Latest Monitor Articles
MINSK ANNOUNCES DEBT DEAL WITH RUSSIA.
Belarusian prime minister Mikhail Chyhir yesterday told a news conference that Minsk and Moscow have agreed to settle their debts. Russia will erase a gas bill of $510 million from its books, while Belarus will write off hard currency assets worth $250 million held by... MORE
HOSTAGES TO BE RELEASED WITHIN A WEEK.
Russian deputy foreign minister Albert Chernyshev said yesterday that Moscow expected the release of seven Russian hostages in Afghanistan to occur "within a week." His statement followed the collapse of negotiations over the weekend to secure the return of the hostages, held since August 3... MORE
RUSSIA WITHOUT AIRCRAFT CARRIERS?
Deputy head of the Russian state committee for defense industries Gennady Voronin warned yesterday that Russia could enter the twenty-first century without a single aircraft carrier in service. At present, Russia has only one heavy aircraft carrier, the "Fleet Admiral Kuznetsov." Other such vessels have... MORE
DEADLINE FOR KOZYREV.
Chairman of the Russian Central Election commission, Nikolai Ryabov, announced January 3 that newly elected lawmakers currently holding posts incompatible with service in the Duma must choose one or the other before January 6. The news came amid reports that Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev, faced... MORE
IS KABUL SIDING WITH RUSSIA AGAINST THE TAJIK RESISTANCE?
Afghan troops loyal to the Kabul government detained December 25 a group of Tajik resistance fighters subordinate to field commander Nazim Karimov. They were held for one day after firing mortars and grenade launchers on a Russian border guard post from just inside Afghan territory.... MORE
U.S., JAPAN TO BUILD NUCLEAR WASTE TREATMENT PLANT.
A U.S.-Japanese venture will build a nuclear waste treatment plant in Vladivostok according to a 1993 agreement between Russia and Japan. A contract is expected to be signed in coming days between Babcock & Wilcox Co. of Barberton, Ohio, and the Japanese Tomen Corp. The... MORE
RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY ADRIFT AT CRUCIAL MOMENT.
Despite the establishment of a new presidential body December 26, Russia's foreign policy-making establishment remains rudderless. The new Foreign Policy Council, tasked with "enhancing the effectiveness of Russia's foreign policy," appears to symbolize only the latest administrative reshuffling of the foreign policy apparatus. A December... MORE
RUSSIA, IRAN WIDEN COOPERATION.
According to Iranian domestic media last week, Iran and Russia have agreed in principle to create joint-venture companies for prospecting, extracting, and processing oil. Russian deputy prime minister Oleg Davydov, meeting with Iranian oil minister Gholamreza Aghazadeh, was also reported to have reached a 10-year... MORE
RUSSIA MISSES ANOTHER CFE DEADLINE.
Russia has confirmed that it missed a New Year's deadline set by the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty for destroying tanks and other military hardware beyond the Ural mountains. Russia claimed it was unable to destroy the hardware due to lack of funds. It... MORE