No. 30, 15 February 1993

RUSSIA



YELTSIN TOLD TO IMPROVE LEGAL QUALITY OF HIS DECREES. According
to Russian TV newscasts, on 12 February the Constitutional Court
ruled against Yeltsin's decree of 28-October 1992 banning the
organizational committee of the hard-line opposition National
Salvation Front (NSF). The Court declared all the provisions
of the October 1992 decree null and void and removed all obstacles
to the NSF's official registration; it did not, however, declare
the decree unconstitutional, because Yeltsin had annulled most
of its provisions in another decree issued on 13 January. The
Constitutional Court added to the ruling on the NSF a statement
sharply criticizing "the legal quality of presidential decrees"
and urging their improvement. The ruling was passed by a majority
of 11 judges to two. -Julia Wishnevsky

RUSSIAN COMMUNISTS HOLD CONGRESS. Russian communists opened a
two-day congress in a Moscow suburb on 13 February with the aim
of restoring the Russian Communist Party banned by Yeltsin in
1991, ITAR-TASS reported. The idea of reviving the party stemmed
from the Constitutional Court ruling of late 1992 proclaiming
illegal Yeltsin's ban on local Communist Party cells. Some of
those standing accused of participation in the failed August
1991 coup, including Anatolii Lukyanov, Gennadii Yanaev, and
Vladimir Kryuchkov, were among the congress' 650 delegates. On
14 February, the congress adopted the party rules which impose
a ban on factions and on dual party membership. Russian agencies
reported that the rules also include a provision saying that
the recreated Russian Communist Party is heir to the property
of the CPSU and RCP. The congress ended on 14 February with a
statement calling for the use of all possible political means
to oppose the "anti-popular regime" of President Yeltsin. Vera
Tolz

REFERENDUM ISSUES. All major political forces, including parliamentary
speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov, Chairman of the Constitutional Court
Valerii Zorkin, the majority of leaders of the republics of the
Russian Federation, and the Civic Union have spoken out against
holding a referendum in April, Ostankino TV reported on 14 February.
Only the Democratic Russia Movement still supports the idea.
President Boris Yeltsin is reportedly prepared to abandon the
idea of the referendum, which he himself had initiated, but is
now seeking a way to save political face. The pro-democratic
Coalition for Reform has apparently suggested to Yeltsin that
if he were to make some political concessions to the centrist
forces, they would help him to rid himself of his major rival,
Khasbulatov. Alexander Rahr

EBRD FINDS FAULT WITH RUBLE ZONE. The European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development has advised the countries of the former Soviet
Union against attempting to maintain the ruble zone, according
to various Western news agencies on 12 February. The EBRD said
in its first annual report that reestablishing trade ties in
the region was essential for economic reform; however, trying
to preserve a common currency zone was counterproductive. Due
to lack of coordination in money and credit creation, there was
an "enormous pressure to restrict exports and capital flows,
leading to near anarchy in trading arrangements," the EBRD noted.
The bank suggested that prospects for trade and controlling inflation
in the region would be improved, were each country to introduce
its own currency. Erik Whitlock

CIS EXPERTS DISCUSS STATUTE OF COORDINATION-CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE.
A meeting of experts and CIS representatives to discuss the draft
statutes of a CIS Coordination-Consultative Committee ended in
Minsk on 12 February, ITAR-TASS reported. The main purpose of
the committee is to help restore the broken economic ties between
CIS states. Originally proposed by Kazakhstan's president Nursultan
Nazarbaev, it had been watered down to a consultative working
commission in deference to Ukraine's objections to coordinating
structures, but was revived at the recent Minsk summit. The experts
did not agree on the draft statutes, and consultations are to
continue. Ann Sheehy

FOREIGN MINISTER ADDRESSES SUPREME SOVIET. Defending policies
pursued over the past year by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Andrei
Kozyrev told parliamentarians on 12-February that Russia had
been recognized as the successor to the Soviet Union and had
won worldwide acceptance as a European and Asian great power.
According to reports by ITAR-TASS and Russian TV, Kozyrev also
emphasized the importance of protecting the interests of Russians
living throughout the former Soviet Union and said that Moscow
had successfully balanced its policy orientation between East
and West. Kozyrev said that there had been more impediments to
easing tensions in the East, but pointed to what he described
as "breakthroughs" in Russia's relations with China, South Korea,
and India. He also praised conclusion of the START-2 agreement
and defended the Vance-Owen plan for regulating the conflict
in Yugoslavia. Stephen Foye

