The Russian command announced yesterday that its troops captured Goiskoe, where last month they had suffered a defeat with many casualties. This time the Russian losses were "not considerable," the command said. Also in southeastern Chechnya, five helicopter gunships attacked the district center Urus-Martan, killing... MORE

In the summit's most important political decision, the three presidents finalized measures to create a joint peacekeeping battalion, CentrAsBat, this year. The 500-strong unit is to be comprised of special units of the three countries and stationed in Kazakhstan's Chimkent region. Its financing will be... MORE

In the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek yesterday, Presidents Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, and Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan held a regular summit of the Central Asian Economic Union. The presidents approved measures to create a joint peacekeeping force (see below). They signed an... MORE

Tajik president Imomali Rahmonov agreed yesterday with Turkish president Suleyman Demirel in Ankara to return the remains of Enver Pasha to Turkey for solemn reburial there. Tajik authorities cooperated with Turkey to exhume the body, whose return is now tentatively scheduled for the August 4... MORE

Meeting in Yerevan May 2 and 3, defense ministers Pavel Grachev and Vazgen Sarkiziian signed 13 agreements and protocols on Russian-Armenian military cooperation. The significant documents cover planning and conduct of joint military exercises, personnel training, cooperation in air defense, the status of Russian military... MORE

Ukrainian foreign minister Hennady Udovenko said yesterday that the country aspires to full membership in the European Union and will make every effort to attain the "qualitatively new stage of national development" that will qualify Ukraine for admission to the EU. Udovenko was addressing a... MORE

Ukraine's autonomous republic yesterday marked "Constitution Day" as Crimean lawmakers continued work on a new draft constitution for the peninsula. Constitution Day was established to mark the constitution adopted by the Crimean parliament on May 6, 1992, which gave Crimea some of the attributes of... MORE

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) yesterday charged that "certain political forces in Estonia deliberately seek to aggravate relations with Russia" by channeling weapons to Russian criminal groups and "illegal armed formations," including Chechen, through Estonian intelligence and the "extremist organization" Kaitseliit. An official spokesman claimed... MORE

Russian Foreign Ministry officials said yesterday that the ministry is in the process of upgrading its CIS Affairs Department to a Main Department and elevating the latter's regional subdivisions to the status of Departments. Three such Departments have been created and are now being staffed... MORE

The White House yesterday said that it was concerned over remarks made May 5 by Yeltsin aide Alexander Korzhakov, but welcomed "the immediate repudiation of those remarks by President Yeltsin." Korzhakov had called for postponement of Russia's presidential election. White House spokesman Mike McCurry said... MORE