No. 189, 5 October 1994

                              RUSSIA

RUSSIAN ASSESSMENTS OF WASHINGTON SUMMIT. Russian commentators
from the reformist and liberal camp are generally taking a
sanguine view of President Boris Yeltsin's US visit in terms of
gaining a greater measure of international acceptance for Russia's
"special role" in the former USSR. According to the daily
Segodnya, the talks demonstrated that "the sphere of Russia's
economic, political, and humanitarian interests extends to the
entire post-Soviet space. . . . No one except Russia would take
any steps to prevent ethnocratic trends in the Baltic countries.
Of all the great powers only Russia, with its vital national
interests in the [ex-Soviet] regions--even if it defends those
interests in often clumsy and contradictory ways--remains a real
presence throughout the entire post-Soviet space" (30 September).
Russian TV's "Itogi" program concluded that "Russian peacekeeping
met with understanding from the US administration, while the [US]
press saw this unambiguously as a division of spheres of influence
along 'Georgia-Haiti' lines." The program claimed that the two
presidents had agreed that the US role regarding Nagorno-Karabakh
would be confined to sending observers and partially financing the
peacekeeping operation (2 October). Yeltsin himself told Ostankino
and Russian TVs that "we fully agreed about Karabakh that the
Americans would send observers only. And they will partially
finance [the peacekeeping operation] themselves. And that is all;
their involvement ends there; the main share falls to us" (29
September). -- Vladimir Socor, RFE/RL Inc.

YELTSIN CLAIMS WORLD DIARCHY WITH US. In the same television
interview Yeltsin appeared to fall back on Moscow's traditional
perspective of international security as best ensured by a
condominium with the US. "We do not acknowledge and I do not
acknowledge that the US should, as it were, be the leader and the
world's number one. No. Let us tackle things on an equal footing
and jointly. . . . We are two great powers and we must consult
each other, and then either present [the issue] to the UN or else
take action. And we reached agreement on this." -- Vladimir Socor,
RFE/RL Inc.

YELTSIN ON MINISTERS, ELECTIONS. On 4 October Yeltsin held a news
conference marking the first anniversary of his victory over the
Russian parliament. Despite an earlier announcement, the event was
not broadcast live on TV; a tape of it was shown a few hours
later. The most important revelation by Yeltsin, according to the
Russian media, was his confirmation of the probable inclusion in
the government of some opposition figures, albeit not in the key
ministerial posts. At the same time, Yeltsin said that the market
reforms would continue, "at least until the next presidential
elections, in 1996." He also confirmed the rumors about
forthcoming changes in his immediate entourage but insisted that
Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin would keep his post. Yeltsin
said that the presidential elections would be held on schedule--on
12 June 1996. Asked whether he was willing "to unite the
democratic forces" around himself, Yeltsin said "Yes," thus
implying that he would run for a second term in office. He
refused, however, to pronounce judgment on the question of the
parliamentary elections, saying that these were the parliament's
business. -- Julia Wishnevsky, RFE/RL Inc.

SHUMEIKO PROPOSES NEW STATE IDEOLOGY. Vladimir Shumeiko, speaker
of the Council of the Federation, held a widely publicized news
conference on 4 October. He said that he was still opposed to
holding new parliamentary elections when the term of the current
parliament expires in December 1995, and he suggested instead that
the term should be extended until strong political parties had
emerged in Russia. Shumeiko went on to say that Russia would never
agree to a single-power world, led by the United States, adding
that a new Russian state ideology was necessary to right the
imbalance. He suggested three basic principles of his own that, he
said, could serve as fundamentals for such a new Russian
philosophy. They were the priority of the spiritual over the
material; the priority of a normal income over riches;
and--"however paradoxical it may be," in Shumeiko's words--the
"prevailing of good over evil." A former factory director,
Shumeiko is widely believed to be one of the five most powerful
men in Russia. -- Julia Wishnevsky, RFE/RL Inc.

BURBULIS: YELTSIN SHOULD NOT SEEK REELECTION. In an interview with
Interfax of 4 October, Gennadii Burbulis, a former close associate
of Yeltsin who is widely believed to have been the strategist
behind the latter's victory in Russia's first presidential
elections in 1991, reiterated his earlier statement that Yeltsin
should not run for a second term in office. Burbulis told Interfax
that he had come to this conclusion after analyzing certain of the
president's "weak points" that had become evident in the past few
months. According to the news agency, Burbulis declined to specify
what these "weak points" were. -- Julia Wishnevsky, RFE/RL Inc.

