Russia's internal affairs minister Anatoly Kulikov said yesterday that President Boris Yeltsin's promised visit to Chechnya is being postponed for security reasons. On May Day Yeltsin announced that he would soon visit Chechnya; he repeated the promise May 7. In Chechnya yesterday, a Russian command... MORE

President Askar Akayev told an Academy of Sciences plenary meeting yesterday that economic weakness has impelled Kyrgyzstan to join March 29 the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan customs union and the same three countries' treaty on deeper integration. Akayev stressed that Kyrgyzstan urgently needs the removal of barriers to... MORE

Azerbaijan's national security authorities have handed over to the Russian authorities in the Dagestan republic a list of 96 individuals who have been banned from entering Azerbaijan. Most of them are ethnic Lezgin residents of Dagestan, including active members of the Lezgin organization Sadval which... MORE

Georgian foreign minister Irakly Menagarishvili told a Tbilisi briefing yesterday that he has met with U.S. officials in Washington and with UN secretary general Boutros Boutros-Ghali in New York in an effort to promote international involvement in settling the Abkhazia conflict. Menagarishvili said he explained... MORE

Aleksandr Lebed and Svyatoslav Fedorov, who have for four months been negotiating with Yavlinsky over the possibility of uniting in a "Third Force" alliance behind a single candidate, are miffed over Yavlinsky's flirtation with Yeltsin. They suspect they have been used to turn Yavlinsky into... MORE

Yeltsin and Yavlinsky are engaged in an elaborate courtship dance. Like all such rituals, it may come to nothing, but it is clear that mutual attraction is strong and both candidates are aware that they need each other. The two met for two hours on... MORE

Responding to Yeltsin's statement, Yavlinsky warned against "excessive hopes" that it would be possible to unite all the democratic hopefuls behind a single candidate. Yavlinsky said it would be hard to agree on a number of issues; he singled out the Chechen conflict, "the profound... MORE

Russian president Boris Yeltsin made a campaign visit to Moscow Oblast May 7. Visiting the small town of Narofominsk, he spoke positively about his May 5 meeting with presidential candidate Grigory Yavlinsky, and said he would probably hold a second meeting with Yavlinsky "to define... MORE

Russian president Boris Yeltsin will have the opportunity to don the mantle of Soviet and Russian martial glory tomorrow when he launches the Victory Day parade. According to a Moscow military official, the day's ceremonies will begin with a report by the parade's commander, Moscow... MORE

The commander of Russia's key Moscow Military District yesterday joined Yeltsin aide Aleksandr Korzhakov in calling for a postponement of Russia's upcoming presidential election. Col. General Leonty Kuznetsov told Interfax that the election was likely to lead to political and social instability, as well as... MORE