The unusual presence of U.S. CIA director John Deutch at the peacekeeping summit in Egypt reflected hopes among several of its leading participants that national intelligence assets might somehow be pooled into a kind of Terrorism Interpol, as one report put it, to enhance the... MORE

Russian president Boris Yeltsin's speech to the peacemakers summit in Egypt yesterday appeared designed to make several key points. First, in declaring Moscow's determination to root out international terrorism, Yeltsin made clear that Russia viewed the Chechen rebels as a terrorist force and that he... MORE

Alfons Noviks, 88, former head of Latvia's Stalin-era secret police, died yesterday in a Latvian prison. Noviks, a retired KGB general, was serving a life sentence for his role in the mass deportation and political repression of Latvians. (BNS, Western agencies, March 13) Yeltsin Aims... MORE

The Moscow City Prosecutor's Office has suspended its investigation into the September 13, 1995, grenade attack on the U.S. embassy. Authorities reportedly had no suspects in the attack, which caused only minor damage to the embassy and which may have been linked to earlier NATO... MORE

As expected, Russia's Foreign Ministry yesterday criticized a U.S. bill strengthening sanctions against Cuba after

Two months after Russian troops first arrived in Bosnia, Russia and NATO yesterday formalized the legal and financial framework for Moscow's participation in the multinational Bosnian peace implementation force (IFOR). The delay was reportedly the result of Russia's efforts to reduce NATO's control over its... MORE

1. Russian TV, "Vesti," & Interfax, March 12 2. NTV, "Geroi dnya," March 11 3. Interfax, March 11 4. Russian & Western agencies, March 12 5. Interfax, March 12 6. Interfax, March 12 7. Reuter, March 12 8. Reuter & Interfax, March 12 9. UPI... MORE

The U.S. State Department coordinator for relations with CIS countries, James Collins, accompanied by officials of the State, Defense, and Treasury Departments and the National Security Council, completed a visit to the five Central Asian countries. (Also see Monitor, March 11) In the last two... MORE

The International Monetary Fund envisages a sizable aid package to support the start of economic reforms in Azerbaijan, IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus announced yesterday in Baku. According to Azerbaijani officials, discussions focus on a $270 million enhanced structural adjustment loan under exceptionally favorable terms,... MORE

Russia's deputy minister for Fuel and Power Pyotr Nidzelski has proposed to Ukraine's counterpart agency a compromise in the dispute over transit fees for Russian oil exports via Ukraine. Nidzelski proposed a fee of $5 per ton per 100 kilometers of pipeline, instead of the... MORE