OPPOSITION DOWN CHECHEN GOVERNMENT AIRCRAFT. A Chechen government
aircraft was shot down on 4 October by opposition forces as it
attempted to fly over Nadterechnyi Raion, ITAR-TASS reported. Two
crew members were killed. Interfax quoted the head of the Chechen
armed forces as stating that Chechnya had the military capability
to create an air shield to prevent further such incidents.
Izvestiya of 5 October cited several Russian air force and Defense
Ministry officials as denying allegations by the Chechen
leadership that combat helicopters deployed on the side of the
opposition were based in Stavropol and manned by Russian crews. --
Liz Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.

MILITARY WANTS 115 TRILLION RUBLES FOR 1995. The Defense Ministry
intends to request 115 trillion rubles in the 1995 budget,
according to an announcement by State Duma Budget Committee
Chairman Mikhail Zadurnov broadcast on 4 October on the military's
"Slavyanka" program. The parliament will examine the budget when
the session resumes on 5 October. The Finance Ministry had
allocated 60.2 trillion rubles to the military in its draft 1995
budget. -- Doug Clarke, RFE/RL Inc.

WORK HALTED ON AIRLINERS, BOMBERS. The Gorbunov Aircraft
Production Association in Kazan has halted work on Tu-204
airliners and strategic bombers because it does not have the money
to buy engines and other components. Interfax reported on 4
October that the general director of the association, Yurii
Litvinov, had told the agency that it needed 24 billion rubles to
buy the necessary parts and material but had received only 5
billion from the government. Gorbunov was the sole producer of the
Tu-160 "Blackjack" and Tu-22M "Backfire" strategic bombers.
Production of the Tu-160s was said to have ended this year, but
Litvinov said the plant had a "50% reduced government order for
strategic bombers"--presumably "Backfires" or a follow-on model.
-- Doug Clarke, RFE/RL Inc.

BORDER TROOPS TO REMAIN INDEPENDENT. Yeltsin has turned down
Defense Minister Pavel Grachev's proposal to incorporate the
Border Forces into the regular armed forces, according to an
Interfax report on 10 October. The president was said to have
issued a statement confirming that the protection of Russia's
frontiers was to remain the task of the Federal Border Guard
Service, which had a unique role in protecting the political and
economic interests of the state as well as fighting organized
crime and dealing with illegal immigration. The military had
complained that there were some 800,000 people in uniform in
various paramilitary organizations but not serving under the
Ministry of Defense. Grachev particularly singled out the Border
Forces, noting that it was a paradox that they protected the land
and sea borders of Russia while his department was responsible for
the air and underwater frontiers. While there are various
estimates as to the size of the Border Forces, their commander,
General Andrei Nikolayev, indicated in a 28 May interview in
Komsomolskaya pravda that he would have more than 250,000 men
under his command when the current stage of development was
completed. -- Doug Clarke, RFE/RL Inc.

                  TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

ATTEMPTED COUP IN AZERBAIJAN? The standoff in Baku between
government troops and rebel OMON units under Deputy Interior
Minister Rovshan Dzhavadov continued on 4 October, Russian and
Western agencies reported; a meeting between Dzhavadov and
President Heidar Aliev failed to resolve the situation. A session
of the parliament to debate the declaration by Aliev of a state of
emergency in Baku was twice postponed, but is now expected to
convene on 5 October. The opposition Democratic Congress issued a
statement blaming the Azerbaijani leadership for aggravating the
situation by its "erroneous and negligent" policies, according to
Interfax. Twenty people were injured when two grenades exploded in
central Baku in the late afternoon. In two live TV addresses, one
in the late evening of 4 October and one in the early morning of 5
October, Aliev claimed first that military units, including forces
loyal to Prime Minister Suret Huseinov, who had played a leading
role in the 1993 coup that culminated in Aliev's return to power,
had seized the airport and administrative buildings in Gyandzha;
Aliev called on the population to take to the streets to defend
Azerbaijan's sovereignty. In the second broadcast, Aliev claimed
that the coup in Gyandzha had been thwarted and that Dzhavadov had
come to the presidential palace to pledge his loyalty to Aliev. --
Liz Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.

