The defense ministers of Ukraine and Turkmenistan, Aleksandr Kuzmuk and Danatar Kopekov, signed yesterday in Ashgabat two agreements on cooperation between their ministries. The agreements envisage, inter alia, Ukrainian assistance in the technical maintenance and overhauling of Turkmenistan's armored and other military equipment, training of... MORE

Interviewed on Armenian television, Karabakh president Robert Kocharian restated a series of terms "from which there can be no retreat and no fallback positions" for settling the conflict with Azerbaijan. Karabakh will "never" be a part of Azerbaijan or subordinated to Baku, he said, nor... MORE

The Japanese government yesterday announced its decision to lend 15.5 billion yen (more than $140 million) to Uzbekistan for expanding and modernizing the airports of Bukhara, Samarkand, and Urgench. Uzbekistan hopes to attract international tourism to the historical monuments in these cities, which were once... MORE

In the item on Russia's state budget debate, yesterday's Monitor incorrectly identified Argumenty i fakty as the source of a quotation by Russian first deputy minister of finance Vladimir Petrov. In fact, the source was Interfax. The Monitor is a publication of the Jamestown Foundation.... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin's heart surgery may take place as early as next week. American heart specialist Michael DeBakey, who will supervise the operation, told the BBC in an interview today that the risk of failure in Yeltsin's case was "normal" for such operations, "2, 3,... MORE

Presidential Chief of Staff Anatoly Chubais says that most of Russia's problems stem from the weakness of the state. He was addressing a conference in Moscow yesterday on the observance (or lack of observance) of federal laws by local governments. Chubais said a stop must... MORE

The Russian General Staff is going to reduce the number of its "Main" directorates from 16 to 4, according to a "well-informed source" in the Defense Ministry. The four will be: Operations, Intelligence (GRU), Organization and Mobilization, and Personnel. The 12 others will be downgraded... MORE

Russia may not be able to pay its soldiers and workers in arms factories, but it is going to award a cash bonus each year to outstanding weapons designers. Named after Marshal Georgy Zhukov, the prize will amount to 1,500 times the minimum wage. Candidates... MORE

An international conference on settling the Afghanistan conflict opened yesterday in Tehran. Russia, four Central Asian countries, China, and India are attending. The U.S., Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia have declined to participate. Apparently, no Afghan authority or group will attend. Russia and Iran, both... MORE

A mission of the IMF arrived yesterday in Ukraine to review the performance of the Ukrainian economy under the terms of the current stand-by program. Discussions with the government on a memorandum to apply for new resources within the framework of an Extended Financing Facility... MORE