DEFENDS ARMS POLICY. Kozyrev and the ministry were reportedly
criticized by a number of deputies, one of whom charged that
observance by Moscow of UN sanctions had cost Russia some $17
billion in arms sales. Kozyrev disputed the $17 billion figure,
and pointed instead to the fact that many of Moscow's former
client states were insolvent and incapable of paying their old
debts to the USSR or of financing new weapons purchases. He noted
the difficulty of breaking into new arms markets, and argued
that arms sales to Iraq would undermine Moscow's efforts to peddle
arms to moderate Arab states. He said that the Foreign Ministry
had requested help from Western countries in Moscow's efforts
to enter legitimate arms markets. Stephen Foye

FOREIGN MINISTRY SUPPORTS ARMS REDUCTION PROPOSALS. ITAR-TASS
reported on 12 February that Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman
Sergei Yastrzhembsky has voiced support for a new arms reduction
proposal made by two parliamentary committees on 11-February.
The Committees on Foreign Affairs and Defense and Security had
called for strategic arms reductions that go beyond the START-2
Treaty. Yastrzhembsky tempered his support, however, when he
noted that it might be more expedient to deal with further reductions
after the START-2 Treaty has been ratified. Stephen Foye

LAW ON MILITARY SERVICE ADOPTED; DRAFT PROBLEMS CITED. The Russian
parliament on 11-February adopted a law "On military obligations
and military service." According to ITAR-TASS, the primary point
of contention during debate on the law was a clause defining
the draft obligations of students at technical and vocational
schools. Deputy Defense Minister Valerii Mironov apparently argued
against extending deferments to this group, saying that it would
cost the army 108,000 draftees (presumably per year). He said
that the manpower situation in the army was critical, citing
the fact that only 55.8% of the available draft contingent was
actually inducted in the autumn of 1992. He pointed to the wide
range of deferments available as an important cause of the manpower
shortfalls, and said that the recruitment of contract servicemen
could not make up the difference. Although the details of the
law were not clear, parliament apparently rejected Mironov's
pleas. -Stephen Foye

CHERNOMYRDIN ASSOCIATE BECOMES DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER. Aleksandr
Zaveryukha, an associate of Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin,
has been appointed Russian deputy prime minister in charge of
agriculture, Russian TV reported on 10 February. The 53-year-old
Zaveryukha was formerly head of the agro-industrial complex of
the Orenburg region - the region where Chernomyrdin started his
career. Speaking after his appointment, Zaveryukha said that
he favors various forms of land ownership and will advocate stronger
government support for the troubled agricultural sector. Alexander
Rahr and Wendy Slater

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA



NEW ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER NAMED. On February 12 Armenian President
Levon Ter-Petrossyan named the 35-year-old economist Hrant Bagratyan
as Armenia's new prime minister, ITAR-TASS reported. An advocate
of radical economic reform, Bagratyan served as first deputy
prime minister and chairman of the State Economic Committee in
Armenia's first post-communist government. From September-November
1991 he held the post of acting prime minister; in November 1991,
he was appointed deputy prime minister and minister for the economy.
Liz Fuller

AZERBAIJAN ACCUSES RUSSIAN ARMY OF PARTICIPATING IN KARABAKH
OFFENSIVE. An Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spokesman has claimed
that communications have been intercepted proving that Russian
troops stationed in Armenia, armed with heavy artillery and tanks,
participated in an Armenian offensive in the north of Nagorno-Karabakh
earlier this month, AFP reported on 14 February. The chief of
the Azerbaijani forces in Nagorno-Karabakh was relieved of his
duties last week, following Armenian territorial gains in the
region, and accused of intending to precipitate a coup d'etat.
Opposition political parties have issued a statement calling
on the population to support President Abulfaz Elchibey, Turan
News Agency reported on 12 February. Liz Fuller