TURKMEN DISSIDENT ASSAULTED IN MOSCOW. RL's Turkmen service
learned on 4 October that Turkmen dissident Murat Esenov had been
so badly beaten by unknown assailants on a Moscow street that he
had had to be hospitalized. The information about the attack on
Esenov was passed on by the Turkmenistan Fund, a private group
headquartered in Moscow. Esenov is the group's director as well as
a regular contributor to the RL Turkmen-language program. Esenov's
associates linked the attack to a meeting between Turkmen
President Saparmurad Niyazov and the heads of Turkmenistan's
security agencies, in which the president called on the security
agencies to deal more strictly with critics outside the country.
-- Zarif Nazar/Bess Brown, RFE/RL Inc.

                    CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

SECURITY COUNCIL PREPARES TO EASE SANCTIONS AGAINST RUMP
YUGOSLAVIA. International media report on 5 October that sanctions
are expected to be suspended later the same day in the areas of
culture, sport, ferry traffic, and air transport. The suspension
will apply for 100 days. Borba says a special Aeroflot flight with
Russian special envoy Vitaly Churkin on board is due from Moscow
on 5 October to mark the reopening of Belgrade airport. A Serbian
JAT airlines flight to the Russian capital the following day is
already sold out. The New York Times, however, reports that the
Clinton administration is studying secret intelligence reports
suggesting that Belgrade has not fully lived up to its promise to
block military shipments to the Bosnian Serbs. Secretary of
Defense William Perry said on 30 September that the Bosnian Serbs
are still receiving weapons or other equipment from across the
River Drina. News agencies on 4 October reported mixed views from
the EU foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg, with Germany's
Klaus Kinkel saying "we feel that the border could be more
effectively sealed." Britain's Douglas Hurd called for "active and
imaginative diplomacy," while EU External Affairs Commissioner
Hans van den Broek said: "Quite frankly, so far so good." --
Patrick Moore, RFE/RL Inc.

OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA. News agencies
reported from Bosnia on 4 October that the Serbs continue to block
relief convoys bound for Gorazde and that they are demanding
payment for the reopening of Sarajevo airport. Croatian newspapers
on 5 October devote much space to that country's labor problems,
which are a function of the overall bleak economic picture, as
described by Handelsblatt on 29 September. President Franjo
Tudjman had to intervene personally to settle a recent taxi
strike. Macedonia is preoccupied with national elections, which
take place on 16 October. A key story in Slovenia continues to be
the Alpine republic's delicate relations with Italy, which is
blocking Slovenia's progress toward closer ties with the EU. The
Serbian dailies on 5 October focus on the economy and the
sanctions, but Borba also runs an article on the spread of Satanic
cults in Serbia, especially in northern Vojvodina. -- Patrick
Moore, RFE/RL Inc.

SERBIAN OFFICIALS DEFEND ECONOMIC PROGRAM. Politika reports on 5
October that Serbian Premier Mirko Marjanovic has said once again
that the Serbian government is committed to an anti-inflationary
policy and stable currency. National Bank Governor Dragoslav
Avramovic defended on 4 October rump Yugoslavia's financial and
economic policies against charges that the government is
attempting to conceal "a leap in inflation" and the truth about a
resurgent black market contributing to the currency's devaluation,
Reuters reported. Rump Yugoslavia's program of so-called economic
recovery was launched by Avramovic on 24 January with the
introduction of a new currency--the "super dinar"--which was
pegged to the German mark at a time when inflation was running at
an estimated 315 million percent. Reuters, however, stresses that
Avramovic's plan may be encountering insurmountable difficulties,
as a black market does appear to be resurfacing and because a
German mark currently buys 1.4 dinar. -- Stan Markotich, RFE/RL
Inc.

CLOSER TIES BETWEEN EASTERN EUROPE AND THE EU. The European Union
foreign ministers on 4 October accepted in principle a plan to
bolster ties with East European countries that may join the union
by the end of the decade. The plan foresees regular consultative
meetings with ministers from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic,
Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania on such matters as
agriculture, foreign affairs, finance, and transportation. It also
envisages annual summit meetings of leaders of the union and the
six East European countries. The Warsaw daily Gazeta Wyborcza
reported on 5 October that the plan was accepted despite
misgivings expressed by Belgium, France, Portugal, and Spain.
These countries were reportedly worried that other states might
demand similar contacts. The newspaper said the timetable for the
expansion of ties would be decided by a special EU commission. It
also asserted that the acceptance of the plan signified a major
step toward the East Europeans' eventual membership in the
European Union. -- Jan de Weydenthal, RFE/RL Inc.

