No. 38, 25 February 1993

	Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc.



RUSSIA



RUSSIAN PLAN FOR SETTLEMENT IN BOSNIA. Russia's ambassador to
the United Nations, Yulii Vorontsov, presented an eight-point
plan at consultations in New York on 24-February. Among other
things, the plan called for the end of fighting in Croatia and
a reminder that, should fighting continue, Russia would continue
to press for sanctions against Zagreb. The plan specified that
if Serbia signed the package of agreements in the Vance-Owen
plan, sanctions should gradually be lifted and Serbia should
be allowed to participate once again in international organizations.
Point 5 reads: "Russia is for the creation of a multinational
force under the UN to help realize the Vance-Owen plan after
its approval." Russia also stated its willingness to participate
in such a force, ITAR-TASS reported on 24 February. Suzanne Crow


CONCERN OVER CONTROL OF RUSSIAN MILITARY TECHNOLOGY. In testimony
before the US Senate governmental affairs committee, new CIA
Director James Woolsey said that Russia had yet to create an
effective system of control for the export of sensitive military-related
technologies. According to the Washington Post on 25 February,
Woolsey affirmed that the Russian government supported such controls,
but he expressed concern that the "lure of large, illegal profits,"
along with "legal, personnel and funding problems," might undermine
its efforts in this area. He said that while the CIA has received
no "credible" reports that nuclear arms or significant quantities
of weapons-grade nuclear materials have, in fact, been exported,
the intelligence community nevertheless remains concerned over
the safety of nuclear weapons that are to be dismantled over
the next ten years. -Stephen Foye

GAS SUPPLY TO UKRAINE AND/OR WESTERN EUROPE THREATENED? A RUSSIAN
GAS INDUSTRY OFFICIAL TOLD REUTERS ON 24 FEBRUARY THAT SUPPLIES
OF NATURAL GAS TO UKRAINE MAY BE GRADUALLY TURNED OFF, STARTING
ON 25-FEBRUARY, BECAUSE OF PAYMENTS DEFAULT. Yet a Ukrainian
official maintained in Nezavisimost on the same day that Ukraine
has already paid its debts to Russia incurred through 1 March.
The Russian and Ukrainian prime ministers are scheduled to discuss
the matter on 26 February. Meanwhile, Germany's largest natural
gas importer, Ruhrgas AG, has expressed concern that the Russian-Ukrainian
dispute could disrupt deliveries of Russian gas to Germany. Supplies
of gas to France, Italy, and the former Czechoslovakia are also
believed to be at risk. -Keith Bush

NEW PLEDGES ON THE BUDGET DEFICIT AND INFLATION. The Russian
government has approved the action plan for economic reform in
1993, ITAR-TASS reported on 24-February. The 40-page document
was drawn up by a group headed by Deputy Premier Vladimir Shumeiko
and has been under discussion for the past two weeks. Two of
its principal goals are to keep the combined budget deficit below
5% of GDP and to restrain the growth of the money supply to 7-10%
a month. The Gaidar administration in July 1992 pledged to reduce
the monthly inflation rate to below 10% and to limit the combined
budget deficit to 5% of GDP during the second half of 1992. The
final figures were closer to 30% and 15% respectively. -Keith
Bush

CIVIC UNION SEEKS WAY OUT OF THE CRISIS. The head of the centrist
parliamentary faction "Smena," Andrei Golovin, told the RFE/RL
Research Institute on 24 February that the Civic Union group,
which plans to hold its general meeting on 28 February in Moscow,
will reject the constitutional agreement proposed by President
Boris Yeltsin. Golovin, whose faction is part of the group, said
that Civic Union is against holding a referendum on the constitution,
against early presidential and parliamentary elections, and against
adopting a new constitution at this stage. He stated that the
Civic Union will appeal to the president to hold round table
discussions with all major political forces in the country in
order to agree on a new economic strategy. -Alexander Rahr

DEMOCRATS MEET IN NIZHNII NOVGOROD. The "Democratic Russia" Movement
will meet on 27-28-February in Nizhnii Novgorod to work out a
new political strategy and elect a new leadership, democratic
activist Galina Starovoitova told the RFE/RL Research Institute
on 24 February. Starovoitova herself is one of the candidates
for a leadership post in the Movement. The democrats will be
hosted by the liberal-oriented governor of Nizhnii Novgorod,
Boris Nemtsov. While democrats are meeting in Nizhnii Novgorod,
the Civic Union plans at the same time to hold a conference in
Moscow. -Alexander Rahr

