Latest Monitor Articles

RUSSIAN-GERMAN AGREEMENT.

Russia and Germany have signed a military-technical cooperation agreement that calls for creation of a joint intergovernmental commission and a wide array of cooperative activities, a Russian government official reported June 14. He provided no details regarding the contents of the agreement. (Interfax, June 14)... MORE

TOKYO: DOWNGRADING THE RUSSIAN THREAT.

Japanese defense authorities have downgraded the Russian military threat. In an annual defense report they described the activities of Russian forces in the Far East as "unpredictable." The report had previously characterized Russian forces as a " tension-causing factor" and then, in 1992, as a... MORE

RUSSIANS FIRE ON JAPANESE BOATS.

Russian coastal border units fired warning shorts at some 20 Japanese boats headed to fish the waters off the disputed Kuril Islands, the border forces command announced June 15. The vessels reportedly turned around and left the area. (Reuter, June 15) Earlier this month bilateral... MORE

GEORGIA FREES BREAD PRICES.

The Georgian government has lifted price controls on bread as of June 15, describing the measure as a painful but overdue step toward market reforms. The price liberalization coincides with the virtual cessation of Western humanitarian deliveries of grain and flour, which covered Georgia's bread... MORE

UZBEKISTAN GETS ANOTHER JAPANESE CREDIT.

Japan's governmental Fund for Foreign Economic Cooperation has extended to Uzbekistan a concessionary $56 million credit at 2.7 percent annual interest, repayable in 30 years with a 10-year grace period, to build a modern rolling stock repair plant. The project envisages expansion and upgrading of... MORE

JAMESTOWN DELEGATION IN THE HEADLINES.

Several Moscow dailies, including Nezavisimaya gazeta, gave front-page coverage over the weekend to a delegation from the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation that was in Moscow to observe the election. The delegation was led by former secretary of state Alexander Haig and former CIA director James Woolsey,... MORE

BALTS CONCERNED OVER CFE CHANGES…

Meeting in Vilnius yesterday, the prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania issued a joint statement of concern regarding a possible increase in Russian force deployments near the Baltic states, following the Clinton administration's recent concessions to Russia on amending the Conventional Forces in Europe... MORE

…COMMEMORATE MASS DEPORTATIONS.

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania observed June 14 a day of national mourning, commemorating 55 years since the wave of mass deportations of Balts to Siberia that began June 14, 1941. More than 100,000 native people were deported from each of the three countries, many of... MORE

BELARUS OFFICIAL FIRED UPON BY POLICEMAN.

Belarus parliamentary deputy and head of the Minsk-based CIS Economic Court, Viktor Hanchar, told a news conference over the weekend that a policeman in downtown Minsk fired his Kalashnikov submachine gun at Hanchar's personal car, allegedly for speeding. Hanchar, who was at the wheel, escaped... MORE

LUZHKOV REELECTED BY LANDSLIDE.

Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, a Yeltsin supporter, won a second term of office with 89 percent of the vote, compared to 5 percent received by his Communist-supported rival. (Itar-Tass, June 17) The Military Vote.