No. 105, 6 June 1994

                              RUSSIA

RUSSIAN MEDIA VIRTUALLY IGNORING D-DAY. The Russian media are
virtually ignoring the 50th anniversary commemoration of the
Normandy landing. The Soviet official line, now being reiterated by
the post-Communist Russian government, was that the D-Day landing
was almost irrelevant to the defeat of Nazism. On 4 June, Western
news agencies quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigorii
Karasin as saying that "we pay tribute to the allied landings but
we remember that the success of this operation was made possible by
the achievements of the Soviet forces." "History attests that
Moscow wanted the allies to open a second front from the very
beginning of the war against Germany. But the allies delayed in
keeping with their strategy of safeguarding the lives of their
soldiers," Karasin went on. Russian officials and war veterans have
also expressed bitter resentment that they were not invited to the
D-Day commemoration in Normandy, ITAR-TASS reported on 5 June. Vera
Tolz, RFE/RL, Inc.

PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE WON'T CHARGE OPPOSITION LEADERS. According to
Interfax of 3 June, the Moscow Prosecutor's Office has decided not
to pursue criminal proceedings against opposition leaders who spoke
at a 9 May rally in the Russian capital, calling for the overthrow
of Boris Yeltsin's government. The leaders are former Russian Vice
President Aleksandr Rutskoi, Labor Russia leader Viktor Anpilov,
and the National Salvation Front head Ilya Konstantinov. Members of
the government charged that at the rally marking the 49th
anniversary of the Soviet victory over Germany opposition leaders
had called for change by force in the constitutional system. Such
appeals are forbidden by the Russian constitution. During
questioning in the prosecutor's office, Rutskoi and other leaders
said that when they spoke about the "approaching end" of Yeltsin's
regime, they meant peaceable and legal change. The prosecutor's
office reportedly accepted the explanation.  Vera Tolz, RFE/RL,
Inc.

FEDERATION COUNCIL VERSUS DUMA ON DEFENSE. While the Duma has been
keeping a lid on defense expenditures, the Federation Council voted
on 2 June to increase the defense budget from 37 trillion rubles to
55 trillion rubles, Interfax reported on the same day. Members of
the Council also threatened to hold up passage of the entire budget
if the Duma doesn't agree to the increase when it gives the budget
its second reading on 8 June. The deputy chairman of the Duma's
defense committee, Aleksandr Piskunov, told Interfax that even if
the Duma doesn't approve the increase, the Ministry of Defense
might simply continue to sign contracts and spend money at a high
rate, presenting the government with a fait accompli at the end of
the year. The government would then presumably be obliged to meet
the obligations incurred by the defense ministry.  John Lepingwell,
RFE/RL, Inc.

STRATEGY FOR RUSSIA (2). The Council for Foreign and Defense Policy
(SVOP) published its second set of theses on Russian foreign policy
in Nezavisimaya gazeta on 27 May under the title "Strategy for
Russia (2)." (The first set appeared there in August 1992.) The
theses represent the work of a subgroup of the SVOP headed by
Sergei Karaganov, deputy head of the Institute of Europe, and
Vitalii Tretyakov, editor-in-chief of the newspaper and also
identified as "chairman of the Collegium of the SVOP." Among the
ideas raised by the report is the establishment of a new union on
the territory of the former USSR to strive for the creation of a
system of political, military-political, and economic cooperation
that would support the interests of Russia in the area of the
ex-Soviet Union.  Suzanne Crow, RFE/RL, Inc.

THESES SHOW CONSENSUS. In comparison with the first Strategy for
Russia report, the latest one reveals a greater degree of
consensus. The first report contained a number of internal
contradictions which, as the authors explained at the time of
publication, were permitted to remain in the published version of
the report because consensus on some points was simply not
attainable. The tighter argumentation in the second report echoes
the consensus achieved over the last 18 months among those who
influence and make Russian foreign policy. As was the case with the
first Russian Strategy for Russia report, this one promises to
influence arguments among Russia's policy-makers. One of the
report's recommendations is to set up a non-governmental Commission
for National Strategy which would be charged with developing the
country's long-term strategic goals and policies.  Suzanne Crow,
RFE/RL, Inc.