MORE ON CONTROVERSY OVER OSTANKINO INFORMATION POLICY. All but
two of Moscow's newspapers have published front page articles
on the resignation of Igor Malashenko as deputy chairman of Ostankino
TV company, Ostankino TV's "Press-Express" reported on 24 February.
The program's presenter sided with Malashenko's complaint that
the current "democratic" information policy did not allow Russian
TV to broadcast true information, just as the communist party
regime prevented it from doing in the past. In a possible illustration
of this tendency, later that day Ostankino aired a program entitled
"Public Opinion," seemingly propagandistic in tone, during which
representatives of the "Democratic Russia" movement opined that
Yeltsin should introduce "direct presidential rule" by decree,
(which contradicts the provisions of the Constitution); that
the country needs "strong, iron rule" during the period of economic
reform; and that there should be a special information campaign
to ensure the success of the 11 April referendum. -Julia Wishnevsky


STANDING COMMISSION FOR RUSSIAN AFFAIRS TO BE CREATED IN COUNCIL
OF NATIONALITIES. The Council of Nationalities voted on 24 February
to set up a standing commission for the affairs of Russians and
other ethnic groups native to Russia (Rossiyane), ITAR-TASS reported.
This step was taken, it was stated, to meet the frequently expressed
wishes of the Russian public and the populations of the other
republics of the former USSR. The question had arisen in connection
with an appeal to the Russian parliament from the presidium of
the Lviv Russian Society about the dispersal by a Ukrainian nationalist
organization of five Russian informal groups in Lviv, Chernivtsy,
and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts. Ann Sheehy

PROBLEMS OF CONSULAR WORK IN "NEAR ABROAD" DISCUSSED. The problems
of consular work in the "near abroad" were discussed in the Russian
Foreign Ministry on 24-February, ITAR-TASS reported. The head
of the consular service Vasilii Vinogradov said that the lack
of decisions on many questions and in particular on the defense
of the rights of the Russian-speaking population in the "near
abroad" was allowing opposition forces to use the issue for their
purposes. There were also complaints of inadequate premises and
understaffing. It was stated that about 29,000 people resident
in Estonia had already received Russian citizenship, and 300-400
applied for it every day in Tallinn. In contrast, in Belarus,
where the one and a half million ethnic Russians are under less
pressure, only ten people received Russian citizenship in the
last three months. -Ann Sheehy

SHIFT IN CONVERSION POLICY? DURING A ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSION ON
CONVERSION IN MOSCOW, REPORTED BY ITAR-TASS ON 23 FEBRUARY, THE
PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER ON CONVERSION MIKHAIL MALEI APPEARS TO HAVE
SIGNALED A SHIFT IN POLICY. Russia should not, he averred, equate
itself with America. Conversion was an expensive business and
could be afforded only by prosperous countries. Instead, the
Russian military- industrial complex should be geared up for
export. Until now, conversion per se has been the main goal,
and arms sales have been seen as the principal source of convertible
currency funding for the conversion process. -Keith Bush

GRACHEV ON START, MILITARY REFORM. In addition to defending the
armed forces against charges of corruption, Defense Minister
Pavel Grachev used a series of interviews on 22 and 23 February
to address a number of more purely military issues. In a Russian
TV interview on 22 February he again emphasized his strong support
for reductions in strategic arms (claiming even to favor the
complete elimination of all nuclear weapons), and implied that
the START-2 Treaty redressed some imbalances in the START-1 agreement.
In an Izvestiya interview the following day, Grachev said that
Moscow no longer considered either NATO in the west or Japan
and South Korea in the east to be its enemies. He suggested instead
that the most likely source of conflict for Russia was the south,
and said that Russia was moving particularly to build up its
forces in the North Caucasus Military District. In a Radio Rossii
interview on the same day, Grachev said that he was dissatisfied
with the deferment provisions written into the recently passed
law on military service, and said that all young men should serve
before the age of 25. Over 15,000 men were now serving under
contract in the Russian army, he said. He claimed that his office
had, in nine months, reduced the number of servicemen lacking
housing from 220,000 to 150,000, and said that the entire budget
allocation for social needs for 1992 and 1993 was to be devoted
to housing construction. -Stephen Foye