POLISH GOVERNMENT FAILS TO ACT ON PRIVATIZATION. Meeting in an
executive session on 4 October, the Polish government failed to
act on the long-awaited mass privatization of industrial
enterprises. Gazeta Wyborcza reported on 5 October that there were
sharp exchanges and that Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak merely
listened. Pawlak promised in a nationwide television address on 2
October that the issue of privatization would be resolved "soon."
He has delayed implementing the privatization program for several
months, apparently for political and ideological reasons. His
party, which represents a predominantly rural electorate, has been
opposed to the privatization of industry because it fears that
rural interests will be endangered. By stalling on privatization,
Pawlak apparently hopes to bolster his popularity. In fact, he has
consistently scored high marks in recent opinion polls. But in the
meantime, the uncertainty surrounding privatization appears to
have had a negative economic impact on Polish industry. -- Jan de
Weydenthal, RFE/RL Inc.

CZECH PRIME MINISTER ON ASIAN TOUR. Czech Prime Minister Vaclav
Klaus began a week-long tour of Asia on 3 October. He is to visit
Indonesia, South Korea, and China. Representatives from some 40
Czech companies are accompanying the prime minister. CTK reports
that on 4 October Klaus signed a double taxation agreement in
Indonesia and called for more bilateral cooperation in the
industrial sector. Talking to reporters in Jakarta, Klaus said the
Czech republic wants to offer Indonesia technology in the cement
and automotive industries and for generating hydroelectric power.
Earlier the same day, Klaus met with Indonesian President Suharto.
-- Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL Inc.

MECIAR WANTS SLOVAK PRESIDENT TO RESIGN. At a meeting on 4 October
with the chairmen of the seven parties elected to the new
parliament, President Michal Kovac was asked to resign by
representatives of Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic
Slovakia. Meciar refused to attend the talks and has decided to
send MDS representatives to all coalition discussions until the
final stages. Ivan Lexa and Olga Keltosova, who went in his place,
criticized Kovac for calling a meeting rather than immediately
naming Meciar, the chairman of the party that won the most votes
in the 30 September and 1 October elections, as the new prime
minister. Keltosova said the MDS will no longer consult the
president on the composition of the new cabinet. When Kovac
interrupted Lexa, the two MDS representatives stormed out of the
room. According to the constitution, the president is required to
appoint a premier after elections and approve a new government,
but it does not state that he must choose the chairman of the
biggest party. Presidential spokesman Anton Balaz said the leaders
of all other parliamentary parties criticized Lexa's behavior.
Association of Slovak Workers Chairman Jan Luptak said the
president must be respected since he was legally elected. --
Sharon Fisher, RFE/RL Inc.

KOVAC ASKS MECIAR TO FORM NEW GOVERNMENT. Following the 4 October
meeting, Kovac gave Meciar until 18 October to report on the
status of coalition talks. The MDS and its former coalition
partner, the Slovak National Party, fell short of a parliamentary
majority and need to find support among other parliamentary
parties to form a government. It is still unclear whether Meciar
will receive this support from the Association of Slovak Workers
or possibly from the Common Choice coalition. Another possibility
is a broad coalition between the MDS, Common Choice, the Christian
Democratic Movement, and the Democratic Union, but such a grouping
seems highly unlikely. If Meciar fails to form a government within
30 days, the president can ask someone else to try. -- Sharon
Fisher, RFE/RL Inc.

SLOVAK CABINET CREATES AGENCY TO FIGHT RACISM. The cabinet of
Jozef Moravcik agreed on 4 October to set up a government agency
tasked with combating racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and
intolerance. The move follows a recommendation by the Council of
Europe during its October 1993 session. The cabinet also approved
measures proposed by the Finance Ministry to limit budget spending
in order not to exceed the planned budget deficit of 14 billion
koruny, TASR reports. -- Sharon Fisher, RFE/RL Inc.

