Senior Georgian officials and Abkhaz representatives disclosed yesterday that a delegation headed by Abkhazia's unrecognized foreign minister, Konstantin Ozgan, conferred with Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze and other officials last week in Tbilisi. Both sides agreed to continue high-level contacts. Georgian foreign minister Irakly Menagarishvili, a... MORE

Azerbaijani presidential aides yesterday cited Boris Berezovsky, deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council, as having assured Azerbaijani president Haidar Aliev that Russia and the new Chechen government can guarantee the safe transport of "early" Azerbaijani oil to Russia via Chechnya. Berezovsky told Aliev in Baku... MORE

Lt. Gen. Viktor Zavarzin, commander of Russian "peacekeeping" troops in Tajikistan, yesterday denied charges that his troops are assisting Tajik government forces in preparing a counteroffensive in central Tajikistan. He depicted such charges as "bare-faced, brazen, impudent, and monstrous lies which could only arise in... MORE

Incumbent president Mircea Snegur will face parliament chairman Petru Lucinschi in the December 1 runoff of Moldova's presidential election, officials told the Monitor. In yesterday's first round, nearly complete returns show Snegur with 39 percent of the vote, Lucinschi with 28 percent, Communist candidate Vladimir... MORE

Vladimir Lukin, the influential chairman of the Russian Duma's International Affairs Committee, has criticized Security Council secretary Ivan Rybkin's recent call for Russia to seek entry into NATO. Lukin described the proposal as Rybkin's "personal opinion" and suggested that its public airing could complicate the... MORE

The conciliatory commission trying to hammer out Russia's 1997 budget failed to agree on military allocations last week. It decided to wait until the government submits its defense procurement orders for the next year before meeting again. The government proposed 102.8 trillion rubles for the... MORE

The Russian Duma on Friday passed a resolution "On the critical situation pertaining to the financing of work on creating, improving and using nuclear weapons." It called for greater funding in this area, especially for the federal nuclear centers. The legislators expressed concern that scheduled... MORE

Iran expects to take delivery of its third Russian-built Kilo-class submarine later this month, an Iranian spokesman announced on November 16. The deal was delayed for over a year as Iran negotiated for a barter arrangement, but Moscow successfully held out for cash. Iran's growing... MORE

The World Bank has granted Ukraine a $300 million credit for the restructuring of its agricultural sector. The credit will be disbursed in two equal tranches, with the first expected to be awarded before the end of the year. The credit will be used for... MORE

A powerful blast destroyed an apartment building in the Dagestani city of Kaspiisk in the early morning hours on November 16. The building housed troops from the Caucasus border guards detachment, including almost all of its commanding officers. Some 130 people, including 80 border guards... MORE