowski told Polish TV
on 9 February that the measures are necessary to fight new and
more brutal types of crime appearing in Poland. The proposals
have been submitted to the coalition parties for consideration.
-Louisa Vinton

HUNGARIAN COURT RULES ON CHURCH PROPERTY. Hungary's Constitutional
Court ruled on 9-February that it is not unconstitutional to
return elementary school buildings to their original church owners,
MTI reports. The court was called upon to decide whether the
law on restitution for church property taken away under Communism
was inimical to the freedom of individual conscience. Opposition
parties argued that it would be unconstitutional to return school
buildings to the churches in smaller, single-school communities
where children would then have no opportunity to attend state
schools. The court also ruled that it is the duty of the state
to create conditions for "neutral education" (free of religious
teaching) without burdening students unduly by busing them long
distances. -Judith Pataki

ROMANIAN UNIONS ACCEPT MORE TALKS ON LABOR CONTRACT. Union leaders
and employers decided to resume talks on an all-country collective
labor contract on 11 February. The decision came after a meeting
at government headquarters the previous day. Prime Minister Nicolae
Vacaroiu offered to mediate in a dispute over wage demands and
other claims threatening to escalate into a nationwide strike.
The agreement reached on 10-February provides for more talks
on such unresolved issues as the minimum wage and the relation
between prices and salaries. In an interview with Radio Bucharest,
Victor Ciorbea, leader of the National Confederation of Romania's
Free Trade Unions, expressed hopes that the new round of negotiations
will help defuse tensions. NCRFTU is one of the largest among
the 15 confederations taking part in the negotiations. -Dan Ionescu


TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER TO BUCHAREST. Turkish Foreign Minister
Hikmet Cetin will pay a two-day official visit to Romania beginning
11 February. In an interview with Radio Bucharest on 10 February,
Romania's ambassador to Ankara, Alexandru Margaritescu, said
that the two sides will discuss bilateral and other issues. Romania
and Turkey are interested in boosting political and economic
ties, as well as contacts in such fields as in culture, science,
sports and health. The Yugoslav crisis will figure high on the
visit's agenda. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has also announced
that Greek Foreign Minister Michael Papaconstantinou will begin
a 24-hour visit to Romania on 13 February. -Dan Ionescu

…ZAL PLANS BALKAN VISITS. The Turkish government has announced
that President Turgut …zal is planning a series of visits next
week, Reuters reports. He will meet with Bulgarian President
Zhelyu Zhelev on 15-17 February, Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov
on the 17th and 18th, and Albanian President Sali Berisha on
the 18th through the 20th. Talks will focus on bilateral and
international questions, especially the Balkan situation and
the war in Bosnia. -Charles Trumbull

KAZAKH GOVERNMENT DELEGATION IN SOFIA. A large Kazakh government
delegation spent 9 and 10-February in Sofia at the invitation
of Bulgarian Prime Minister Lyuben Berov. Led by Premier Sergei
Tereshchenko, the Kazakh delegation included five ministers and
other top officials. BTA reports that the talks were mainly devoted
to issues concerning bilateral economic ties. Berov said that
Bulgaria is interested to cooperate in the fields of electrical
engineering, hoisting technology, food processing, and tourism.
At a meeting with Tereshchenko on 10 February, President Zhelyu
Zhelev said a friendship and cooperation treaty could be ready
by late May 1993. -Kjell Engelbrekt

UKRAINE WANTS IMMEDIATE WESTERN AID. President Leonid Kravchuk,
on an official visit to Great Britain, told reporters on 10 February
that the fate of economic reforms in his country depends on quick
Western aid, Reuters reports. Kravchuk said that such aid should
not be made conditional on progress towards reform because this
places the country in a vicious circle. But Prime Minister John
Major is reported to have balked at promising new financial aid,
although he restated his commitment to technical assistance.
Kravchuk meets with Queen Elizabeth and British industrialists
on 11 February. -Roman Solchanyk

