Parties in Latvia's governing coalition yesterday rejected a cabinet proposal to urgently enact a law on military conscription. They objected to conscription in principle and also to the absence of exemptions for pacifists. Latvia is desperately short of soldiers under the present, voluntary enrollment system.... MORE

President Imomali Rahmonov of Tajikistan yesterday hailed the formation of the Russia-Belarus community, SSR (see "The Western Region" section below), but asked for more. He said he believes most ex-Soviet countries "are ripe for creating a Union of sovereign republics as a more efficient community... MORE

Discussions with an Iraqi presidential adviser were held in Moscow last week on the subject of Baghdad's implementation of the disarmament aspects of UN Security Council Resolution No. 687, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced yesterday. The Russian side reportedly praised Iraq's intentions to comply with... MORE

The U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Robert Hunter yesterday in Bishkek reviewed with President Askar Akayev plans for Kyrgyzstan's participation in the NATO Partnership for Peace program. Akayev said that his country was interested in both military and political aspects of the program. Kyrgyzstan's cooperation plan... MORE

Bulgaria's foreign minister is scheduled to arrive in Athens tomorrow to begin a second round of talks on a trans-Balkan pipeline that will bring Russian crude oil to Western markets via the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Burgas and the northern Greek city of Alexandroupolis.... MORE

Japan's giant Itochu Corporation has bought part of the Pennzoil company's stake in the "deal of the century" to develop Azerbaijan's offshore oilfields Azeri, Chirag, and Guneshli, it was officially announced in Baku and Houston yesterday. Last month, Itochu bought the McDermott company's stake in... MORE

Foreign ministers Klaus Kinkel of Germany and Malcolm Rifkind of Britain have decided to pay a joint visit to Kiev next month to underscore support for Ukraine's independence and economic reforms, officials said yesterday. The unusual, high-profile event comes against the background of Russian political... MORE

Weeks before a nuclear safety summit in Moscow, the environmental group Greenpeace has warned that the remaining 15 RBMK Chernobyl-type reactors in the CIS and Eastern Europe are unsafe and ought to be shut down. The group says that projects aimed at upgrading these reactors... MORE

An annual report published by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released April 1 identified Russian debts of $220 million to American companies and high Russian import duties as the greatest impediments to increased bilateral trade. The report also pointed to problems in standardization,... MORE

The Central Election Commission is expected to register Boris Yeltsin April 3 as an official candidate in the Russian presidential election. (Interfax, April 2) Russian Central Bank Lowers Mandatory Reserves.