SHAPOSHNIKOV CRITICIZES NATO PARTNERSHIP. Former Soviet Defense
Minister and later commander of the CIS Joint Armed Forces, Marshal
Evgenii Shaposhnikov, warned in a commentary published in
Komsomolskaya pravda on 2 June that the strengthening of NATO
through the Partnership for Peace program could create a new "world
disorder" that might lead Russia, if it joins, into confrontation
with China. Shaposhnikov, a long time ally of Boris Yeltsin, said
that the Partnership program had put Russia into a difficult
situation because Moscow's failure to sign on could leave Russia
isolated. According to AFP, which summarized the newspaper article,
Shaposhnikov suggested that NATO developed the Partnership program
in an effort to prolong its own existence; he proposed that NATO
turn itself into a peacekeeping force subordinated to the UN or the
CSCE.  Stephen Foye, RFE/RL, Inc.

                  TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

WILL RUSSIA RECONSIDER ABKHAZ PEACEKEEPING FORCE? Georgian and
Abkhaz officials expressed concern and disappointment on 3 June at
the decision by the Russian Federation Council not to dispatch a
Russian contingent to serve in the CIS peacekeeping force in
Abkhazia, Interfax reported. A spokesman for Russian President
Boris Yeltsin told Interfax that Yeltsin "is likely to exert
pressure" on the Federation Council to reverse its decision;
Georgian parliament chairman Eduard Shevardnadze expressed
confidence that it would do so. Most CIS Heads of State support the
idea of a CIS peacekeeping force for Abkhazia, and some have agreed
to send observers or peacekeepers, CIS Executive Secretary Ivan
Korotchenya told Interfax on 3 June.  Liz Fuller, RFE/RL, Inc.

RUSSIANS REACT TO KILLINGS IN TAJIKISTAN. Russian officials in
Tajikistan have reacted with growing anger to the string of
killings, mostly in Dushanbe, which has left seven Russian officers
dead in the past ten days; five were in the Russian border guards'
unit, while the other two worked for the Tajik Defense Ministry.
Russia's ambassador to Tajikistan sent a protest note to Tajik
leader Imomali Rakhmonov, demanding that the culprits be found and
punished. Anatoly Chechulin, the commander of the Russian border
guards in Tajikistan, announced increased precautions and patrols
for Russian soldiers, both at home and on duty. According to AFP,
he blamed the shootings on the Tajik opposition, saying they had
been carried out on the orders of "the leader of the Islamic
opposition Turadzhonzoda and the head of the Islamic government in
exile Abdulloh Nuri" in order to undermine Russian resolve to stay
in Tajikistan. If any segment of the opposition is behind the
attacks, it could represent a shift in tactics toward an
Algerian-style terror campaign to force out foreigners. However,
there are also pro-government bandits in the Dushanbe area who
might be trying to scuttle scheduled peace talks with the
Islamic-democratic opposition.  Keith Martin, RFE/RL, Inc.

UZBEKISTAN TO STOP MOSCOW NEWSCASTS. Uzbekistan's state-owned
National Television and Radio Company is stopping the rebroadcast
of newscasts televised from Moscow, starting with the main evening
news from Ostankino TV, Interfax reported on 4 June. According to
the report, TV viewers in Uzbekistan expect that the 6 pm newscast
from Moscow soon will be cancelled as well. Earlier in the year
Uzbekistan stopped rebroadcast of Russian TV programs in a dispute
over payment of fees. Uzbekistan's government has frequently
interfered in the importing of Russian publications into the
country because it disapproved of their portrayal of developments
in Uzbekistan; this practice suggests that the stoppage of the
rebroadcasting of Russian news may have a political as well as a
financial dimension.  Bess Brown, RFE/RL, Inc.

KIM IN UZBEKISTAN. South Korea's President Kim Young-Sam concludes
a three-day visit to Uzbekistan on 6 June. The two main points on
his agenda were the intensification of bilateral trade and
investment, and the status of ethnic Koreans in Uzbekistan, AFP
reported. Some 200,000 Koreans live in Uzbekistan, the largest
number in any former Soviet republic; almost all were deported from
Russia's Far East during World War II. According to the Korean
ambassador in Tashkent, no large-scale resettling of Koreans to
South Korea is anticipated; he noted that many no longer speak or
write in their native language. The Uzbek and South Korean
governments also set up a joint committee to enhance trade, and
Uzbek President Islam Karimov encouraged South Korean investors to
increase their activities in Uzbekistan. Daewoo, a South Korean
motor vehicle manufacturer, already operates a joint venture in
Uzbekistan. Keith Martin, RFE/RL, Inc.

