Estonian president Lennart Meri has been awarded the Coudenhove-Kalergi Foundation's Europe Prize. Otto von Habsburg, president of the Pan-European Union and a prominent German and Europarliament deputy, spoke at the ceremony in Tallinn's City Hall. The prize, whose previous recipients include U.S. president Ronald Reagan... MORE

At a tumultuous session of the Ukrainian parliament, leftist deputies prevented ratification of the Ukrainian-Latvian free trade treaty, negotiated earlier by Presidents Leonid Kuchma and Guntis Ulmanis. The opposition forced the treaty back to parliamentary commissions for possible revision. Most leftists invoked protectionist considerations, but... MORE

Russian president Boris Yeltsin was in Moscow yesterday for medical tests. His doctors say they will consult foreign specialists, including "one of the best American cardiologists," who may also take part in the operation. Heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey, perhaps the world's most famous heart... MORE

Interviewed last night on Russian TV, Russian finance minister Aleksandr Livshits denied that Russia is planning a monetary reform. (ORT, September 12) Rumors have been rife in the Russian media that, following Ukraine's successful introduction of its new currency, which knocked five noughts off Ukraine's... MORE

A Tbilisi meeting of the commanders-in-chief of CIS countries' border troops failed to continue today as scheduled. Instead, the meeting ended after its first day yesterday. Ukraine, Moldova, and Uzbekistan did not participate. Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkmenistan turned down the main documents submitted by the... MORE

According to the president of Russia's State arms trading company, Rosvooruzheniye, his company has already signed arms sales contracts this year worth some $8 billion, and expects that figure to rise to $10 billion by the year's end. (Kommersant-daily, September 7) Those figures presumably reflect... MORE

Arab diplomats used a press conference in Moscow on September 11 to denounce recent U.S. strikes on Iraq and to proclaim their solidarity with Russia on the issue. The Palestinian ambassador to Russia accused the West and some Russian media of trying "to drive a... MORE

Senior Armenian officials and the visiting deputy foreign minister of Iran, Mahmud Vaezi, discussed plans to expand bilateral trade and economic cooperation. The plans include construction of an Iran-Armenia gas pipeline and high-voltage electricity transmission line, Iranian investment in upgrading Armenia's rail and road network,... MORE

A Russian Foreign Ministry official expressed hope yesterday that a military and political breakthrough may be at hand in Tajikistan because "positive changes have occurred primarily in the attitude of Afghans, who until recently had protected the armed Tajik opposition." The Kabul government has stopped... MORE

In several speeches in recent days, president Aleksandr Lukashenko has announced his intention to conduct on his own terms the constitutional referendum on maximizing his powers, and to follow his own schedule. Lukashenko ordered local governments to conduct the referendum on November 7, the anniversary... MORE