No. 106, 07 June 1993

RUSSIA



YELTSIN OPENS CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY. The special assembly convened
by President Boris Yeltsin to discuss the text of Russia's new
constitution opened in plenary session on 5 June. 692 of the
700 invited delegates were present to hear Yeltsin's opening
speech, broadcast on Ostankino TV, in which he said that the
April referendum had shown that the Russian people wanted a new
constitution, and that the Soviet system was incompatible with
democracy and could not be reformed. He said that the new constitution
should be adopted by the Congress of People's Deputies, after
which new parliamentary elections should be held in October this
year. Yeltsin's speech was followed by an address from Sergei
Alekseev, the lawyer largely responsible for drafting the presidential
draft of the new constitution. He said that over 2,000 comments
had been received in reaction to the draft, and claimed that
the majority had spoken in favor of a presidential republic.
-Wendy Slater

KHASBULATOV WALKS OUT OF ASSEMBLY. The assembly collapsed in
uproar, however, after the opening speeches when parliamentary
speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov was not allowed to reply to Yeltsin's
opening address. Khasbulatov stormed out of the hall, followed
by 50-100 of his supporters, many of whom represented Russia's
republics and regions, after Yeltsin's supporters drowned out
his attempts to speak. One delegate, communist supporter Yurii
Slobodkin, was forcibly removed from the hall. A speech by Khasbulatov
had not been scheduled, and, in refusing him permission to speak,
Yeltsin had suggested that instead he address another plenary
meeting next week. The incident was reported by Russian and Western
agencies, but the televised coverage of Yeltsin's opening speech
ended before Khasbulatov demanded the floor. Yeltsin described
Khasbulatov's actions as "a premeditated attempt at provocation,"
which would not, however, disrupt the work of the assembly, while
Khasbulatov accused Yeltsin of attacking democratic institutions.
-Wendy Slater

DELEGATES DEMAND MORE DISCUSSION. The parliamentary press service
distributed a statement from participants in the constitutional
assembly who had walked out in support of Khasbulatov. The statement,
reported by ITAR-TASS on 6 June, said that the delegates would
return to the conference on condition that the draft constitution
was discussed in plenary sessions instead of the planned group
discussions; that Khasbulatov and Oleg Rumyantsev, executive
secretary of the parliamentary constitutional commission, be
allowed to address the assembly; and that the Congress of People's
Deputies be allowed to debate the recommendations of the assembly.
Meanwhile, the heads of 16 of Russia's republics met Sergei Filatov,
the head of Yeltsin's administration, on 5 June, and offered
to mediate in the constitutional process. -Wendy Slater

NSF WARNS OF DICTATORSHIP. The opposition National Salvation
Front issued an appeal to Russian citizens, warning of the threat
of dictatorship, Reuters reported on 6 June. The NSF made an
unsubstantiated claim that 45 of the 700 delegates to the constitutional
assembly had signed the appeal. The NSF had participated in a
demonstration against the assembly on 5-June, together with other
nationalist and communist opposition movements, which had attracted
10,000 supporters, according to RFE/RL correspondents and Western
agencies. -Wendy Slater

PARLIAMENT TO DISCUSS DEFENSE OF RUTSKOI. The parliament voted
on 4 June to appeal to the Constitutional Court over the constitutional
status of the vice president. The motion, proposed by Vladimir
Isakov, coordinator of the opposition Russian Unity bloc, was
prompted by Yeltsin's actions stripping Rutskoi of his privileges
and duties. Deputies described this as an infringement of Rutskoi's
dignity and constitutional status, Reuters reported. -Wendy Slater


CHILE, RUSSIA SIGN COOPERATION DECLARATION. The Presidents of
Chile and Russia signed an 11-point declaration on mutual relations
and cooperation in Moscow on 3 June, ending nearly 20 years of
hostility that began with the ouster of Chile's Marxist President
Salvadore Allende in 1973 and his replacement by Augusto Pinochet.
Reuter said the declaration included agreements on combating
drug-trafficking, on cultural exchanges, and on promoting trade
and economic cooperation. Cooperation in defense is also envisioned;
President Yeltsin said that Defense Minister Pavel Grachev would
visit Chile and that Russia could supply Chile with air defense
weapons systems, including the sophisticated S-300 system. Yeltsin
and Chilean President Patricio Aylwin compared their two countries'
transitions from totalitarian to democratic political systems.
-Stephen Foye

