RUSSIA REACHES LONG-TERM DEBT RESCHEDULING AGREEMENT.

Russia has reached agreement with the Paris club of twenty Western creditor nations to reschedule over $40 billion of foreign debts, most of them accumulated during the Soviet period. (BBC World Service, April 29) Germany alone accounts for about half the sum. The agreement is both an indication of Western confidence in the progress of Russia’s reforms and a sign of Western support for President Yeltsin’s reelection. Russia is reported to have won 25 years in which to pay up, instead of the 20 years German negotiators were originally said to be willing to grant.

West Unfazed by Sino-Russian Cooperation.