YELTSIN NOT EXPECTED BACK FOR TWO WEEKS.

Russian president Boris Yeltsin is expected to remain on vacation until January 19, Russian agencies reported yesterday. Presidential spokesmen stressed that the president is well and working on documents; they said he had spoken by telephone with aides and leading officials but is not expected to hold any face-to-face meetings. The president delivered a nationwide television address on January 6 (the eve of Orthodox Christmas) and said the celebration of Christmas symbolizes Russia’s return to its roots and old cultural values. Meanwhile, presidential aide Mikhail Krasnov told Ekho Moskvy on January 5 that the president will not decide whether to run for president in 2000 until the Constitutional Court has ruled on whether or not a third term in office would be permissible.

Russian Government Dissociates Itself from Kulikov’s Proposal.