KOZYREV REPORTS ON YUGOSLAV POLICY. Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev
addressed the parliament on 3 June on a number of foreign policy
issues. According to Ostankino Television, Kozyrev submitted
for ratification treaties on cooperative relations with Turkey
and Mongolia; both treaties were ratified. Debate on Russian
policy toward the former Yugoslavia was apparently sharp, however.
A group of deputies accused the Foreign Minister of having ignored
the parliaments wishes on the issue, and suggested holding a
vote of no-confidence on those officials responsible for conducting
Russian policy. According to ITAR-TASS, that motion was rejected
and the deputies confined themselves to discussing the information
supplied by Kozyrev. -Stephen Foye

GERASHCHENKO UNYIELDING. In a television interview on 4 June
reported by Reuters on 5-June, Central Bank Chairman Viktor Gerashchenko
appeared to be retracting at least part of the Bank's commitment
to the much-touted joint financial policy statement, aimed at
the IMF, that was issued by the government and the Bank on 24
May. "Economic theory calls for positive interest rates," he
was quoted as saying, "but under the rate of inflation we have,
this is unrealistic." Gerashchenko also pledged to continue to
intervene on the foreign currency market to support the ruble.
-Keith Bush

G-7 MEETING COOL ON PRIVATIZATION AID. Representatives from the
Group of Seven (G-7) leading industrialized nations failed to
reach agreement on two US proposals to aid Russia, the Knight-Ridder
Newspapers reported on 7 June, quoting the Kyodo agency. Discussions
on the nuclear-dismantling fund were said to be "inconclusive,"
and European G-7 members were described as being "strongly opposed"
to the US proposal to set up a $4-billion fund to help Russia's
privatization program. -Keith Bush

DUDAEV SUPPORTERS ACT TO PREVENT REFERENDUM. On 4 June military
units loyal to Chechen president Dzhokhar Dudaev acted to prevent
the holding of the referendum on the future of the presidency
and the need for early elections called by the Chechen parliament
for 5 June. Two buildings occupied by the opposition in Groznyi
were stormed with the loss of 14-lives, Russian and Western media
reported. An opposition meeting in Theater Square in progress
since April was also dispersed, and ballot papers intended for
the referendum were demonstratively burnt in another square.
A representative of Dudaev's security forces told ITAR-TASS on
5 June that Dudaev was fully in control of the situation and
that if the opposition tried to hold the referendum he would
use all means at his disposal to prevent them. According to a
Dudaev spokesman, cited by Reuters, some voting took place briefly
in a few outlying villages but was quickly halted. -Ann Sheehy


US, RUSSIA TO INCREASE MILITARY COOPERATION. The US and Russian
defense ministers met in the German town of Garmisch on 5-6 June
and discussed means of increasing cooperation in defense matters.
Aspin told reporters at a press conference that the US Navy was
changing its submarine operations so as to reduce the chance
that US and Russian submarines would collide. Aspin also announced
that joint US-Russian peacekeeping exercises would be held, that
the two sides were preparing a program to exchange up to 100-officers
per year, and that a special direct communications link for non-emergency
use will be established between Grachev and Aspin's offices.
Aspin and Grachev are to meet in Washington later in the month.
The news conference was reported by various Western and Russian
news agencies. -John Lepingwell

COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES



RUSSIA PROPOSES LEASING BLACK SEA FLEET PORT. Ukrainian Foreign
Minister Anatolii Zlenko stated on 4 June that Russia has proposed
leasing part of the Sevastopol naval base for its portion of
the Black Sea Fleet. Zlenko's comments, reported by AFP, were
made after a news conference with his Russian counterpart, Andrei
Kozyrev. The two failed to resolve the current dispute over the
fleet but they did agree that a summit meeting between Presidents
Kravchuk and Yeltsin would be held. The leasing proposal may
not be very new, as Russia had previously been pressing for some
form of base in Sevastopol, but it comes the day after Ukrainian
Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma suggested that such an arrangement
might be realistic. In the past, Ukrainian policy has been not
to permit the stationing of Russian forces on its territory.
-John Lepingwell

