At the Georgian parliament's session last week, the chamber's chairman Zurab Zhvania and representatives of the parliamentary factions said that the September 1995 treaty granting Russia military basing rights in Georgia can be ratified only after Georgian sovereignty in Abkhazia is reestablished. They warned that... MORE

According to the heads of the Ukrainian State Committee for Oil and Gas Industries and the Druzhba pipeline system, Russia suspended transport of crude oil to Central Europe through Ukraine January 1. Moscow's decision came without warning in the midst of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations on transit... MORE

Lithuanian prime minister Adolfas Slezevicius withdrew his savings from LAIB bank only days before it was declared insolvent and the National Bank froze its accounts. Addressing the country by radio yesterday, Slezevicius defended his personal financial dealings and said he had no intention of resigning... MORE

Seoul will offer Russia approximately $1 million in technical aid to prevent pollution in the Sea of Japan, Russian television reported. (15) The offer follows on the heels of the announcement that the U.S. and Japan will jointly build a nuclear waste treatment facility in... MORE

Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said the U.S. has failed to block Russia from rebuilding Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, Tehran radio reported January 2. Rafsanjani said research on alternative energy sources, including nuclear, was going forward in Iran. A top Russian trade official... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin yesterday appointed Lt. General Vyacheslav Tikhomirov commander-in-chief of Russia's combined forces in Chechnya. Tikhomirov, 50, was until yesterday deputy commander of the North Caucasus military district. He fought in Chechnya last year. Tikhomirov replaces Lt. General Anatoly Shkirko, promoted yesterday to deputy... MORE

The Communist party does not intend to pick its presidential candidate at its Central Committee meeting January 10-11, announced Gennady Seleznev. (10) Instead, the party will concentrate on deciding with which parties and blocs to cooperate in selecting a single joint candidate to represent the... MORE

The Ukrainian national currency is unlikely to debut in 1996, Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma's new chief aide Volodymyr Kuznetsov said yesterday. The hryvnia will not be launched due to the country's lack of financial and economic stability, he said. Kuznetsov approved Kuchma's decision last summer... MORE

The Ukrainian government confirmed yesterday that Ukraine would keep its 550-man peacekeeping unit in Bosnia. The government reconfirmed a December 30 Foreign Ministry statement to the same effect. Both announcements discounted speculation that Ukraine would recall the unit due to lack of financing. Ukrainian troops... MORE

The four electoral blocs that cleared the 5 percent barrier to enter the new Duma are discussing candidates for leading Duma posts. (7) To date, only Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party has announced a candidate for Duma Speaker: Vladimir Gusev. A former Communist party boss... MORE