Germany's Mercedes-Benz company and the Uzbek state concern Uzavtosanoat are planning a second joint venture in the Central Asian country. The project, to be initially capitalized at more than $50 million, envisages production of light-duty trucks (capacity: three tons) at Uzbek assembly plants. Mercedes-Benz already... MORE

. President Boris Yeltsin yesterday issued a decree transforming the federal civilian administration in Chechnya into a representation of the federal government in the republic, and appointed Nikolai Fedosov as federal representative with the rank of deputy prime minister. The move seeks to convey the... MORE

In an interview with a Moscow weekly, Kyrgyz foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva says that her government is seeking "reliable guarantees of our national security" other than the CIS collective security treaty to which Kyrgyzstan is a signatory. With apparent reference to the Partnership for Peace... MORE

The deputy head of the Russian state arms trading company, Rosvooruzheniye, said yesterday that the value of military and technical cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi this year would total $3.5 billion, more than twice last year's amount. Stanislav Filin said that five large-scale contracts... MORE

Russia and the European Union have decided to hold trade talks in the next few days following Moscow's threat to introduce quotas on textiles from the EU if that body does not raise its own annual quota on imports of Russian textiles. Russian Minister of... MORE

Speculation continues about the future of Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, back in Moscow for talks with the IMF after a two-week vacation. The latest rumor is that in March, Chernomyrdin will be appointed head of YeltsinÕs campaign team. This will require him to step down... MORE

German Chancellor Helmut Kohl concluded his visit to Moscow yesterday in much the same way as he had begun it: with kind words for Russian president Boris Yeltsin that were interpreted in Russia and in Germany -- not in all cases with equanimity -- as... MORE

IMF director Michel Camdessus arrived in Moscow last night and will meet today with top Russian officials for negotiations on a three-year extended fund facility. There are rumors that, instead of the $9 billion Russia originally requested, the government now wants as much as $12... MORE

A discussion between the veteran legal journalist Yuri Feofanov and the Communist lawyer Yuri Ivanov casts light on the plans of the RussiaÕs Communists if, as they confidently expect, they come to power following JuneÕs presidential elections. Yuri Ivanov is a member of the Duma,... MORE

1. Interfax, NTV, western agencies, February 19 2. Itar-Tass, Russian TV, February 19 3. Reuter, UPI, & Interfax, February 19 4. Russian Public Television, February 19 5. UPI & Interfax, February 19 6. Interfax & UPI, February 19 7. Reuter, February 18 8. Reuter, February... MORE