NEW HEAD OF MUSLIM RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENT ELECTED IN TAJIKISTAN.
Representatives of Tajikistan's official Muslim religious establishment
chose a new leader on 12 February, Khovar-TASS reported, to replace
Supreme Judge (Kazi) Akbar Turadzhonzoda, who is being sought
on a criminal charge for his support of the anti-Communist opposition
coalition during 1992. His replacement is Fatkhullo Sharifov,
imam-khatib of a Friday mosque in the Gissar Valley, a stronghold
of pro- government forces. Sharifov will have the title of Mufti,
Tajikistan's Muslim religious establishment having withdrawn
from the Muslim Religious Board for Central Asia in Tashkent.
The new mufti promised that the Muslim clergy will not become
involved in politics and will support the government. -Bess Brown


NAZARBAEV VISITS EGYPT. Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev
arrived in Egypt on 13 February for an official visit, meeting
with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak the following day and signing
several agreements, ITAR-TASS reported. These included an intergovernmental
trade agreement and documents on economic and technical cooperation,
protection of investments, and cooperation in the field of information.
Mubarak's press secretary was reported as telling journalists
that the two presidents had agreed on the beneficial influence
of religion and the dangers of extremism. In the case of Kazakhstan,
the danger of ethnic extremism is far greater than that of religious
extremism such as has plagued Egypt in recent months, but both
threaten political stability. Bess Brown

KAZAKH PRIVATIZATION PLANS MOVE FORWARD. The Kazakh government
is working out details of its large-scale privatization program
for this year, according to The European of 12 February. The
general thrust of the program is to complete the privatization
of smaller business by the end of March, transform medium and
large state enterprises into joint stock companies within the
first months of this year and then begin to sell them off rapidly.
The program will also include some form of voucher scheme similar
to Russia's, but not as yet fully elaborated. Last year the Kazakh
Ministry for Privatization reportedly oversaw the transfer of
5,000 small businesses into private hands. Erik Whitlock

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE



BRAZAUSKAS ELECTED LITHUANIA'S PRESIDENT. In elections on 14
February, Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party chairman Algirdas
Brazauskas was elected president, defeating Lithuania's Ambassador
to the US, Stasys Lozoratis. Election commission chairman Vaclovas
Litvinas told a press conference broadcast live on Radio Lithuania
on 15-February that preliminary results showed that 2,011,735
eligible voters participated. Brazauskas received 1,210,517 votes
and Lozoratis, 767,345. Brazauskas was victorious in all 55 cities
and raions, with the exception of Kaunas and the Kaunas Raion.
Local council elections were also held in the Vilnius and Salcininkai
raions and the Visaginas settlement, where councils were suspended
in August 1992 after the failed coup against Soviet President
Mikhail Gorbachev. Some run-off elections to local councils must
still be held. -Saulius Girnius

POLISH COALITION WINS BUDGET VOTE. Ending a political cliff-hanger,
the Sejm voted to approve the government's proposed 1993 budget
on 12 February. The vote was 230 to 207, with 3 abstentions,
PAP reported. Attendance was at record levels, as both government
and opposition treated the vote as a test of strength. Speaking
before the vote, Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka warned her government
would resign if the parliament passed a budget of "false promises."
Former Prime Minister Jan Olszewski offered his party's votes
in return for a pledge to screen President Lech Walesa for secret
police collaboration; the coalition rejected this offer. The
1993 budget limits the deficit to 81 trillion zloty ($5.2 billion),
about 5% of GDP, and sets yearly inflation at 32%. The government
argued that the deficit limit was necessary to keep inflation
under control and secure an agreement with the IMF. In approving
the 1993 budget, the Sejm agreed to suspend provisions of laws
on pensions and public sector wages that would have raised spending
by 20 trillion zloty. The budget vote was a triumph for the coalition
and will facilitate political stability in Poland. -Louisa Vinton


SOLIDARITY IN CRISIS. The government owed its success in the
budget vote to dissident votes from the Solidarity parliamentary
caucus, whose 26 members had been instructed by the union's national
leadership to vote against the budget. Ten members of the union
caucus voted for the budget, and five others, including caucus
chairman Bogdan Borusewicz and coalition broker Jan Rulewski,
left the Sejm floor during the vote. Only ten Solidarity deputies
heeded the leadership's instructions. This dissent reflects tension
between members who still see Solidarity as a national movement
for reform and those who would like it to represent a unionist
constituency of industrial workers. It is not clear whether the
dissenters will face sanctions. -Louisa Vinton

