Following talks with U.S. secretary of state Warren Christopher March 22, Communist party leader and presidential candidate Gennady Zyuganov told reporters that he was interested in maintaining "good, predictable and friendly relations with the U.S." Zyuganov declared that he favored continuing dialogue between the two... MORE

With talks on sensitive bilateral issues scheduled for today, Boris Yeltsin's first day in Oslo yesterday was devoted more to ceremony than to substance. But Yeltsin used appearances before the press both before his departure and upon his arrival in Norway to reiterate Moscow's opposition... MORE

Mikhail Gorbachev has denied reports that he intends to step aside in favor of the candidacy of Grigory Yavlinsky. The former Soviet president issued a statement Monday saying that the more democratic candidates, the better. (Russian Public Television, Interfax, March 25) Yeltsin in Norway: No... MORE

The Baltic states yesterday observed a day of remembrance to mark the March 25, 1949 mass deportations of Balts to Siberia and Arctic Russia. Solemn observances were held in churches and at the railway stations from which Balts were shipped to Russian concentration camps. (Interfax,... MORE

The action group that nominated ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky for president has collected the necessary 1 million signatures, but intends to play safe and collect 1.5 million signatures, which will be submitted to the Central Electoral Commission by April 5. (Russian Public Television, Interfax, March 25)... MORE

The Communist party is considering putting up a Communist candidate to run against incumbent Yuri Luzhkov in the election for mayor of Moscow that is to be held simultaneously with the presidential election June 16. (Itar-Tass, March 25) One Million Signatures Collected for Zhirinovsky.

In the wake of Taiwan's March 23 presidential election, a senior Russian diplomat yesterday reiterated that Moscow regards Taiwan as an inalienable part of China and believes the government in Beijing to be the only legitimate government in the country. He urged that tensions between... MORE

A Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Tokyo yesterday that Japan supports the "sovereignty and independence of CIS member countries" and is "highly concerned" over the March 15 Duma vote denouncing the USSR's disbandment. (Itar-Tass, March 25) Japan's foreign minister just returned from a Moscow... MORE

The commander of Russia's IFOR peacekeeping brigade, General Leonty Shevtsov, said March 23 that Moscow's participation in the NATO Partnership for Peace program is being impeded by a lack of funding. Shevtsov suggested that the Defense Ministry did not want to finance participation from the... MORE

An unnamed Russian diplomat yesterday attributed the release of 109 Serb prisoners by Bosnian Muslims to decisions taken by the Contact Group during its March 23 meeting in Moscow. Participants of the Contact Group meeting had warned that an aid conference on reconstructing Bosnia, scheduled... MORE