Russian and Ukrainian prime ministers Viktor Chernomyrdin and Yevhen Marchuk yesterday chaired in Moscow the first session of the two countries'

Three Central Asian presidents yesterday sent separate messages to Boris Yeltsin concerning the Russian Duma resolutions. Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev urged "adequate measures" to address the concerns of CIS countries and asked Yeltsin to inform CIS leaders about the measures taken. In words similar to... MORE

President Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan told a news conference yesterday that the Russian Duma resolutions were unenforceable as far as Turkmenistan was concerned, since his country had irreversibly chosen independence in the October 27, 1991 referendum. Turkmenistan's internationally recognized independence is not subject to revision... MORE

President Leonid Kuchma yesterday cabled Boris Yeltsin to describe the Duma action as "a serious threat to relations among CIS countries in general and to Russian-Ukrainian relations in particular." Kuchma assured Yeltsin of "full support in his determined effort to uphold Russian statehood and continue... MORE

Estonian foreign minister Siim Kallas yesterday told a news conference that the Russian Duma resolutions evidenced "an intention to recreate the USSR, which would pose a threat to the entire world. The world should be concerned, not just us." Kallas also discerned a positive side... MORE

Russian and U.S. officials unveiled near Moscow March 17 a prototype Tu-144 airliner that both sides hope can be developed into a rival of the Franco-British Concorde. The Tu-144 made its maiden flight in December 1968, days before the Franco-British plane. Seventeen were built, but... MORE

During talks in Moscow March 18, the European Union's Foreign Affairs Commissioner, Hans Van den Broek, met with Russian deputy prime ministers Oleg Davydov and Vladimir Kadannikov. The talks resulted in an agreement to provide Russia with a 900 million ECU grant under the TACIS... MORE

NATO Secretary General Javier Solana arrived in Moscow last night to launch the alliance's latest attempt to ease Russian opposition to NATO enlargement. In remarks prior to his departure, Solana indicated that he would continue Brussel's strategy of balancing NATO expansion plans with the offer... MORE

Even though the Communists last week did just what they had said they would do if elected, their handling of the event has left them with egg all over their faces. The situation is of their own making, but there is no doubt that Yeltsin... MORE

A Duma press spokesman grudgingly acknowledged that the Duma was likely to comply with the request. Communist party leader Gennady Zyuganov tried to play down the event, telling a press conference March 19 that Yeltsin's reaction was "hysterical" and that the Communist party was wedded... MORE