                                CIS

UKRAINE: NPT LOW PRIORITY. Anton Buteiko, a senior advisor on
foreign policy issues to the Ukrainian president, told Interfax on
2 June that accession to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty is
"not of great urgency" and that economic reform will have a higher
priority on the legislative agenda. Buteiko noted that Ukraine is
already fulfilling its denuclearization pledges, even without
formally acceding to the treaty. Until Ukraine accedes to the
treaty, however, many of the security assurances proffered by the
US and Russia in the trilateral accord will not take effect.  The
last reported shipment of warheads to Russia took place in
mid-April (for a total of 180 warheads) even though Ukrainian
officials said on 19 May (according to Reuters) that the pace of
disarmament would be increased. Tensions over Crimea may be
prompting a "go-slow" attitude in Ukraine, and some Ukrainian
politicians have alluded to the nuclear weapons as a guaranty of
Ukraine's security.  John Lepingwell, RFE/RL, Inc.

RUSSIA SEEKS NAVAL PRESENCE ON LOWER DANUBE. Ukrainian and Russian
media have sporadically reported lately that residual Russian naval
units on the lower Danube in Odessa oblast, particularly in Ismail,
have threatened to resist by force any attempt to place them under
Ukraine's jurisdiction; and that the Russian side seeks to retain
control of the shore infrastructure of the Danube fleet on
Ukrainian territory and on the Romanian border. The Russian side
treats its Danube fleet as an integral part of its Black Sea fleet.
On 31 May the Moscow daily Segodnia wondered why Russia was holding
on to such a distant base as Ismail after having come to terms with
Latvia on Skrunda, which is much nearer to Russia.  Vladimir Socor,
RFE/RL, Inc.

                    CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

BOSNIA TALKS FAIL TO BEGIN. On 6 June international media continue
to report that Geneva talks slated to include representatives from
Bosnia's warring parties and aimed at producing a ceasefire have
failed to get under way. The talks, originally scheduled to begin 2
June, have been delayed over disputes about Bosnian Serb failures
to withdraw all troops from the exclusion zone around the Bosnian
Muslim enclave of Gorazde. Bosnian Muslim representatives had
announced that their participation in the talks would hinge on the
withdrawal of all Serb forces around Gorazde. On 5 June AFP
reported that UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi expressed confidence
that all conditions could be met, allowing for the commencement of
negotiations on 6 June. Tanjug reported that all parties have
agreed to meet on 6 June. Finally, separate talks involving
representatives from the European Union, Russia and the United
States have reportedly broken down.  Stan Markotich, RFE/RL, Inc.

IZETBEGOVIC PROPOSES EXCLUSION ZONE. On 5 June international
agencies reported that Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic has
proposed the creation of a heavy weapons exclusion zone for central
Bosnia which would stretch for a 100-mile radius. Izetbegovic,
speaking to a group of United States senators visiting Sarajevo,
argued that the exclusion zone would help offset the military
imbalance between Bosnian Muslim and Serb forces. In other news, on
4 June Reuters reported that Stjepan Kljuic, former leader of the
Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) in Bosnia and elected to the
Bosnian collective presidency in 1991, has formed his own political
party. The Bosnian Republican Party, officially constituted on 5
June, intends to vie in upcoming elections for the new Bosnian
Muslim-Croat federation. Stan Markotich, RFE/RL, Inc.

EARLY ELECTIONS FOR CROATIA? On 6 June Croatian dailies continue
their coverage of the country's political crisis, pitting the
ruling Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) against opposition
parties and also including what appears to be political infighting
in HDZ ranks. The current crisis, which has ground parliament's
work to a halt and which appears will not be resolved by efforts to
negotiate the various parties back to the legislature, was
aggravated on 24 May when parliamentary speaker Stipe Mesic was
removed from his post. On 6 June The Feral Tribune reports that the
crisis is proving so divisive that it will prompt early elections
and notes that "Posters for new elections are already being
printed." On 5 June Reuters citing a Vjesnik interview, quotes
Josip Manolic, a former prominent HDZ member who bolted from HDZ
party ranks along with Mesic, as saying that political decay has
set in HDZ ranks to such an extent that "the crisis within the HDZ
could be overcome by compromises between its different factions but
its disintegration is an unstoppable process now." Manolic is also
on record as predicting that the ongoing crisis will precipitate
early elections.  Stan Markotich , RFE/RL, Inc.