HUNGARY, POLAND, UKRAINE SIGN REGIONAL ACCORD. The foreign ministers
of Hungary, Poland, and Ukraine signed a regional cooperation
agreement on 14 February in Debrecen, MTI reports. Under the
agreement, local governments and administrations are to cooperate
in the Carpathian mountains and areas along the Tisza river,
and a "Carpathians-Euroregion" council is to be set up to serve
as a framework for long-term regional and border cooperation.
Slovakia chose only to be an associate partner to the accords,
and was not represented by its foreign minister. Council of Europe
Secretary General Catherine Lalumiere attended the meeting, and
said that the accord could stabilize the region and reduce tensions
in Central and Eastern Europe. -Edith Oltay

RELIEF EFFORTS STYMIED IN BOSNIA. International media and Radio
Serbia reported on 14 February that humanitarian efforts were
blocked over the weekend in Bosnia. In protest at the UN's failure
to deliver aid the Muslims of eastern Bosnia, the Bosnian government
halted distribution of UN relief supplies in Sarajevo and Tuzla.
A relief convoy was prevented from passing through Bosnian Serb
roadblocks near the eastern Bosnian town of Cerska. Jose Maria
Mendiluce, a special envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
said that as many as 25,000 Muslims in Cerska are trapped by
Serb forces. He said that Bosnian Serb officials agreed to let
the convoy pass. Another attempt to drive through Serb lines
will be made on 15 February. He described Serb and Muslim tactics
as "political manipulation." Fighting was reported heavy as Muslim
forces continued their offensive in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina
and the Sarajevo area. Radio Serbia reports that heavily-armed
Muslims units have shelled Serbian positions in the Cajnice area,
some 11 kms from the Serbian border. -Milan Andrejevich

CROATIAN FIGHTING CONTINUES. Radios Croatia and Serbia report
on 14 February that Croatian officials and leaders of the self-proclaimed
Serbian Republic of Krajina are due to meet in New York for talks
with international mediators Cyrus Vance and Lord Owen. Fighting
between the Croats and Serbs resumed on 22-January when Croatian
forces launched an offensive to regain key areas controlled by
Croatia's rebel Serb minority. Croatia's UN ambassador Mario
Nobilo urged the UN to begin "establishing Croatian authority"
over Serb-held regions of Croatia. However, Krajina's President
Goran Hadzic called for international recognition of his state
and warned of a "blood bath" if Krajina's independence is not
recognized. Hadzic said he will explain in New York that Serbs
and Croats can no longer live together in one state and rejected
negotiations with the Croatian government "until Croatia ends
its offensive." Intense fighting between Croatian and Serbian
forces was reported in northern Dalmatia. -Milan Andrejevich


NEW HUNGARIAN FINANCE MINISTER DESIGNATED. Hungarian Prime Minister
Jozsef Antall designated current Minister of Industry and Trade
Ivan Szabo as finance minister on 12 February. Szabo replaces
Mihaly Kupa, who resigned last week during a government reshuffle.
Szabo told MTI that he considers Kupa's economic program valid
and fully accepts Kupa's privatization concept. Szabo said there
are differences of views only on the technical details of speeding
up privatization. Szabo's designation was announced earlier than
the naming of other ministers because of the ministry's importance
and the need to continue without delay talks with the IMF. Talks
between Hungary and the IMF recently failed, blocking Hungary's
access to a $500-million loan. -Edith Oltay

HUNGARIAN ROAD CIRCLES HOLD NATIONAL CONGRESS. The Hungarian
Road Circles, a movement founded by Democratic Forum (HDF) presidium
member Istvan Csurka, held its first national congress on 13-February
in Budapest. Csurka is the leader of the radical group of the
HDF's populist-national wing and has gained notoriety in the
West for his anti-Semitic views. Csurka told an enthusiastic
crowd of some 2,000 that the system remains unchanged and that
"reform communists and liberal cliques" continue to retain "the
most essential branches of power" using their international contacts.
He urged the movement to put up their own candidates in 1994
elections and declared that "our final goal is to become in a
short time the...largest mass movement of Hungarians." Csurka
warned that "we are never satisfied with what we have gained
and are always out for new conquests until all walks of Hungarian
life are in our hands." This was reported by MTI and Western
news agencies. -Edith Oltay