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

NEW LIBERAL NEWSPAPER FOUNDED. Well-known editors and journalists
from one of Russia's major liberal-oriented newspapers, Nezavisimaya
gazeta have founded their own newspaper, Segodnya (Today). The
new paper will be financed by Russian commercial structures,
such as the concern "Most" and most of its revenue is expected
to come from advertising. The first issue of Segodnya was published
on 23 February. It will appear as a weekly for the next two months
and eventually become a daily. Circulation is expected to rise
from 200,000 to 300,000 copies. The paper wants to concentrate
on reporting political, economic and scientific developments,
and stands for liberal ideas. Its first issue contains an interview
with Russia's former prime minister, Egor Gaidar. -Alexander
Rahr and Barbara Kroulik

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

FIGHTING CONTINUES IN TAJIKISTAN. Quoting "confidential but absolutely
trustworthy" sources, ITAR-TASS reported on 24 February that
the armed opposition is still putting up stiff resistance to
Tajik government troops in the mountainous areas east of Dushanbe
which the government claimed to have captured a few days earlier.
The same source said that government Field Commander Faizali
has been sent to the region; Western journalists have characterized
Faizali as particularly harsh in dealing with those suspected
of supporting the opposition. ITAR-TASS also reported that opposition
leader Davlat Khudonazarov has appealed to the population of
his native Badakhshan (the eastern region of Tajikistan) to end
their resistance to the Dushanbe government and to support the
government's efforts to end the civil war. -Bess Brown

MORE ON PROPOSED US AIRDROPS TO BOSNIA. International media reported
on 24-February that Washington intends to use unarmed planes
without fighter escort, and will drop leaflets prior to the aid
packages to allow the intended recipients to prepare. A UN official
said that some shipments will nonetheless undoubtedly land "on
people's heads and people's houses," and a retired high-ranking
US army officer told Reuters that at "ten thousand feet, two
miles up, they'll be lucky if they hit Yugoslavia." President
Bill Clinton meanwhile stressed that "this is not a political
issue with us" and that the missions will be humanitarian shipments
intended for all parties, the 25 February Washington Post said.
The New York Times, however, reports that Europeans tend to see
political and military dimensions to the American proposal, noting
that "the Americans are now in the game; American prestige is
engaged." One diplomat added: "The Serbs know now that the Europeans
are not going to get involved militarily-.-.-. but the Serbs
don't know what the Clinton administration might do." Meanwhile
in eastern Bosnia, Serbian forces on 24 February blocked a UN
overland convoy bound for Gorazde on the grounds that it might
be carrying weapons, an idea that UN officials called "simply
crazy." -Patrick Moore

SERB REACTIONS. The General Staff of the Yugoslav Army issued
a statement on 24-February criticizing the plan as a prelude
to Western military intervention. According to Radio Serbia,
the statement denounced the airdrop as a "ruthless imperial ultimatum"
that would draw the US into the war. The military's statement
predicted that Serbs will receive none of the dropped aid and
condemned the "almost incredible desire for American cargo planes
to be shot down" and says Washington is hoping for "the possible
death of American pilots, which would create conditions for a
deeper and wider US military involvement" in Bosnia and as a
pretext to intervene on the Muslim side. Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan Karadzic described the plan as "a highly uncalled-for,
very risky, and dangerous decision." Moving to quell Serbian
anxieties, the Clinton administration said on 24 February that
the relief planes will not be escorted by warplanes and aid also
will be dropped over Serb- and Croat-held territory. Bosnian
Serb commanders, who fear that airdrops could be used to deliver
arms or ammunition to outgunned Bosnian government forces, appeared
reassured after hearing that all ethnic groups would get a share.
Gen. Ratko Mladic, commander of the Bosnian Serb army, stated
"the only thing the Serbian side will not tolerate is the delivery
of weapons or fuel under the guise of humanitarian aid." Radios
Serbia and Croatia carried the reports. -Milan Andrejevich

