Moscow expressed strong regret last week that India's objections had blocked approval of a draft comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty hammered out after more than two years of talks in Geneva. The head of Russia's delegation to the Geneva talks, Georgy Berdennikov, declared on August... MORE

In what some observers are interpreting at least in part as a message to Beijing, Japanese defense officials indicated on August 23 that Tokyo hopes to send several military pilots to Russia to train on advanced Russian Su-27 jet fighters. Japanese pilots would reportedly like... MORE

Poland's lower house of parliament issued an appeal to world opinion and the Council of Europe on August 23 to "restrain the government of the Russian Federation from using force and continuing the war in Chechnya." The day before, a leading Polish daily had suggested... MORE

Crimean Supreme Soviet chairman Yevhen Suprunyuk reemerged today after having been unaccounted for the preceding 36 hours, and said that he had escaped from as yet unidentified kidnappers. The authorities has launched a search and a criminal case after Suprunyuk's disappearance August 24. Suprunyuk has... MORE

The parliaments of Estonia and Latvia yesterday simultaneously ratified the agreement on maritime borders between the two countries, signed by Prime Ministers Tiit Vahi and Andris Skele last month. Yesterday's parliamentary vote to ratify was overwhelming in Tallinn and unanimous in Riga. The agreement divides... MORE

Russia's first deputy foreign minister Boris Pastukhov and deputy foreign minister Viktor Posuvalyuk conferred on August 21 and 22 in Moscow with the charge d'affaires of Iran and the ambassador of Pakistan, asking both countries to "exert a restraining influence" on Tajik insurgents using sanctuaries... MORE

Russian president Boris Yeltsin yesterday appointed Aman Tuleev to the post of minister for cooperation with the CIS countries. Currently chairman of the legislative assembly of Kemerovo oblast in Siberia (see Russian Federation section in today's Monitor), Tuleev is a Communist with ties to splinter... MORE

The Latvian parliament yesterday adopted a Declaration on the Occupation of Latvia, restating for the record the fact that Latvia was occupied in 1940 by the USSR. The document expresses concern over the fact that "the Russian Federation has not recognized the occupation of Latvia... MORE

The new cabinet met for the first time yesterday to consider the 1997 federal budget, which law requires to be presented to the Duma by the end of this month. After seven hours of debate, the draft was sent back to the Finance Ministry to... MORE

Yeltsin yesterday appointed ministers to the seven remaining vacancies in his cabinet. Russian television screened footage of Yeltsin meeting with the new appointees in the Kremlin; the president smiled and moved less woodenly than he did at his inauguration two weeks ago. The new ministers... MORE