RUSSIA SEEKS TO RETAIN VIETNAMESE NAVAL BASE.

On his visitto Vietnam starting July 27, foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev will pressure Hanoi to allow Russia to continue to use the naval baseat Cam Ranh Bay, a senior foreign ministry official told Interfax July 26. Russia currently has an agreement with Hanoi to usethe base rent-free until 2005, but Vietnam now wants to end Russianuse of that base. The unnamed diplomat said that Moscow was preparedto pay rent, but linked the resolution of the issue to Vietnam’sdebts to Moscow and to the continuing presence of 50-80,000 Vietnameseworkers in Russia.

Moscow Renews Debate on National Security Doctrine.