Thenew presidium of the Crimean Supreme Council--including the firstever Crimean Tatar member--flew to Kiev July 12 to declare itswillingness to cooperate with the central Ukrainian government.Presidium chairman Yevhen Supruniuk said his talks with Ukrainianpresident Leonid Kuchma had been "friendly and warm"and "set an example" for... MORE

Apparently stung by Georgianpresident Eduard Shevardnadze's recent criticism of Russian involvementwith Abkhazia, the Russian government instructed its foreign ministryto clear all assistance to Abkhazia with Tbilisi, various Moscowpapers reported July 12. The following day, the Russian "peace-keeping"commander in Abkhazia told Russian television that he would... MORE

Ukrainiannuclear security minister Yuri Kostenko told Interfax-UkraineJuly 13 that the United States had failed to live up to its obligationsunder the January 1994 trilateral accord on the removal of nuclearweapons from Ukrainian territory. Despite its commitments, theUS has not supplied Kiev with any nuclear fuel... MORE

Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres told his visiting Ukrainiancounterpart Gennady Udovenko that Ukraine is a "special"country for Israel because more than 300,000 Israelis came fromthere, Interfax-Ukraine reported July 12. Peres added that Jerusalemwants "to develop relations with Ukraine at all levels." Yeltsin Presses Kuchma on... MORE

In a lettersent while he was in the hospital, Boris Yeltsin called on Ukrainianpresident Leonid Kuchma to observe the agreements the two menmade at their Sochi summit, Interfax reported July 12. Meanwhile,Russian Black Sea Fleet commander Admiral Eduard Baltin said thatthe Sevastopol city government was... MORE

Latvian border guardsarrested Vladimir Bogdanov, an ethnic Russian activist who livesin Latvia, for violations of the country's passport rules on hisreturn from the Moscow meeting of the Duma-sponsored Council ofCompatriots Abroad, Russian radio reported July 11. Latvian officialssaid that Bogdanov had failed to obtain a... MORE

BorisYeltsin has sent a letter of thanks to Lithuania's Selma Companyfor its work in constructing military housing in Russia's Kaliningradregion, BNS reported July 12. The Selma Company also has servedas an intermediary in Lithuania's purchasing of Russian weaponry. Belarus Prepares to Launch New Currency.

The National Bankof Belarus has worked out a plan to introduce a new currency asthe country's budget deficit comes under control and the economicsituation there stabilizes, FIA reported July 13. Kharkov City Urges People to Leave City.

Because of thefailure of the city's sewage facilities and the consequent threatof disease, the head of the Kharkov regional government urgedthe city's population to leave the city for several days to allowrepairs to take place, Interfax-Ukraine reported July 13. Heavyrains this week have overwhelmed the... MORE

Duringthe first six months of 1995, thieves broke into ammunition dumpsin Khabarovsk kray and stole weapons, Russian radio reported July12. In the most recent heist, the thieves took 53 Kalashnikovrifles, three machine guns, and a large amount of ammunition.On July 13, Izvestiya reported that Russian... MORE