A U.S. delegation headed by Defense Secretary William Perry departs Washington today for three days of talks with Russian leaders. The highlight is Perry's appearance before the Russian Duma on October 17, when he will urge ratification of the START II Treaty. The delegation also... MORE

The local gas company has shut the valve to one of the Northern Fleet's largest nuclear submarine bases. Murmanskoblgaz said the gas would be cut off to the base in Zaozyorsk until the end of the year unless the base paid its bill of 3... MORE

U.S. deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott yesterday assured a U.S.-Ukrainian conference in Washington that Russian security chief Aleksandr Lebed's statements claiming Sevastopol for Russia do not represent the official position of the Russian government, that Moscow recognizes that Crimea belongs to Ukraine, and that... MORE

President Yeltsin has appointed security chief Aleksandr Lebed to head a new 17-member commission that will continue peace negotiations with the Chechen opposition. (Interfax, Itar-Tass, Reuters, October 14) The new commission will include government officials and the heads of the Russian regions that neighbor Chechnya.... MORE

Negotiations resumed in Geneva today over Russia's application to join the World Trade Organization. Progress has been slow since Moscow first applied to join the organization in June 1993. Russia wants to improve its access to world markets, but many member-states are wary since they... MORE

President Yeltsin's chief-of-staff, Anatoly Chubais, says the president is concerned about the problems of Russia's judicial system and has ordered his administration to find ways to resolve them. (Interfax, October 9) Several local courts have warned they will be soon forced by lack of funds... MORE

Construction work on a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Iran began yesterday with an official ceremony attended by Iran's oil and gas minister at the Korpeje gas field in Turkmenistan. Iran is financing 80 percent of the $200 million project, and the Iranian national gas... MORE

According to Dushanbe officials, leaders of the Tajik opposition, Akbar Turanjozoda and Davlat Usmon, have in recent days met with Taliban leaders in Kabul to discuss joint military action against the Tajik government in the event that the Taliban establish control of northern Afghanistan. (Interfax,... MORE

Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's special envoy for Abkhazia settlement negotiations, Edouard Brunner, has delivered a series of statements strongly supporting Russian and Abkhaz positions and clashing with those of Tbilisi. During a visit to Tbilisi Brunner has made the following statements to the local press:... MORE

Addressing the Belarus parliament yesterday, President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the deputies an offer that many couldn't refuse. He assured them that all would be included in the new parliament, which the president proposes to create on the basis of his own constitutional draft, if the... MORE