TENSION ON SERBIAN-MACEDONIAN BORDER. Recent reports indicate that
there is growing tension at the border between Serbia and the
former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia. The Daily Telegraph of 4
June quoted Vlado Popovski, Macedonian Defense Minister, as saying
that two Serb MiG-21s in late May seemingly purposely violated
Macedonian air space and that army patrols repeatedly have
trespassed into Macedonian territory and twice even apprehended and
questioned border guards. Popovski added that many Serb positions
at the border have lately been reinforced and new troops have
arrived. Officials of the United Nations and the Conference for
Security and Cooperation in Europe have confirmed the impression of
increasing Serb aggressiveness. On 1 June, for instance, a US
diplomat heading a CSCE monitoring team to Macedonia told an RFE/RL
correspondent that "there has been no overt Serb aggression [. . .]
but there is a feeling of menace." Kjell Engelbrekt, RFE/RL, Inc.

MACEDONIA'S LARGEST OPPOSITION PARTY IN TURMOIL. Factionalization
in the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic
Party for Macedonian National Unity (IMRO-DPMNU) has reached a new
height. Ljupco Georgievski, President of the party, has accused
Tomislav Stefkovski, leader of the IMRO-DPMNU parliamentary group,
and a deputy, Stoile Stojkov, of spying for the state security
apparatus according to the 6 June issue of Vecer. The two deputies
recently formed a faction within IMRO-DPMNU, the "Macedonian
National Democratic Group (Fraction)," dedicated to democratizing
the party. Georgievski claims accusations of undemocratic behavior
are lies. IMRO-DPMNU has been afflicted by defections and
expulsions during the past several years and the dismissal of five
parliamentary deputies, including Stefkovski and Stojkov, may
indicate that party unity is weakening, which if true, suggests
that IMRO-DPMNU's fortunes in the November elections may decline.
Duncan Perry, RFE/RL, Inc.

GERMAN SOCIAL DEMOCRATS ON SUDETEN GERMAN ISSUE. Writing in
Sudetendeutsche Zeitung on 3 June, Karsten Voigt, the foreign
policy spokesman for Germany's Social Democrats, argued that the
so-called Benes decrees, on the basis of which some 3 million
Sudeten Germans were expelled from Czechoslovakia after World War
II and their property confiscated, were "discriminatory" and should
be abolished. Several Czech leftist parties criticized Voigt's
statements on 5 June, CTK reported. Czech Social Democratic Party
vice-chairman Pavel Novak said the abolition of the Benes decrees
"is unacceptable" for his party and that such a step would lead to
the destabilization of the Czech Republic. Ladislav Ortman,
chairman of the post-communist Left Bloc party, said that the Czech
Republic itself will decide which laws are valid on its territory.
He argued it was "unbelievable" that some Social Democratic
politicians in Germany "have decided to play the same card in the
preelection struggle as the representatives of the ruling
coalition." Josef Mecl, chairman of the Party of the Democratic
Left, said that "German political parties should not try to end
World War II and revise its results in the benches of the Czech
parliament." Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL, Inc.

SLOVAK PARLIAMENT REJECTS LAW ON ROAD SIGNS. On 3 June the Slovak
parliament rejected a law allowing communities with at least a 20%
ethnic minority population to post bilingual road signs, TASR
reported. In the final vote, the bill failed by one vote, as 67 out
of 134 deputies present voted in favor of the bill, 61 voted
against, and 6 abstained. The vote produced doubts about the
stability of the current governing coalition, as several members of
the ethnic Hungarian Coexistence movement voted against or
abstained from the vote. Pal Csaky of the Hungarian Christian
Democratic Movement said that rejection of the law will have
"serious political consequences," although it is too early to say
if his party will continue to support the government, Sme reported
on 4 June. After the vote, Party of the Democratic Left Chairman
Peter Weiss said that "extremists on both sides are apparently not
capable of compromise" and warned that the opposition would use the
issue of road signs as one of the main themes in the preelection
campaign. In the congress of the opposition Slovak National Party
on 4 June, chairman Jan Slota said that if he were premier, the
road sign problem would not exist since he "would not put up
Hungarian road signs even in territories with 100% Hungarian
inhabitants." Sharon Fisher, RFE/RL, Inc.

HUNGARIAN SOCIALISTS MAKE COALITION OFFER TO LIBERAL PARTY. An
extraordinary congress of the Hungarian Socialist Party (HSP),
nominated on 4 June by an overwhelming majority (96% of 450
delegates) party chairman Gyula Horn for the post of prime minister
designate, MTI and Radio Budapest report. The congress also
approved the recommendation of the HSP national presidium and board
to start coalition talks with the liberal Alliance of Free
Democrats (AFD), which came in second in the elections. Horn sent
an invitation letter to AFD chairman Ivan Peto and expressed the
hope that should the liberals accept the offer, coalition talks
could start as early as 7 June. The congress left open the
possibility of coalition talks at a later date with the smaller
Alliance of Young Democrats.  Alfred Reisch, RFE/RL, Inc.

