In Moscow, Russia and the would-be republic of Abkhazia entered into a protocol on the repair and reopening of a key Caucasus railroad section which passes through Abkhazia. That section had been damaged during the 1992-1993 Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, in which Russian troops helped the Abkhaz.... MORE

Russia's defense minister General Pavel Grachev said in an interview on Russian TV that he would ask the Duma and the government to confer peacekeeping functions on Russia's troops in Moldova (the former 14th Army). Russia would in that case withdraw its last remaining two... MORE

. The Belarusian government reportedly hopes to receive the equivalent of $37.5 million in credit from the European Union before the end of this year. (16) The EU will make its decision by the end of November, in conjunction with an International Monetary Fund mission... MORE

Lithuania may appeal to international arbitration if Latvia continues preparations to unilaterally drill for oil in a disputed area of the offshore shelf, the Lithuanian parliament's foreign affairs commission chairman Kazys Bobelis told a news conference yesterday. The warning follows an exchange of notes last... MORE

The groundwork for common defense of the Baltic states will be laid at an upcoming meeting of the three countries' state secretaries for defense, Latvia's defense secretary Janis Davidovics announced. The meeting will discuss drafting of a joint Estonian-Latvian-Lithuanian national security and military doctrine, further... MORE

An energy expert warned Monday that fuel stocks at heating plants are running low, especially in the Central, Northwestern, and Far Eastern regions of the Russian Federation. The spokesman, Vladimir Gorodnitsky, reported that the Arkhangelsk and North Dvina plants have "virtually no fuel oil," while... MORE

This year Russia stopped government financing of grain purchases. Now it is having a tough time stocking federal food reserves to supply the army, Interior Ministry and big cities. The Agriculture Ministry reports that only 617,100 tons of a planned 8.6 million were purchased by... MORE

Moskovsky komsomolets chief editor Pavel Gusev has publicly apologized to defense minister Pavel Grachev for the campaign his paper has conducted against him over the past year. Appearing jointly with Grachev on Moscow TV, Gusev said that he regretted if MK's articles had offended the... MORE

When it meets in full session on October 25, the Duma will consider the legal protections afforded to candidates. Current Russian law gives immunity from prosecution to candidates, as well to sitting members of the Duma. A proposed amendment would strip immunity from non-incumbent office-seekers... MORE

Speaking on October 23, Central Electoral Commission chairman Nikolai Ryabov took issue with allegations that Boris Yeltsin violated the law when he spoke last week about the inadmissibility of a Communist takeover of parliament. The Communist Party is threatening to sue the president for this... MORE