CENTRAL ASIA AND TRANSCAUCASIA

MILITARY REVOLT IN AZERBAIJAN. Renegade detachments of troops
led by Surat Guseinov, who was dismissed from the post of commander
of Azerbaijan's forces in Nagorno-Karabakh in February, attacked
an Azerbaijani army base in Gyandzha on 4 June in an attempt
to seize weapons, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reported quoting
the Azerbaijani Presidential press service. Assa-Irada reported
on 5 June that an advisor to President Elchibey had left for
Gyandzha to negotiate with the rebels. On 6 June Western agencies
reported that the rebels had taken control of the city and were
holding several high-ranking government ministers hostage, but
this has not yet been confirmed by Azerbaijani sources. At least
ten people have been killed in the fighting, which poses a serious
threat to Elchibey's political survival. -Liz Fuller

KYRGYZ ECONOMY IN "SOM TROUBLE". Reports indicate that the May
introduction of the som as Kyrgyzstan's currency, replacing the
ruble, has led to major disruptions in the Kyrgyz economy. Reuters
on 4-June quoted the head of the Kyrgyz Union of Manufacturers
and Industrialists as saying that more than half of the 3,000
companies in his union had been forced to cut production and
lay off workers. The problem is twofold: Kyrgyzstan's suppliers,
especially Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, refuse to accept
the som in payment; and Kyrgyzstan's surprise announcement of
the introduction of the som did not give companies a chance to
negotiate interim agreements with suppliers. While the government
has tried to limit use of the ruble within Kyrgyzstan, it has
also provided renewed opportunities for citizens to exchange
rubles for som. Despite the problems, the som's exchange rate,
which is pegged to the dollar, had risen from 200 rubles at its
introduction four weeks ago, to 260-rubles in Bishkek banks on
4 June. Keith Martin

SHEVARDNADZE IN CHINA. Speaking at a press conference in Beijing
on June 3-the second day of his three day visit to the PRC-Georgian
parliament chairman Eduard Shevardnadze expressed satisfaction
at his talks with Chinese leaders, during which some 20-agreements
on interstate relations and trade and economic cooperation were
signed, ITAR-TASS reported. Shevardnadze expressed his admiration
for China's economic reform program. He also disclosed that the
Chinese leadership was interested in his proposal for "a new
Eurasian corridor" linking China, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,
Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine. -Liz Fuller

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE



LATVIANS ELECT NEW PARLIAMENT. On 5-6 June citizens of Latvia
voted in a new parliament, known as the Saeima. Unofficial and
approximate results indicate that Latvia's Way leads the 23 other
contenders with about 32% of the vote. Other organizations with
representation assured in the 100-seat Saeima are: National Independence
Movement-13%, Concord for Latvia-12%, Farmers' Union-11%, Equal
Rights-6%; For Fatherland and Freedom-5.4%; Christian Democrats-5%;
and Democratic Center-5%. About 90% of the over 1.25 million
eligible voters took part in the quiet and orderly elections.
Non-Latvians, who are not citizens, demonstrated peacefully in
front of the Statue of Liberty. They are dissatisfied over not
being able to take part in the first elections held in Latvia
since it regained its independence in August 1991. Many of them
voted in the previous elections in 1990, which were open to all
Soviet citizens living in Latvia; those elections were won by
candidates of the proindependence People's Front of Latvia, which
is not among the top runners in these elections. -Dzintra Bungs


CSURKA EXPELLED FROM HDF. After an all-night meeting on 6 June
the national steering committee of the Democratic Forum voted
85 to 28 with 6 abstentions to recommend to the party's ethics
and disciplinary committee that outspoken nationalist politician
Istvan Csurka and three of his followers be expelled from the
party, MTI reports. The steering committee said that Csurka,
a presidium member, deviated from the HDF's program and set up
a separate political organization. The committee accused Csurka
and followers of attacking the program of their own party and
rejecting the major direction of the HDF-led government. Csurka
termed the committee's decision "a historic mistake and crime"
and vowed that he will not leave voluntarily. HDF parliamentary
group leader Imre Konya and Prime Minister Jozsef Antall expressed
confidence that the departure of Csurka and his followers will
not result in the loss of the government's parliamentary majority.
Antall said that his party's vote to expel Csurka will end factional
infighting and enable the HDF to focus on winning next year's
elections. -Edith Oltay

