Officials of the Azerbaijani presidential administration told Interfax August 31 that the August 28 Turkic summit in Bishkek had removed all doubts concerning the usefulness of such meetings, and had demonstrated the Turkic countries' interest in closer ties. Although a part of the Transcaucasus region,... MORE

On her second visit to Georgia in the space of one month, Turkish prime minister Tansu Ciller conferred with Georgian leader Eduard Shevardnadze in Tbilisi August 31 on the transportation of Azerbaijani early oil to the West via Georgia and Turkey. The initial amounts will... MORE

Ukrainian presidential aides told Interfax-Ukraine August 31 that the package of agreements with Russia on dividing the Black Sea Fleet and on the status of its future Russian on Ukrainian territory must also include an agreement on Russian compensation to Ukraine for the use of... MORE

Gennadi Bykov and Nikolai Kanakh, the leaders of the MInsk subway strike, were released August 31 after 14 days of detention, Interfax reported. During their incarceration the strike was broken by the government. The leaders' arrest had prompted international intercession on their behalf. (For an... MORE

Georgian investigators announced August 31 the discovery of a weapons cache in the parliamentary office of opposition deputy Jaba Ioseliani, leader of the Mkhedrioni paramilitary organization, local media reported. However, Ioseliani has still not been formally implicated in the assassination attempt. Ten suspects had been... MORE

The Baltic and Nordic Foreign Ministers agreed at a joint meeting in Kolding (Denmark) August 31 that the Baltic states should be given first consideration for admission to the West European Union at WEU's upcoming ministerial conference; and that they should be accorded equal opportunities... MORE

An envoy of Tatar president Mintimer Shaymiyev, in Pakistan for negotiations with the Afghan Taliban opposition on the release of the Russian crew of the Tatarstan-registered airliner, announced August 31 that the Taliban are ready to negotiate "in principle." Talks are scheduled to continue September... MORE

The third round of Russia-Japan negotiations on fishing rights in the Sea of Japan ended August 31 in Tokyo without results, Western agencies reported. The sides agreed to hold a fourth round but failed to set a date. Russia claims that Japanese fishermen poach in... MORE

Over 10,000 American tourists refrained from visiting St. Petersburg in recent weeks, after the U.S. consulate in the city warned that it had information about possible terrorist attacks against Americans. St. Petersburg mayor Anatoly Sobchak told Russia's Radio on August 31 that this was "a... MORE

In a special statement carried by Russian media August 30 and 31, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Aleksii II expressed concern over the plans of the newly-created Union of Russia's Muslims to nominate candidates for the Duma. Aleksii noted that the Russian Orthodox Church... MORE