DEVALUATION OF SLOVAK CURRENCY IN THE WORKS? SLOVAK FINANCE MINISTER
JULIUS TOTH AND SLOVAK NATIONAL BANK VICE PRESIDENT MARIAN JUSKO
SEEM TO DISAGREE ON WHETHER THE NEW SLOVAK CURRENCY SHOULD DEVALUED,
SLOVAK RADIO REPORTED ON 14-FEBRUARY. Toth made it clear that
he is categorically opposed to a devaluation and said that the
bank has no authority to make such a decision without the consent
of the government. Jusko said in an interview with CTK that the
Bank Council, the highest decision-making body of the Slovak
National Bank, has the mandate to decide on the value of the
currency, but pointed out that there will not be any "hasty decisions
without consultations with the government." Jusko indicated,
however, that the bank may already have decided to devalue the
Slovak koruna and will soon inform the government about its decision.
Meanwhile, the Czech banks have begun buying the new Slovak currency
at lower rates. The exchange rate between the Czech and the Slovak
koruna was between 1 to 0.85 and 1 to 0.95 on 12-February, media
reported. -Jan Obrman

MECIAR SENTENCED TO PAY FINE. A municipal court in Bratislava
sentenced Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar to pay 20,000
koruny to former Slovak dissident and Charter 77 signatory Vladimir
Pavlik, Slovak media reported on 13 February. In addition, Meciar
will have to cover all court costs and write a letter apologizing
to Pavlik. In May 1990, Meciar-then Slovak Interior Minister-said
that a local campaign against the economic activities of the
former communist elite was "anti-government and illegal." Pavlik
was among the initiators of the campaign. -Jan Obrman

ROMANIA, GREECE SIGN PROTOCOL. On 14 February Romania and Greece
signed a protocol on political, diplomatic and economic cooperation.
The agreement, which was reached at the end a two-day visit by
Greek Foreign Minister Mihalis Papaconstantinou to Bucharest,
provides for regular contacts between the two countries' foreign
ministries to discuss bilateral issues and international affairs
of mutual interest. During his visit, Papaconstantinou met with
Romania's President Ion Iliescu, Prime Minister Nicolae Vacaroiu,
Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu and other Romanian leaders.
The war in Bosnia-Hercegovina was at the center of talks. The
two countries stated their joint opposition to any outside military
intervention in former Yugoslavia. -Dan Ionescu

POLLUTION IN NORTHERN BOHEMIA REACHES CATASTROPHIC LEVELS. Several
North Bohemian towns declared emergencies on 13 February after
air pollution levels rose to 15-times the already inadequate
Czech safety norm. Czech media reported over the weekend that
thick smog covered the entire region. Children, pregnant women
and the sick were asked to stay indoors or leave the cities.
Moreover, it was announced that many schools would remain closed
on 15 and 16 February. Traffic was banned in some of the worst
affected regions, and the output of the brown coal burning power
plants was reduced to a minimum. The energy shortfall was replaced
by increased imports from Germany and Slovakia. Several towns
and private organizations have called on the government to help
the region immediately. -Jan Obrman

FURTHER BALKAN COOPERATION EFFORTS. With tensions mounting in
the former Yugoslavia, agencies report that Bulgarian President
Zhelyu Zhelev and Albanian President Sali Berisha met in Tirana
to sign a friendship and cooperation treaty on 14 February. The
accord comes in the wake of the agreement between Bulgaria and
Greece and a further treaty on cooperation between Greece and
Romania. The countries of the region are all concerned about
the Bosnian strife spreading to Kosovo and the Republic of Macedonia.
Also worried is Turkish President Turgut Ozal who arrived in
Sofia on 15 February as part of a tour with stops in Skopje and
Tirana as well. The agenda of the visit will focus on Balkan
security issues. Finally, Greek Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis
indicated that Greece might accept a name for the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia which includes the word "Macedonia" in
the official title. All of these developments underscore the
dread with which Balkan countries view the threat of a peninsula-wide
conflagration and their resolve to contain the Bosnian war. -Duncan
Perry