LIBERALS AGREE TO CONSIDER COALITION. A meeting of 800 AFD
delegates on 5 June authorized the party leadership to start
coalition talks with the Socialist Party. The AFD can sign such an
agreement only if it receives guarantees that it can influence
government policies as one of jointly governing coalition partners.
Welcoming the decision, Horn said he did not yet know what
guarantees the AFD had in mind but that even though the HSP had an
absolute majority in parliament, the AFD could still be an equal
partner in Hungary's future government. Alfred Reisch, RFE/RL, Inc.

ALLIANCE OF YOUNG DEMOCRATS PRESIDIUM RESIGNS. AYD Chairman Viktor
Orban and the eight vice chairman making up the party's presidium
resigned on 4 June, MTI reports. Orban took political
responsibility for the poor showing of the AYD in the May general
elections and said that any change in the party's policies would
have to be made by others. On 5 June, after discussing the causes
for the party's electoral failure, the AYD's national board
criticized the party's leadership and decided to convene a party
congress on 9 July.  Alfred Reisch, RFE/RL, Inc.

WALESA IN NORMANDY, CONFLICT AT HOME. President Lech Walesa
traveled to Britain on 4 June to take part in ceremonies marking
the 50th anniversary of the Normandy invasion. Walesa told PAP he
planned to use the occasion to remind Western leaders that "we
fought for you, but no one was prepared to fight for us."
Meanwhile, in Poland, controversy continued over Walesa's decision
to invite the Russian and German presidents to take part in
ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. The
Confederation for an Independent Poland (KPN) and some veterans'
organizations criticized the decision, citing the exclusion of
German officials from the current Normandy ceremonies and the
Soviet Union's complicity in the defeat of the uprising in 1944.
Walesa's office stressed the importance of looking to the future,
however. German President Roman Herzog has confirmed his attendance
at the ceremonies on 1 August.  Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL, Inc.

POLAND TALKS WITH IMF, EUROPEAN COMMISSION. Deputy Prime Minister
and Finance Minister Grzegorz Kolodko on 3 June presented a
visiting IMF delegation with the government's economic plans for
the coming three years, Polish TV reports. Poland will likely sign
a fourth agreement with the IMF in August, Kolodko said. Poland's
last IMF agreement--the first successfully fulfilled--expired in
April. IMF delegation leader Michael Deppler praised Kolodko's
three-year "economic strategy" and welcomed the government's shift
in focus from immediate budgetary concerns to long-term planning.
Kolodko's plan foresees 20% GDP growth in the next three years,
with inflation dropping to 10% and unemployment to 14% by 1997. On
5 June, Kolodko attended a finance ministers' meeting in Luxembourg
attended by the 12 EU countries and the 6 countries that have
reached association agreements. Kolodko announced afterward that
agreement had been reached to extend the PHARE program for five
years, with new funds of $8 billion to assist countries prepare for
EU membership.  Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL, Inc.

POLAND RAISES GASOLINE PRICES. Gasoline prices rose more than 8% in
Poland on 5 June after the finance ministry increased the excise
tax, PAP reports. This was the first gasoline price hike this year.
An increase scheduled for March was withheld because of favorable
conditions on the world oil market. A further 6% hike is scheduled
for September. In other economic news, an occupation strike shut
down all production at the Huta Katowice steel mill for the fifth
day on 5 June, PAP reports. The strike is sponsored by a new
splinter union, "August '80." The management criticized the protest
as a "union game" to win new adherents and argued that yielding to
new pay demands would bankrupt the plant. Six of the eight unions
at the mill accepted a 20% pay hike on 31 May.  Louisa Vinton,
RFE/RL, Inc.

BSP HOLDS CONGRESS. On 3 June the Bulgarian Socialist Party opened
its 41st congress, at which the current policy of supporting the
government of Lyuben Berov was confirmed. The present Socialist
leader Jean Videnov is likely to be reelected but Demokratsiya
reports that the rift between him and ex-Chairman Aleksandar Lilov,
the grey eminence at the helm of the BSP's Center for Strategic
Studies, seems to be widening. In an interview with Trud Lilov
qualified Videnov's proposed pre-election platform as "very crude"
and said it lacked promises for concrete actions over the coming
years. Nevertheless, the congress decided that Videnov's platform
and Lilov's draft party program should merely be subjects of
continued discussion, thereby averting a direct confrontation
between different wings of the party. It was announced that the BSP
presently has 370,333 members, roughly 10,000 less than in the end
of 1992.  Kjell Engelbrekt, RFE/RL, Inc.

