BATURIN "BEWILDERED" BY REDEPLOYMENT PLANS OF U.S. TROOPS IN JAPAN.

Russian Defense Council secretary Yuri Baturin said yesterday that he was "greatly bewildered" by the plans to redeploy U.S. troops from Okinawa to the main Japanese islands. He complained that while Russia was reducing its forces in the Far East, the U.S. and Japan were "boosting their military potential near our southern border." The U.S. move is meant to reduce the very high U.S. military presence in Okinawa. (Interfax, January 29. For more on Baturin, see "Perspective" section below.)

Russia’s Dwindling Merchant Fleet.