MOSCOW, WASHINGTON INCREASE DEFENSE COOPERATION.

Russia and the U.S. yesterday signed an agreement in Brussels aimed at increasing military exchanges between the two countries. The accord, signed by U.S. defense secretary William Cohen and Russian defense minister Igor Sergeev, is part of a broader effort by Washington to bolster Russia’s troubled armed forces. It came during a meeting between NATO defense chiefs and Sergeev under the auspices of the Russia-NATO Permanent Joint Council. (Reuter, December 3; The Washington Post, December 4)

Russia, Yugoslavia Ink Accords.