KUCHMA, LUKASHENKO AGREE TO CLOSER CONTACTS.

At the conclusionof their July 17-18 summit meeting in Minsk, Ukrainian presidentLeonid Kuchma and Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko agreedto talk at least twice a week in the future, and to meet in Ukrainenext month, Interfax reported. Lukashenko said that his country’sclose ties to Russia "do not come at the expense of relationswith Ukraine," while Kuchma said that his country gave priorityto bilateral trade agreements, and would need a lengthy periodbefore entering into a broader customs pact. Kuchma said thatone precondition for such a pact would be a unified pricing policyamong the members–"otherwise, the weak countries will becomeeven weaker."

Kiev Demands Withdrawal of Ukrainian Peacekeepers from Bosnia.