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS. Western news agencies on 24 February said
that UN forces commander Gen. Satish Nambiar of India will be
replaced by Swedish Lt.-Gen. Eric Wahlgren this coming weekend
when Nambiar's one-year appointment to head UNPROFOR runs out.
In New York the UN Security Council called for a speedy resumption
of the Bosnian peace talks, which may begin again on 1 March.
On 24 February the New York Times reported that the US is taking
diplomatic steps to prevent a possible sale of arms by Serbia
to Somalia for goods in violation of UN sanctions. Finally, in
Geneva, Kosovo Albanian leader called on the UN to send peace-keeping
troops to that province, where the more than 90% Albanian majority
lives under a tight Serbian regime, Western news agencies said.
-Patrick Moore

COSIC AND THE WAR. From Belgrade, Reuters reports that rump Yugoslav
President Dobrica Cosic responded to Czech president Vaclav Havel's
call for armed intervention against Serbia by calling Havel "a
cosmopolitan militant-.-.-. [with a] warrior spirit," adding
that "the basic difference between him and me is that Mr.-Havel
loves power." Some observers have noted that Cosic in recent
weeks has returned to the militant nationalist line of Serbian
president Slobodan Milosevic. Cosic travels to Romania on 25
February to meet with Romanian President Ion Iliescu. In an interview
with Adevarul Cosic said that a mediator in the war is "absolutely
necessary, and Romania is the country that deserves to play that
role." Earlier this week, Iliescu said he will tell Cosic of
the problems the embargo against Serbia and Montenegro has caused
Romania. Iliescu also pledged to tackle the issue of the evasion
of UN sanctions by Yugoslav vessels on the Danube. In another
development, a Romanian official at the Iron Gates Two" lock
announced that two Yugoslav convoys, which had been denied passage
on 23 February, are blocking the Danube, preventing all river
traffic in the region. -Patrick Moore and Dan Ionescu

MECIAR ON GABCIKOVO. The Slovak Prime Minister, on a two-day
visit to Brussels, met with EC and NATO officials, including
EC commission head Jacques Delors. Meciar told the European Parliament
on 24-February that Slovakia cannot yet seek a final settlement
with Hungary on the controversial Gabcikovo-Nagymaros dam project
on the Danube, but must first determine Slovakia's role in fulfilling
the treaty on project between Hungary and former Czechoslovakia.
Speaking at a press conference in Bratislava after his return,
Meciar said that the dispute with Hungary should be solved by
the two countries' prime ministers. Meciar said that he had rejected
Hungary's offer of financial compensation for not producing electric
power in Gabcikovo. -Jiri Pehe

SLOVAK PRESIDENT CONTRADICTS MECIAR. Slovak media report that
Michal Kovac, who is to be officially inaugurated as president
on 3 March, visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 24 February,
where he met with Foreign Minister Milan Knazko. After the meeting
Kovac told reporters that he was satisfied with Knazko's performance
and was pleasantly surprised, because he met "many experts" at
the ministry. At the beginning of February Prime Minister Meciar
accused Knazko, his chief opponent in the leadership of the ruling
Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, of incompetence and called
for his resignation. Kovac declined to answer whether he would
recall Knazko if Meciar asked for such a step. He said, however,
that any minister who fulfills his duties and performs well in
his job "can count on his support." Kovac, who until his election
on 15 February was a member of Meciar party's leadership, gave
up his party membership after the election to be able to function
as a nonpartisan president. Slovak media also report that on
24 February Kovac appointed Jan Klepac, leader of the Christian
Social Union, as his foreign-policy adviser. -Jiri Pehe

HUNGARIAN LIBERAL PARTIES TO COOPERATE. On 24 February the leaders
of the Alliance of Free Democrats and the Alliance of Young Democrats
signed an agreement to cooperate in the runup to the 1994 elections,
MTI reports. The two parties agreed to consult monthly, and their
campaign chiefs are to work out a framework for electoral cooperation.
The agreement obligates the two parties to consult and seek consensus
on major legislation, and to inform one another in advance about
intentions to conclude an electoral agreement with a third party.
AYD parliamentary leader Viktor Orban has recently accused the
AFD leadership of moving toward an election deal with the Hungarian
Socialist Party, the former reform communists, and is demanding
that the AFD make up its mind which party it prefers as a possible
coalition partner. -Edith Oltay