NEW LITHUANIAN GOVERNMENT TO BE FORMED. On 2 June Prime Minister
Adolfas Slezevicius announced that his government would resign in
line with the Constitutional requirement demanding this whenever
more than half of the Cabinet is changed. He intends to name
replacements for the Economics and Forestry Ministers who resigned
earlier and add new Environment, Education, and Culture Ministers.
On 3 June Rimantas Dagys, the deputy chairman of the Social
Democratic Party, announced that the required 29 parliament
deputies had signed a petition to take a vote of no confidence in
Slezevicius. According to the Seimas statute, the government has 15
days to reply to the accusations against it.  Saulius Girnius,
RFE/RL, Inc.

HIGHER INFLATION IN LITHUANIA IN MAY. In an interview over Radio
Lithuania on 6 June, Kestutis Zaborskas, the head of the Lithuanian
Statistics Department, announced that inflation in May had been
6.2%. The monthly inflation rates in the first four months of 1994
had been 4.8%, 2.9%, 3.3%, and 1.6%, respectively. The higher rate
was expected in May because an 18% value added tax was introduced.
In May alcohol and tobacco prices increased 11.4%, transportation
-8.2%, heating and electricity -7.1%, food -5.5%, and clothes
-4.5%.  Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL, Inc.

ESTONIAN PRESIDENT REJECTS COMMANDER'S RESIGNATION. Lennart Meri
informed Aleksander Einseln, the commander in chief of the Estonian
armed forces, that he had turned down his request of 2 June to
resign. Einseln had expressed his dissatisfaction with the decision
by Prime Minister Mart Laar to conduct talks with Israel on close
cooperation in defense matters without informing him. On 4 June
after returning from a conference of Nordic defense ministers in
Sweden, Einseln told a press conference that all the details about
Estonian-Israeli relations should be made public, even suggesting
that an independent commission should be established to look into
the details of Estonian purchases of Israeli weapons, BNS reports.
Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL, Inc.

DEMIREL IN MOLDOVA. Turkish President Suleiman Demirel completed on
3 June a three-day state visit to Moldova, at the head of a
delegation of more than 100 government officials, parliamentarians,
and businessmen. Demirel, Moldovan President Mircea Snegur, and
ministerial officials signed an interstate treaty and several
economic agreements. Addressing the Moldovan parliament, Demirel
strongly endorsed Moldova's independence and territorial integrity
and even chastised the pro-Romanian opposition for its wish to end
Moldovan statehood. Touring the Turkic-speaking Gagauz settlements
in southern Moldova, Demirel urged the Gagauz to accept the
far-reaching regional autonomy offered by Chisinau and to be loyal
citizens of Moldova. Turkey has pledged to invest, via Chisinau, 35
million dollars to develop the Gagauz region.  Vladimir Socor ,
RFE/RL, Inc.

BELARUSIAN ELECTION OUTCOME WILL AFFECT MONETARY UNION. The Russian
deputy prime minister, Aleksander Shokhin, has said that the pace
of unification of Russia's and Belarus's monetary systems will
depend to a great extent on the outcome of Belarus's presidential
elections. As Shokhin sees it, the new Belarusian president will
have to initiate the process of amending the Belarusian
constitution to allow for the implementation of the agreement or
else the agreement itself will have to be revised so that it does
not conflict with the Russian and Belarusian constitutions.  Ustina
Markus, RFE/RL, Inc.

UPDATE ON CRIMEAN NEGOTIATIONS. Russian radio reported on 4 June
that talks between Ukrainian and Crimean parliamentary delegations
ended in Simferopol with the two sides agreeing that proposals for
coordinating Ukraine's and Crimea's legislation should be submitted
by 15 June. No deadlines were set for bringing Crimea's and
Ukraine's legislations into line with each other, and the Crimean
representative Serhii Nikulyn said that some of the conflicting
points could only be addressed after Ukraine adopts its new
constitution. It was also agreed that the Ukrainian constitution
overrides Crimean laws and that a working group be set up to
delineate authority between Ukrainian and Crimean governing bodies.
Ustina Markus, RFE/RL Inc.

[As of 1200 CET]
Compiled by Bess Brown and Jan de Weydenthal
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