MOSCOW NOT INTERESTED IN NATO EXERCISES.

A senior Russian naval officer implied yesterday that Moscow had little interest in participating in this week’s "Cooperative Partner 96" NATO exercises because it had placed priority instead on naval maneuvers scheduled to begin August 16 in Bulgarian waters. The officer also corroborated a denial by Ukraine’s foreign ministry of Russian media reports alleging that Kiev had somehow blocked Russia’s participation in the "Cooperative Partner 96" exercises. (Interfax, July 23; See Monitor, July 23)

Yeltsin Rules Out Major Russian Cabinet Shake-Up.