BUDAPEST RALLIES REMEMBER TRIANON. On 4-June some 1,000 people,
mostly right-wing radicals, gathered in Budapest's Heroes and
Elizabeth Squares to mourn the anniversary of the 1920 Trianon
Treaty under which Hungarian territory was substantially reduced
following World War I and over 3 million ethnic Hungarians were
left outside the country's borders, MTI reports. At the Heroes
Square demonstration Izabella B.-Kiraly called on the government
to do everything in its power to "restore the original . . .
unity of the Carpathian basin." Kiraly was expelled last week
from the HDF parliamentary group. She and several other HDF deputies
recently voted against the ratification of the friendship treaty
with the Ukraine in which Hungary renounced all territorial claims
on Ukraine. Several hundred people, including many skinheads,
attended the Elizabeth Square gathering organized by the 1956
Anti-Bolshevist and Anti-Fascist Federation. Federation spokesman
Otto Fekete claimed that the Trianon states have collapsed and
that the Hungarian government should have taken steps to recover
the territories lost in 1920. -Edith Oltay

DEMONSTRATIONS IN POLAND. On 4 June in Warsaw, Cracow, and Katowice,
radical right-wing groups demonstrated against the current authorities
and commemorated the removal last year of the government headed
by Jan Olszewski. While the demonstrations in Cracow and Katowice
were generally peaceful, the gathering in Warsaw turned violent
following an altercation between the organizers and the city
council about the site of the event. The organizers announced
that the demonstration would start in a historically prominent
place and then continue in a march through the city center, but
the city authorized the gathering in a less prominent place and
allowed the march only through a section of town in which the
important government buildings are located. The confusion led
to repeated skirmishes between the demonstrators and the police:
two police cars were damaged, two policemen injured, and 14 demonstrators
were arrested. The violence was subsequently criticized by the
media, and the organizers of the demonstrations held a press
conference, reported by PAP on 4 June, during which they accused
the police of politically motivated "provocation" designed to
present the right wing groups as violence prone and undermine
their political standing before the parliamentary election scheduled
for September. -Jan de Weydenthal

ASPIN, GRACHEV DISCUSS UKRAINIAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS. The most important
item on the agenda for the meeting of the US and Russian defense
ministers on 5-6 June was the uncertain status of the nuclear
weapons in Ukraine. Aspin reportedly proposed an alternative
whereby the warheads would be removed from missiles and placed
in storage under international monitoring until their eventual
dismantling. Any highly enriched uranium from the weapons would
be returned to Ukraine as nuclear fuel. According to Western
reports of the meeting, Grachev rejected the US offer to act
as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia on the issue of nuclear
weapons, and insisted that Ukraine return the weapons directly
to Russia for dismantling. The US proposal is part of the new,
more flexible, policy towards Ukraine-one which apparently is
not shared by the Russian Defense Ministry. Aspin flew to Kiev
on 6 June for talks with Ukrainian officials. -John Lepingwell


FURTHER REACTIONS TO SERBIAN CRISIS. In the aftermath of the
ouster of federal Yugoslav President Dobrica Cosic and the arrest
and reported mistreatment of opposition leader Vuk Draskovic
by police, Serbia's opposition parties and Orthodox Church are
warning that the country is on the brink of civil war. In a statement
released on 5 June, the hierarchy of Serbia's Orthodox Church
warned of "a fratricidal war among Serbs," and described the
mistreatment of Draskovic as "not worthy of our state." The exact
whereabouts of Draskovic and his wife remain unclear. According
to one of Draskovic's lawyers, a Belgrade court has indicted
him on charges of seeking to overthrow the state-a charge that
could bring a 15year prison term-and prosecutors are seeking
a ban on Draskovic's party, the Serbian Renewal Movement. In
separate statements on 6 June, French President Fran�ois Mitterrand
and Greek President Constantine Mitsotakis urged Serbia's President
Slobodan Milosevic to release Draskovic. Radios Serbia and Croatia
carried the reports. -Milan Andrejevich

