A DIFFICULT TRANSITION IN TRANSDNIESTR REGION.

Russian deputy defense minister Gen. Konstantin Kobets met with 14th Army commanders in Tiraspol June 19-20 to install Maj. Gen. Valeri Yevnevich as commander of the army, Flux and Basarpress reported. Kobets assured local officers that they will not face disciplinary action for supporting retired Lt. Gen. Aleksandr Lebed, that Moscow will cut only the senior staff of this command, and that any officer whose billet is eliminated will be offered another posting. At the same time, Kobets said that the 14th army will continue to renew its ranks in part by drafting Transdniestr residents on contract. (This method violates a variety of international conventions but has been employed by Moscow for the past three years.) Such draftees would be given accelerated opportunities to obtain Russian citizenship. And Kobets concluded by saying that the Moscow-Chisinau accords on withdrawal of forces should be revised to allow the Russian army to remain for a longer time.

Another Suspicious Death in Armenia.