IMF DISSATISFIED WITH HUNGARIAN ECONOMIC RECOVERY. International
Monetary Fund officials have told Hungarian Finance Minister
Laszlo Bekesi that they are dissatisfied with Hungary's economic
recovery. Bekesi was taking part on 4 October in the opening
ceremony of the 50th annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank in
Madrid, The Wall Street Journal reports Bekesi was told that
further belt-tightening was needed to reduce the widening state
budget deficit and to control wages and social spending. The IMF
expects further devaluation of the forint in 1995 to help offset
the growing trade deficit. Bekesi says the IMF will not discuss
Hungary's request to reschedule an 18-month standby loan worth
$490 million until the budget deficit is brought down from 9
percent to 4-5 percent of GDP. -- Judith Pataki, RFE/RL Inc.

HEAD OF STATE HOLDING COMPANY DISMISSED. Lajos Csepi, head of the
Hungarian State Holding Company, and seven other members of the
company's board were dismissed by Prime Minister Gyula Horn on 3
October, MTI reports. Horn appointed new board members the next
day. The new head of the company will be named later. Csepi and
the other heads of the State Holding Company were appointed under
the previous administration. Their dismissal is a further sign
that Horn intends to replace managers with appointees close to his
own party. The State Holding Company has been responsible over the
past four years for privatizing public assets. Horn claims that
some state-owned enterprises have been sold at below-value prices
and that funds have been diverted. An independent investigation
under the Horn administration, however, has failed to substantiate
these charges. -- Judith Pataki, RFE/RL Inc.

ILIESCU IN STRASBOURG. Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on 4 October, President Ion
Iliescu reviewed his country's progress toward democratization, a
market economy, and integration into European structures and the
CSCE. He acknowledged there were still difficulties but said they
existed in all areas undergoing rapid transition. Romania's most
difficult times were over, he said, and its progress toward
democratization and a market economy irreversible. Although some
of the questions addressed to Iliescu by the council's members had
critical overtones, particularly in connection with the treatment
of national minorities, RFE/RL's correspondent in Strasbourg
reported that the Romanian president was warmly received. Iliescu
also said Romania supported the early admission of Russia and
other former communist countries into the Council of Europe. His
speech marked the first anniversary of Romania's admission as the
council's 32nd member. -- Michael Shafir, RFE/RL Inc.

BRITISH-ROMANIAN MILITARY COOPERATION. Sir Charles Guthrie, chief
of the British General Staff, was quoted by Romanian and
international media on 4 October as saying his country and Romania
are looking toward military cooperation, particularly in
peacekeeping. General Guthrie arrived in Romania on 2 October for
a three-day visit. After meeting with Romanian Defense Minister
Gheorghe Tinca, he said Britain and Romania see opportunities for
cooperation in training, peacekeeping operations, and equipment
procurement. A senior British Defense Ministry official
accompanying Guthrie said Britain was ready to help Romania
organize its Defense Ministry. -- Michael Shafir, RFE/RL Inc.

ROMANIA GRANTED PREFERENTIAL TRADE STATUS WITH RUSSIA. A spokesman
for the Trade Ministry said Russia has included Romania on its
list of developing countries, Radio Bucharest reported on 4
October. Romania will thus receive preferential trade status from
Russia, and custom duties on most Romanian goods will be reduced
by 50 percent. -- Michael Shafir, RFE/RL Inc.

BULGARIAN ARMS EXPORTS HAVE QUADRUPLED. Bulgaria exported arms
worth $300 million in the first eight months of this year,
compared with $70 million worth in all of 1993. Maj. Gen. Stoyan
Andreev, former presidential adviser on national security and
armed forces affairs and now a Defense Ministry adviser, was
quoted by Reuters on 4 October as saying "there are no limits for
Bulgarian arms exports to the arms markets of Africa, Latin
America, and Asia." He credited Bulgaria's resurgent arms trade to
the restoration of ties with Russia's defense industry. Bulgaria
produces many Russian systems under license and is dependent on
Russia for a large number of components. -- Doug Clarke, RFE/RL
Inc.

PRESIDENT DECREES REFERENDUM ON ALBANIAN CONSTITUTION. President
Sali Berisha has issued a decree calling for a referendum on the
new Albanian Constitution. Western agencies quote him as saying on
3 October that "according to the draft of the constitution,
Albania will be a parliamentary republic." The drafting of the
country's first democratic constitution began in March 1992, when
the Democrats came to power, and has since been a source of
political controversy, with the opposition accusing Berisha of
seeking too many powers. The president said in July that he would
prefer the constitution to be approved by a Constitutional
Assembly, but the opposition, together with some coalition
partners, criticized this option. Approval could also be obtained
through a two-thirds parliamentary vote, which the ruling
Democrats are apparently unable to muster. -- Louis Zanga, RFE/RL
Inc.

