Romanian president Ion Eliescu said in Tbilisi March 26 that Eastern European hopes of joining NATO are not aimed at any other country, but constitute a "guarantee of stability." He also criticized the Russian Duma's March 15 resolution invalidating the dissolution of the USSR, a... MORE

If no candidate emerges with more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round of the presidential election on June 16, the two candidates with the most votes will fight a run-off on July 7 or 14, according to officials at Russia's Central... MORE

Russia has offered Beijing a $2 billion low-interest loan for construction of a nuclear power plant in the Liaoning province of northeastern China, a local Chinese official reports. Russia would supply two 1,000-megawatt pressurized water reactors and other equipment. Construction would begin in 1998, with... MORE

The Russian government is unlikely to begin to sell Eurobonds before the presidential election in June, Finansovye izvestiya reported March 26. The government has announced plans to open the market for state bonds to foreign investors with a Eurobond issue totaling $300-500 million but, the... MORE

Yesterday's Monitor reported that the board of governors of the International Monetary Fund was meeting to discuss payment of the first tranche of its new $10.2 billion loan to Russia. In fact, the IMF met to give official approval to the loan as a whole,... MORE

Tajik government troops yesterday went on the offensive in Tavildara district, breaking the informal cease-fire which both sides had observed since February. Claiming that the troops were reacting to "provocative rebel shooting," the presidential office in Dushanbe said that the Defense Ministry's chief of staff,... MORE

Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze told the country by

Ukrainian

Russian president Boris Yeltsin yesterday confirmed that he will pay an official visit to Ukraine April 4 and 5 in order to sign a framework interstate treaty ("of friendship and cooperation") with his Ukrainian counterpart Leonid Kuchma. But Yeltsin added that he will ask "just... MORE

The Ukrainian parliament yesterday postponed debate on the Crimean constitution until April 2. (Interfax, March 26) This means that the constitution will not be approved before the March 31 deadline set by the Crimean parliament. Earlier, Crimean leaders threatened that, if approval was not granted... MORE