Foreign Minister Hennady Udovenko told the press yesterday that Ukraine "will not make concessions of any sort on its territorial integrity" in response to claims from Romania or any other country. Udovenko said that Ukraine's ambassador would be called home from Romania for consultations after... MORE

Five countries signed agreements yesterday to develop the Tumen River region into an economic zone that has the potential to rival other economic regions in the world. Senior officials from Russia, China, South Korea, North Korea, and Mongolia signed three agreements, negotiated over the past... MORE

Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev yesterday said president Boris Yeltsin remains opposed to NATO enlargement but is pleased with cooperation in the Balkan peace mission. Kozyrev told reporters that his instructions received the preceding day from Yeltsin personally "can go down as, 'Yes to the partnership... MORE

If Chechnya's "head" Doku Zavgayev is correct, Russian president Boris Yeltsin has consented to authorize Chechnya to "conduct external relations," maintain its own missions "in any country of the world," engage in direct trade with countries within and outside the CIS, and allow local conscripts... MORE

Departing somewhat from the extreme caution it has shown toward Moscow, the OSCE Mission in Grozny is taking exception to some aspects of that conduct in its year-end report. The Mission now considers the holding of republican elections in Chechnya as premature, and their organization... MORE

First Deputy Premier Anatoly Chubais says the adoption of the 1996 federal budget will make it possible "at last" to establish "elementary order" in the country. (10) Chubais described the Duma's decision as the fruit of the government's economic achievements in 1995, "which we entered... MORE

After rejecting the government's original budget in October, the Duma on December 6 adopted the 1996 federal budget in its second and third readings simultaneously. (9) This represents a major victory for the government, allowing it to maintain its present policies of (relative) financial stringency... MORE

The parliament of the Baltic state of Latvia rejected the proposed new government of Prime Minister-designate Ziedonis Chevers today, pushing the country deeper into political crisis. Chevers' proposed government was the second that has failed to get parliament backing since Latvia held elections at the... MORE

President Yeltsin yesterday signed into law the bill on the formation of the Federation Council (the upper house of the Russian parliament, or Senate) that the lower house (the Duma) had adopted the previous day. (8) His action settled, at least for the time being,... MORE

Hope faded today for almost 100 people aboard a Russian plane which crashed in the country's Far East. The Tupolev, the workhorse of most airlines in the former Soviet Union, was en route from Sakhalin Island to Khabarovsk when it disappeared from radar screens and... MORE