GENERAL STRIKE IN LODZ. A 48-hour general strike declared by
Solidarity began at midnight on 25 February in Lodz, PAP reports.
By 6:30, 28 major plants had officially reported their participation,
and twice that number were believed already to be on strike.
Solidarity officials say that 150 plants in all are scheduled
to strike in the next two days, and that rail traffic will be
halted in the five surrounding voivodships, and that city buses
and taxis will stop running on 26 February. The strike was called
to protest the government's failure to appoint a plenipotentiary
for regional restructuring and to demand compensation for cost-of-living
increases. It has the support of the Lodz city council. -Louisa
Vinton

PROTEST IN POLISH ARMS INDUSTRY. More than 90,000 workers in
the armaments industry held a two-hour work stoppage on 24 February.
They demanded debt-relief for their firms and higher wages. Many
Polish arms factories have not received payment for exports to
the Soviet Union made in years past. At a conference held the
same day at the central planning office, government officials
quoted by Polish TV said that Poland's arms industry will have
to be cut by one-half or even two-thirds in the next few years.
The army is only half the size it was five years ago and the
defense budget has shrunk even faster. Domestic purchases cannot
support an arms industry of the current size, nor will export
trade help much. Officials nonetheless expressed confidence that
conversion of arms plants to civilian production would move swiftly
in Poland because of their highly qualified work force and relatively
modern technology. -Louisa Vinton

WORKERS DEMONSTRATE IN BUCHAREST. Some 1,000-1,500 workers from
state-run industries marched through Bucharest on 24 February
demanding higher salaries and protesting sinking living standards.
The protest was organized by the Alfa Trade Union Cartel, an
organization claiming 1.1 million members. A delegation was received
by Prime Minister Nicolae Vacaroiu and other high-ranking officials.
A government spokeswoman said after the meeting that week-old
negotiations between unions, employers and the government over
a higher minimum wage and better social security were not making
progress. She blamed the union leaders, saying that they do not
understand that salaries are dependent on production and Romania's
industrial production is currently a bare 54% of the 1989 level
and unemployment topped one million (9% of the work force) by
mid-February. -Dan Ionescu

VACAROIU BACKPEDALS ON IMF DEAL. Romanian Premier Nicolae Vacaroiu
told Godard Posthumus, executive president of the International
Monetary Fund, on 23 February that his government can no longer
abide by the conditions of the 1992 deal inaugurating IMF loans
to Romania. Rompres and Reuters reported from Bucharest that
Vacaroiu told Posthumus, who is visiting Bucharest, that Romania's
economy has deteriorated to a point where the state must loosen
the austerity policies favored by the IMF. The crisis, has forced
Romania to use financial resources for consumption instead of
investments. Romania received an IMF credit package of $500 million
under the 1992 standby deal, about $75 million of which is still
untouched. Vacaroiu and Finance Minister Florin Georgescu expressed
hope for further IMF help despite these problems. Michael Shafir


WORLD BANK TO SUPPORT BULGARIA. A top World Bank official visiting
Sofia told a press conference on 24 February that once a reasonable
rescheduling deal has been concluded Bulgaria will be eligible
for assistance to repay its $10 billion commercial debt. Michael
Wiehen, a regional director of the World Bank, also confirmed
that Bulgaria can continue to apply for financial and technical
aid in connection with concrete projects. Bulgaria has so far
been granted one $167-million, and another $94-million loan for
investments in the energy sector is being negotiated. -Kjell
Engelbrekt

BULGARIAN TV DIRECTOR OUSTED. The General Director of Bulgarian
National Television, Asen Agov, has been removed from his post,
BTA reports. On 24-February Agov was voted down by a vote of
123 to 81 in Parliament. The former TV journalist has many supporters
among media colleagues, but also enemies. Under his leadership
some 500-600 jobs in television were cut and the organization
thoroughly reshaped. Agov sympathizes with the Union of Democratic
Forces, the only faction which opposed his removal. He has been
temporarily replaced by Militsa Traykova, head of BNT's financial
department. -Kjell Engelbrekt

BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT MARKS WARTIME SAVING OF JEWS. On 24 February
the Bulgarian National Assembly marked the 50th anniversary of
the reversal of plans to deport 8,500 Jews to concentration camps
at the request of the Nazi regime in Germany, a decision that
may have saved the lives of up to 50,000 Bulgarian citizens.
In 1943 a group of 43-deputies, with strong backing from trade
unions and the Orthodox Church, intervened on behalf of the Jews.
Addressing a special session of the assembly, Israeli speaker
of parliament Chevach Weiss praised Bulgarian resistance against
Nazi pressure as "a noble act." BTA carried the report. -Kjell
Engelbrekt

UKRAINE RESPONDS TO RUSSIAN POSITION ON ASSETS. The Ministry
of Foreign Affairs held a briefing for journalists on 23 February
at which First Deputy Foreign Minister Mykola Makarevych explained
Ukraine's position on the question of former Soviet assets, DRPress
reports. Makarevych told reporters that Ukraine sent a note to
160 countries stating that: (1) Ukraine is one of the successor
states to the Soviet Union; (2) it does not recognize Russia's
exclusive claim to the foreign assets of the former Soviet Union;
and (3) it does not recognize Russia as the sole successor to
the Soviet Union. The note requests that foreign countries not
permit Russia to act in a unilateral fashion in matters regarding
the assets of the former Soviet Union. -Roman Solchanyk

RUSSIAN ARMY MANEUVERS HELD DESPITE PROTESTS. On 19 February
Russia's 14th Army in Moldova completed five days of maneuvers.
According to Tiraspol media cited by Basapress on the 20th, "Dniester"
units, commanded by officers transferred to them from the 14th
Army, participated in the maneuvers, which were held despite
repeated Moldovan protests to Russia. In statements reported
by Basapress, Moldova's Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed
as untrue the claims by anonymous officials of Russia's Foreign
Ministry to ITAR-TASS that advance notice of the maneuvers had
been given and that Moldova's protests had not been received.
In a cable to UN Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali, Foreign Minister
Nicolae Tiu protested the maneuvers as a serious violation of
Moldovan sovereignty. Vlad Socor

RUSSIA REACTS TO ESTONIAN BORDER STATEMENT. Russia's chief negotiator
for talks with Estonia says the current administrative border
between Russia and Estonia must remain where it was established
by the former USSR. Vasilii Svirin told RIA, quoted by BNS on
23-February, that the law on the state border, adopted by the
Russian parliament on 19-February, is a "new strong statement"
in talks with Estonia. He said talks now should aim to mark the
borderline and not try to negotiate further over the borderline
itself. On 22-February, in a speech before the Estonian parliament,
Estonian Foreign Minister Trivimi Velliste outlined a plan to
ask the CSCE to mediate the territorial dispute with Russia.
Estonia recognizes the interstate border set out in the 1920
Tartu Peace Treaty, whereas Russia argues that the border runs
along the line established after the RSFSR unilaterally annexed
some Estonian lands in 1945. Riina Kionka

LITHUANIAN-RUSSIAN AGREEMENT ON NATURAL GAS. Ada Macezinskiene,
director of the Economics Department of the Energy Ministry,
said that an agreement has been signed with the St. Petersburg
concern Lentransgaz to purchase 4 billion cubic meters of natural
gas in 1993, Baltic media reported on 24-February. The gas will
be paid in hard currency at a rate of $82 per 1,000 m3. Lithuania
has agreed to repay its debt of about 20 billion rubles to Lentransgaz
by April. Lithuanian enterprises will be allowed to pay for the
gas they receive in either hard currency or in Lithuanian coupons.
Saulius Girnius

BALTIC DEFENSE AGREEMENT. On 24 February the defense ministers
of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania met in Tallinn and agreed to
hold their first joint training exercises in May, BNS reports.
The Baltic countries plan to provide the international community
with peacekeeping troops. The ministers also discussed common
efforts in crisis management, maintaining safe lines of communication,
and finding means for the control and defense of common air space
and sea borders. To facilitate cooperation the ministers expressed
the need for adoption of NATO standards for documentation and
topographic maps. Saulius Girnius

LATVIAN FOREIGN TRADE MINISTER RESIGNS. Prime Minister Ivars
Godmanis finally accepted the resignation of Edgars Zausajevs.
The acting minister, Visvaldis Kristaps was deputy minister of
foreign trade. Zausajevs had wanted to resign since last May
and will now take a position with Dambis, a private firm, Radio
Riga reported on 23 February. Dzintra Bungs

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Wendy Slater and Charles Trumbull





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