KIEV TO CLOSE CHERNOBYL. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe,
preempting a planned statement by his Ukrainian counterpart,
Hennady Udovenko, announced that Kiev has accepted an
international plan for the closure of the Chernobyl nuclear plant,
AFP reported on 4 October. An accident at the Chernobyl reactor in
1986 caused radiation to spread over much of the European
continent. Also on 4 October, Ukrainian parliamentary leader
Oleksandr Moroz told reporters in Washington he was confident
Ukraine would endorse the nuclear nonproliferation treaty and
implement economic reforms. He also stressed that Ukraine would
seek greater security guarantees before the treaty was ratified.
-- Stan Markotich, RFE/RL Inc.

BELARUS OFFERED "PROSPECT" OF PARTNERSHIP ACCORD. European Union
foreign ministers, at their meeting in Luxembourg, agreed that
Belarus ought to be offered "the prospect" of a partnership and
cooperation accord, Reuters reported on 4 October. Similar accords
have already been inked with Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine. The EU
said in a statement issued after the ministers' meeting that its
offer of a possible accord with Belarus is intended to acknowledge
and encourage that country's economic and political reforms. --
Stan Markotich, RFE/RL Inc.

LITHUANIAN-BELARUSIAN RAILWAY AGREEMENT. Deputy Chief of
Belarusian Railroads Genadii Pankov said Belarus and Lithuania
have agreed as of 1 October to transfer railways located on the
territory of one country but subordinated to the rail authorities
of the other country. However, they were unable to solve the
problem of the Adutiskis station, which is the main stumbling
block in settling the border between the two countries. -- Saulius
Girnius, RFE/RL Inc.

LITHUANIAN-RUSSIAN AGREEMENT ON MILITARY TRANSIT. At a press
conference on 4 October, President Algirdas Brazauskas said an
agreement with Russia on military transit through Lithuania should
be completed soon. He said it would not be a treaty or an accord
on military cooperation but a technical agreement signed by
relatively low-ranking officials. A resolution passed by a
conference of the Homeland Union on 1 October denounced the
military transit agreement as dangerous, commenting that it would
drag Lithuania into military cooperation with Russia. Foreign
Minister Povilas Gylys, however, noted that the US officials and
ten ambassadors he met with in Washington had said signing the
agreement would not affect Lithuania's integration into Western
political, economic, and defense structures. -- Saulius Girnius,
RFE/RL Inc.

LATVIA AND BRITAIN TO COOPERATE IN DEFENSE AND SECURITY. British
Defense Secretary Malcolm Rifkind and Latvian Defense Minister Jan
Trapans concluded on 4 October a memorandum-agreement on
cooperation and contacts in defense and security, Interfax and BNS
reported. The agreement provides for exchange cadet training
programs, exchange visits of experts, sharing information, and
other measures. Rifkind also met with Latvian President Guntis
Ulmanis and Prime Minister Maris Gailis. Rifkind told Gailis that
Britain would train Latvian servicemen and teach them English.
Over the last 18 months, Latvia has concluded military cooperation
agreements with Poland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ukraine, and
Germany. -- Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL Inc.

YELTSIN ON RELATIONS WITH THE BALTICS. Russian President Boris
Yeltsin said at a press conference in Moscow on 4 October that the
Russian troop withdrawal from the Baltic States had not been
premature. He commented that "if there are certain complications
in our relations, they must be resolved without troops. Other
countries that do not keep troops on one another's territory
manage to settle their disputes somehow. We must learn to live in
peace and political accord." Noting that he had discussed the
question of Russian military pensioners in the Baltic States with
US President Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister John Major, and
at the UN, Yeltsin said "all partners must be persuaded that the
Baltic countries are wrong on that issue," but he offered no
further explanation. He added that the withdrawal of troops would
not limit Russia's "political activities" in the Baltic region,
Germany, or elsewhere. -- Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL Inc.

[As of 1200 CET] (Compiled by Jan Cleave and Eileen Downing)
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