VOJVODINA ASSEMBLY ELECTS NEW GOVERNMENT. Politika on 11 February
reported that the Vojvodina provincial national assembly voted
to approve Prime Minister Bosko Perosevic's program and cabinet.
Perosevic's government programs will be centered on agrarian
reform and "lessening the consequences" of internationally-imposed
sanctions. Seven of 12 members of government belong to the Socialist
Party of Serbia; the remaining five are from the right-wing Serbian
Radical Party and the Citizens' Group. The main opposition parties,
including the Democratic Community of Vojvodina Hungarians, the
second largest group in the assembly, are not represented. -Milan
Andrejevich

RADIO DEBATE ON GERMAN TOXIC WASTE IN ROMANIA. On 13 February
Radio Bucharest broadcast a marathon debate on the issue of German
toxic waste smuggled into Romania in early 1992. Romania's Water,
Woods, and Environment Minister Aurel Constantin Ilie summed
up the negotiations with the German authorities on the return
of the noxious waste to Germany. In an interview with a Romanian
correspondent in Bonn, German Environment Minister Klaus Toepfer
pledged that his country would take quick steps to solve the
affair; and he expressed hopes that Germany and Romania would
develop an "ecological partnership" to avoid future problems.
Other German and Romanian participants in the radio debate, including
the mayor of Miercurea Sibiului-a settlement where part of the
waste was illegally deposited-stressed the gravity of the issue.
-Dan Ionescu

PAN-RUSSIAN FORCES SEE "DNIESTER REPUBLIC" AS EMBRYO OF USSR.
Russian ultranationalist figure Viktor Alksnis and two Russian
Supreme Soviet deputies told a news conference in Tiraspol that
the peoples of the former USSR "are bound to restore the unitary
state" and that the "Dniester republic" is "that sliver of land
on which the Union's spirit has survived and from which the Union's
restoration will begin," Basapress and TASS reported on 7 and
9 February, respectively. In an appeal in the current issue of
Den' (no. 3, 30-January), prominent Russian ultranationalist
leaders describe the "Dniester republic" as "the first burst
of Russian resistance...inspiring faith in the restoration of
the Great Fatherland;" and praise Russian officers of ex-Baltic
KGB and OMON for "continuing the armed fight" on the Dniester.
Leading pro-Soviet activist Sazhi Umalatova and two Russian Supreme
Soviet deputies took the floor in the "Dniester republic supreme
soviet" on 27 January to say that "the USSR will revive and justice
will triumph" starting from the "Dniester republic," Basapress
reported. -Vladimir Socor

MOLDOVA PROTESTS RUSSIAN ARMY MANEUVERS. The command of Russia's
14th Army in Moldova has announced that it will conduct tactical
exercises, including artillery firings, from 15 to 19 February
in accordance with plans drawn up by Russia's Defense Minister
Gen. Pavel Grachev, Basapress reported on the 13th from Tiraspol.
The Army command has warned the population of Moldovan villages
on the left bank of the Dniester to stay out of the troops' way.
Moldova's Defense Minister, Lt.-Gen. Pavel Creanga, cabled Grachev
asking him to rescind the decision which Creanga described as
ignoring Moldova's sovereignty and heightening tensions in the
area. -Vladimir Socor

WEAPONS OFFERED FOR SALE IN UKRAINE. Minsk Radio, citing the
Russian journal Kommersant, reported on 11 February that some
$2 billion worth of military hardware has been offered for sale
in Kharkov. The manager of the stock exchange responsible for
the sale, which was identified as the Ukrainian-Siberian Universal
Stock Exchange, reportedly refused to identify the source of
the weaponry, saying only that it was Russian. However, the Russian
Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, which oversees Russian
arms sales, charged that Kiev is itself selling the arms while
using a Russian company as a cover. The items being offered are
reported to include MiG-27K attack aircraft (at $16-million each),
antiaircraft missile complexes, T-80 tanks (at $2.2 million),
and submarines (a bargain at a $150,000). -Stephen Foye

UKRAINE SAYS IT IS BEING FORCED OUT OF CIS. Oleksandr Yemets,
an adviser to Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk, told Ukrainian
TV viewers that Russia is "deliberately pushing" Ukraine out
of the CIS, a Western source reports on 14 February. The accusation
was linked to a recent decree by Russian President Boris Yeltsin
on assets of the former Soviet Union, which Yemets says will
force Ukraine to leave the CIS. -Roman Solchanyk

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Wendy Slater and Louisa Vinton