UKRAINE REJECTS SECURITY GUARANTEE AS INADEQUATE. The Ukrainian
Foreign Ministry has stated that Russia's security guarantee
fails to meet Ukraine's "minimal demands" for ratification of
the START-1 treaty. According to Western press agency reports
of 10 February, the Russian statement does not guarantee Ukraine's
territorial integrity or existing borders. At the Yeltsin-Kravchuk
summit on 15 January, Yeltsin stated that Russia would provide
an adequate guarantee, but the text of the guarantee, if it has
been finalized, has not been released. Ostankino TV on 10-February
reported that Ukrainian parliamentary chairman Ivan Pliushch
called for further clarification of security and financial issues
related to START-1 and hinted that the legislature is in no hurry
to consider the treaty at its next session, noting that "I do
not see a problem whether this treaty is ratified in February,
March, or April." -John Lepingwell

MOLDOVAN-RUSSIAN TROOP TALKS DEADLOCKED. Moldova's presidential
office told the RFE/RL Research Institute that the talks between
Presidents Boris Yeltsin and Mircea Snegur in Moscow on 9-February
failed to make progress regarding the withdrawal of Russia's
14th Army from Moldova. Previous expectations that Russia would
agree to begin the withdrawal by 1994 were dampened by Yeltsin's
refusal to discuss any timetable and his insistence on linking
any future withdrawal to the determination of the political status
of Transdniestria. Yeltsin reportedly also argued that the presence
of the 14th Army is a guarantee against a resumption of the conflict-a
position that fails to recognize that army's role in fueling
the conflict and also the fact that Russia has a peacekeeping
contingent in the area in addition to the 14th Army, which has
no peacekeeping mandate. -Vladimir Socor

"MORE TROOPS NEEDED?" ASKS ESTONIA. Col.Gen. Leonid Mayorov,
Commander of Russian's Northwest Group of Forces, asked Estonian
President Lennart Meri on 10 February to allow more troops to
enter Estonia in order to help implement the withdrawal, BNS
reports. Mayorov said the additional soldiers are needed to dismantle
equipment and guard arms and ammunition depots. Mayorov also
requested that troops be allowed to resume shooting practice
in order to improve their combat readiness. Meri reportedly referred
all proposals to the existing framework of withdrawal negotiations.
Mayorov was also scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Mart Laar,
but the Russian general "did not turn up in time," BNS reports.
-Riina Kionka

NARVA TO UN: TRADE WITH WEST VIOLATES RIGHTS. A UN human rights
delegation began its two-day tour of northeastern Estonia on
10 February by meeting with local officials in Narva, BNS reports.
At the meeting, city officials gave the UN delegation prepared
materials suggesting that Estonia is violating human rights by
purposely breaking economic ties with Russia in favor of developing
markets with the West, despite the fact that many Narva enterprises
oriented toward the eastern market. The UN delegation reportedly
responded by asking city officials how they have gone about integrating
local residents into Estonian society. The delegation continued
its tour in Kohtla-Jarve in the evening. -Riina Kionka

HELICOPTER DETAINED IN LATVIA RETURNED TO RUSSIA. On 10 February
Deputy Foreign Minister for Eastern Affairs Aivars Vevers told
BNS that the Russian MI-8 helicopter confiscated by Latvian border
guards on 29 January near Ventspils for illegally crossing into
Latvian air space from Estonia was returned the previous day.
It was returned unconditionally although the Foreign Ministry
sent a note last week calling on Russia to respect Latvia's air
space, which is still being violated constantly. -Saulius Girnius


"ACT OF POLITICAL RECONCILIATION" IN LITHUANIA. On 10 February
Lithuanian newspapers published an "Act of Political Reconciliation,"
proposed by presidential candidate Stasys Lozoraitis, urging
political parties to form a broad coalition, Radio Lithuania
reports. He called on Acting President Algirdas Brazauskas to
assume the post of prime minister to ensure stable cooperation
between the Seimas and government. Although the Social Democratic
and National Party chairmen expressed their support for the act,
Brazauskas told a press conference that too little time remains
to discuss it before the presidential elections on 14 February.
-Saulius Girnius

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