FIGHTING ON MANY FRONTS IN BOSNIA. The 7-June Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung says that Serbian artillery shelled Gorazde, Srebrenica,
Travnik, Brcko, Gradacac, and Sarajevo over the weekend. Gorazde,
Srebrenica, and Sarajevo are slated to become UN-protected safe
areas, although it is not clear whether any country besides Russia
is willing to provide soldiers for the 25,000-strong contingent
presumed necessary to implement the plan. Meanwhile, Reuters
on 6 June said that Croat and Muslim forces are clashing in Travnik,
a mainly Muslim town in central Bosnia assigned, however, to
the Croats by the Vance-Owen plan. British peacekeepers said
that they fear a massacre of civilians on both sides. Hina on
7-June reports that the Bosnian Croatian commander is trying
to set up a meeting with his Muslim counterpart to try to put
an end to the latest round of fighting between the two nominal
allies. -Patrick Moore

KRAJINA SERBS TO HOLD UNITY REFERENDUM. On 5 June the Assembly
of the self-declared Republic of Serbian Krajina decided to hold
a referendum on uniting with the self-styled Serb Republic of
Bosnia-Herzegovina. The referendum is scheduled to take place
on Serb-controlled areas in Croatia on 19-20 June and ceremonies
marking unification are scheduled for 28 June-the most significant
and emotionally charged Serbian national holiday. Organizers
say the new state could eventually unite with other Serb territory.
The decision by Krajina Serbs is widely regarded as an affront
to the international community's peace efforts. Croatian President
Franjo Tudjman charged that the move is aimed at creating a greater
Serbia and violates all UN resolutions. -Milan Andrejevich

BULGARIAN BUDGET PASSES ON SECOND READING. Voting each article
separately, by 4-June the National Assembly had adopted practically
the entire state budget for 1993. BTA reports that only minor
amendments were made between the first and the second reading,
leaving a budget that foresees the deficit at about 8% of GDP-or
27,584 million leva ($1-billion). Whereas state expenditures
are expected to reach 98,933 million leva, revenues will amount
to 71,350 million leva. Western correspondents say that the final
sections of the budget are likely to be adopted during the coming
days. -Kjell Engelbrekt

BULGARIAN PM VISITS REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA. Lyuben Berov traveled
to Skopje on 6-June for talks with president Kiro Gligorov, Prime
Minister Branko Crvenkovski, and parliamentary leader Stoyan
Andov. The prime ministers are expected to sign a bilateral trade
and economic agreement, according to Reuters. -Duncan Perry

CZECH OFFICIAL REJECTS UKRAINIAN SECURITY PROPOSAL. Czech Deputy
Foreign Minister Pavel Bratinka rejected a Ukrainian proposal
for a security zone composed of mostly postcommunist Central
and East European states, Mlada Fronta dnes reported on 4-June.
Bratinka said that the countries proposed for a such a zone are
undertaking political reforms at different pace which, in turn,
means that they have currently differing interests. The Ukrainian
proposal, presented to a Czech parliamentary delegation in Kiev
last week, envisages a zone covering Ukraine, Belarus, Poland,
the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria. Bratinka
stressed that his country's major security goal is NATO membership.
-Jan Obrman

CZECH CP LEADER DENIES PLANS TO CREATE NEW PARTY. The chairman
of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, Jiri Svoboda,
denied reports that he plans to form a new Socialist Party, CTK
reports on 6 June. Svoboda was quoted as saying that if the third
CPBM congress scheduled for 26 June does not produce certain
changes in the outlook of the party, he has no plans to form
a new group. At the same time, however, he indicated that he
will leave the political stage if it proves impossible to reform
the CP. Svoboda has been increasingly isolated within the ranks
of his own party in the past months and was only narrowly elected
as a delegate to the party's congress. Several observers predict
a split of the CPBM after the congress. -Jan Obrman

KOVAC LEAVES FOR ITALY. Slovak President Michal Kovac left for
a three-day official visit to Italy and the Vatican, Slovak TV
reported on 6 June. Kovac's delegation includes Foreign Minister
Jozef Moravcik and parliamentary representatives. The Slovak
president is scheduled to meet with the Italian Prime Minister
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Pope John Paul-II. -Jan Obrman

