FORMER CHECHEN PRESIDENT FOUNDS PARTY.

Former Chechen president Zelimkhan Yandarbiev, who lost to Aslan Maskhadov in January’s presidential election, set up his own political party over the weekend. The aim of the new party is to establish a confederation of North Caucasian republics free of Russian control. Yandarbiev accuses Maskhadov of giving in to pressure from Moscow and of compromising the interests of the peoples of the region. (Russian agencies, August 17)

U.S. Outstrips Russia in Arms Sales.