…BUT YELTSIN SAYS HE’S STILL OPTIMISTIC.

President Boris Yeltsin told Russian Television yesterday that he remains confident that it will be possible to forge a united coalition of reformists prior to the presidential election. (RTR, May 13) Last weekend, Grigory Yavlinsky dismissed Yeltsin’s claim that such a coalition was in the offing as an "election stunt" and added that he had "neither the intention nor the desire" to join the Yeltsin team. (See Monitor, May 13) But Yeltsin told Russian TV yesterday that he intends to continue the discussions he has already opened with Yavlinsky and Aleksandr Lebed and expects to meet Wednesday with Svyatoslav Fedorov, the third member of the failed "Third Force" alliance.

OSCE Mission Said to Mediate Between Moscow and Chechen Resistance Leaders.