MECIAR ON WESTERN AID, GOVERNMENT STABILITY, EARLY ELECTIONS.
At a public meeting of the ruling Movement for a Democratic Slovakia
on 5-June in Banska Bystrica, Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar
said that the West would cut financial aid to Slovakia should
the ex-communist Party for the Democratic Left succeed in calling
early elections and if they should win them, TASR reports. Meciar
was quoted as saying that unidentified US politicians made it
clear to him during his recent unofficial visit to Washington
and New York that should the PDL win early elections, no new
credits would be forthcoming from Western organizations. In an
interview with Slovak Radio on the 4th, Meciar said that IMF
officials consider the Slovak government to be "of superb quality"
and that its efficiency "commands international respect." In
a Slovak TV interview on the 6th, Meciar called on the opposition
parties to form a broad coalition and overthrow his minority
government "if they can," taunting them by saying, "they have
nothing in common except the dislike of Meciar." -Jan Obrman


ROMANIAN TRADE UNIONS MERGE. Two large trade union confederations
approved a merger at separate extraordinary congresses over the
weekend, Radio Bucharest reports. The National Confederation
of Free Trade Unions, which claims a membership of slightly over
2-million, and Fratia, with nearly 1-million members, decided
to set up a joint organization under the name Fratia National
Trade Union Confederation. At least three more labor groups-the
Univers Confederation and the federations Petrom and Radio Communications
(both originally belonging to the Alfa Trade Union Cartel)-are
expected to join the organization this week. The birth of the
new superconfederation will be officially announced at a founding
congress scheduled for 12 June. According to union leaders, the
conglomerate will have over 3.5-million members, thus being the
largest labor organization in Central and Southern Europe. -Dan
Ionescu

ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO BUDAPEST, AMSTERDAM. On 5-6 June
in Budapest Teodor Melescanu attended a NATO-sponsored international
conference on post-Cold War Central Europe and discussed bilateral
relations with his Hungarian counterpart, Geza Jeszensky on the
5th. He begins an official visit in Holland on 7 June. Dan Ionescu


MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT PUSHES PRIVATIZATION, CRITICIZES CABINET.
A decree of President Mircea Snegur, published on 3 June, establishes
the Enterprise and Small Business Fund, to be financed from the
proceeds of the sale of state property under the privatization
program, foreign aid, and government reserve funds. Participating
in a session of the Council of Ministers, reported by Moldovan
media on 3 June, Snegur accused it of ineptitude and yielding
to special interests in slowing down economic reforms. Similarly
blaming the parliament, Snegur announced plans to request special
powers to implement reforms by decree-an idea favored by the
public, he said. In reply Prime Minister Andrei Sangheli defended
the government's general economic performance while attacking
the State Department for Privatization, the prime mover of reforms
in Moldova, which Snegur had defended. Snegur's position may
presage a change of government and reflects the growing influence
of Moldova's Social-Democrats, who now control the presidential
team of advisers and the Privatization Department. -Vladimir
Socor

LITHUANIAN PARLIAMENT DEPUTY CHAIRMAN RESIGNS. On 4 June Egidijus
Bickauskas, a deputy chairman of the Seimas, tendered his resignation,
citing problems with the "bulldozer tactics" of the ruling Lithuanian
Democratic Labor Party, Radio Lithuania reports. The LDLP proposal
that the Seimas have three deputy chairmen, one each from the
LDLP, centrist forces, and the right-wing opposition ran into
difficulties. Arguing that the Constitution provides for only
one deputy chairman, the opposition refused to nominate a candidate.
The other current deputy chairman, Aloyzas Sakalas, was not present
at the session, but had sent a letter in which he agreed to serve
as deputy chairman. The Social Democratic Party, however, not
willing to be viewed as a partner of the LDLP, had allowed him
to serve only on the condition that some other party did the
same. -Saulius Girnius

ESTONIAN-RUSSIAN TALKS RESUME. Another round of Estonian-Russian
talks is being held on 7-8 June near Moscow. Chief Estonian negotiator
Juri Luik told BNS that this session will show whether the Russian
side is serious or whether it is playing a "diplomatic game meant
for the West." The two sides are to discuss the dismantling of
the Russian-controlled nuclear reactors at Paldiksi and issues
related to army property, as well as Grachev's recent offer to
withdraw Russian forces from Estonia by the end of this year.
It is expected that a treaty on mutual investment security will
be initialed. -Dzintra Bungs

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Liz Fuller and Charles Trumbull









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