BALTS ALARMED BY GERMAN STATEMENTS ON NATO.

The leadersof all three Baltic countries reacted angrily to suggestions byGerman media and German defense minister Volker Ruehe that Estonia,Latvia and Lithuania would not get into the Western defense allianceany time soon, BNS reported August 26. Estonian President LennartMeri spoke for all of them when he said that it was especiallyunfortunate that the German comments came on August 23, the 56thanniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, whose secret protocolscost the Baltic states their independence. But while Tallinn andVilnius were outraged by the German suggestions, the Latvian foreignministry said it was not surprised by them, BNS reported. Meanwhile,Russian foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev will travel to GreeceSeptember 7-9, ostensibly to discuss building a pipeline throughGreece, but likely to discuss securing Greek opposition to anyenlargement of NATO in the near future.

Russian Master Bank Wants to Buy Failed Latvian Bank.