The Armenian armed forces' chief of staff, General Mikhail Harutyunian, is reported to have just completed a visit to Greece at the invitation of his Greek counterpart. Harutyunian conferred with Greek military commanders, visited bases, and viewed equipment. Turkey's semiofficial Anatolia news agency commented that... MORE

Russian president Boris Yeltsin yesterday submitted the bilateral agreement signed in March 1995 conferring basing rights on Russian forces stationed in Armenia to the Duma for ratification. Yeltsin commented in an accompanying statement that the agreement legalizes Russia's military presence there, which is relevant "not... MORE

Russia and Egypt issued a declaration on July 16 urging all parties -- and especially Israel l- -to intensify efforts aimed at moving the Middle East peace process forward. The document also called for ongoing negotiations to be based upon the "land for peace" principle... MORE

Reacting to the July 16 assassination attempt against Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko, Ukraine's National Security Council chaired by President Leonid Kuchma decided yesterday to introduce in coming days "elements of a state of emergency" in the country. The Council concluded that the attempt on Lazarenko's... MORE

The office of Russia's Procurator General says it has found no evidence of the existence of paramilitary units in Moscow. (Interfax, July 17) During the recent presidential election campaign, President Yeltsin's aide Georgy Satarov and the popular newspaper Moskovsky komsomolets accused the Communist party of... MORE

Residents of Ryazan, close to Moscow, have taken to the streets and signed petitions in protest against the usurpation of their civil rights by the city council. They are angry because the Communist-dominated council has decided that in future it, and not the local population,... MORE

A report that Russia intended to impose quotas on the import of several food products was quickly squelched July 16 by Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and foreign trade minister Oleg Davydov. The original announcement, made by Russian deputy prime minister Aleksandr Zaveryukha, came during... MORE

Human rights campaigner and former Yeltsin ally Sergei Kovalev yesterday issued an open letter accusing Yeltsin of having secured his reelection by "grossly deceiving" the people of Russia in promising to end the war, only to "restart the savage war the day after the election... MORE

Russian soldiers aboard an APC shot and mutilated the bodies of three Chechen civilians in Katyr Yurt village (western Chechnya), bringing to 17 the number of civilians found to have been killed in this fashion in the last three days. In Grozny, Russian soldiers yesterday... MORE

At its tensely-awaited session yesterday, the Russian government's commission on Chechnya settlement resolved that military operations against Chechen "bandit formations" will continue while "the door remains open to negotiations" with Chechen commanders or civilian figures willing to cooperate. Talks with the opposition will continue on... MORE