Latest Monitor Articles
INTER-TAJIK TALKS RESUME AMID MAJOR DIFFERENCES.
Negotiations in Tehran between the Tajik government and opposition resumed on January 6 in the presence of UN and Russian envoys. The agenda covers practically all the major points of the December 23 Moscow political agreement, which papered over the differences and deferred their resolution... MORE
ACCUSED GANGSTERS ADMIT TO FANNING ETHNIC TENSION IN ESTONIA.
Two Russian residents of Estonia, members of an organized crime group, have pleaded guilty to charges of inciting ethnic and political hostility as well as violence. The two, on trial with the group's "godfather" for racketeering, are also accused of having written and distributed on... MORE
RUSSIAN DELEGATION SIGNS AGREEMENTS IN BAKU.
The visit by a Russian delegation to Baku concluded yesterday (see Monitor, January 7) following the signing of several agreements. They included two protocols: one on the mutual delivery of products in 1997 and another on transport development. A number of draft agreements prepared during... MORE
INTERNATIONAL BODIES TO DECIDE NEXT WEEK WHETHER TO MONITOR CHECHEN ELECTIONS.
Tim Guldimann, OSCE mission head in Chechnya, says he is concerned for the safety of foreign observers if the OSCE and Council of Europe send teams to monitor the January 27 elections in Chechnya. The Russian Duma has already decided not to send observers. Guldimann... MORE
YELTSIN READS NAZDRATENKO THE RIOT ACT.
Russian president Boris Yeltsin has told the governor of Primorsky krai, on Russia's Pacific coast, that he must henceforth clear with the Foreign Ministry any statements he makes concerning Russia's border with China. (Radio Russia, January 6) Russia is cozying up to China and Yeltsin... MORE
"RED BELT" CITY RESTORES SOVIET SYSTEM.
The city of Bryansk in south-western Russia is returning to the Soviet system under which the mayor of the city is appointed by the city council, not popularly elected as in other parts of Russia. The decision comes after the left-wing "Patriotic Bryansk" movement swept... MORE
AZERBAIJAN, IN ANTI-FUNDAMENTALIST MOVE, BARS FOREIGN PROSELYTISM.
President Haidar Aliev yesterday promulgated amendments to Azerbaijan's law on religious organizations. The main change, introduced in the law's first article, bars foreign citizens from conducting "religious propaganda" in Azerbaijan. (Turan, January 7) The provision appears mainly aimed to forestall proselytizing in Azerbaijan by foreign... MORE
GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER: MOSCOW TO EXACT A HIGH PRICE FOR NATO ENLARGEMENT.
German foreign minister Klaus Kinkel yesterday expressed confidence that NATO and Russia would be able to work out their differences over the alliance's enlargement, but he admitted that Moscow is looking to exact a high price from the West for any such agreement. Kinkel was... MORE
RUSSIAN OIL SLICK THREATENS JAPANESE FISHING VILLAGES.
Stormy weather has thwarted efforts by Japanese emergency vessels to contain oil spilled last week by the wrecked Russian tanker "Nakhodka," leaving fishermen and local authorities on Japan's northwestern coast fearful that the area's rich marine life will be devastated. (Kyodo, AP, January 7) The... MORE
RUSSIA’S AGING AIR FORCE.
The Russian Air Force did not have the money to buy a single new combat aircraft in 1996, according to an unnamed official at the service's headquarters. This marks the second year in a row that no new jets were received. The source said that... MORE