In a Geneva speech June 29, Russian foreign minister AndreiKozyrev implicitly criticized French plans to resume nuclear testingby arguing that all countries must "strictly observe"the current moratoria on testing, Russian radio reported Kozyrevsaid that there was a growing consensus behind the ComprehensiveTest Ban Treaty now... MORE

TheRussian atomic energy ministry told Segodnya June 29 thatit was actively promoting the sale of its most advanced nuclearreactors to foreign governments. The ministry repeated its argumentthat such sales were absolutely necessary for Russia to earn morehard currency. Foreign Ministry Criticizes US Congress on Biological... MORE

Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigory Karasin told a pressbriefing June 29 that Moscow "rejects the insinuation"by the US House of Representatives that Russia is not living upto its commitments on destruction of biological weaponry, Russianradio reported. The House on June 13 linked future American aidto Russia... MORE

Arguing that thefact that the meeting was taking place was the best evidence ofprogress in the US-Russian relationship, US vice president AlGore tried to put the best face on things by talking about thelinkup of Russian and American spacemen and the planned signingof a deal... MORE

Becauseof the fighting in Chechnya, there was no increase in foreigninvestment in Russia during the first quarter of 1995, financeministry officials told Finansovye izvestiya June 27. Anotherbarrier to foreign investments is the activity of Russian bankswho fear competition, Russian finance minister Vladimir Panskovtold Interfax June... MORE

The Duma will approve Natalya Paramonova as directorof the central bank if she agrees to a budget-busting loan tothe agro-industrial sector, a key demand of the Agrarian Partywith which Chernomyrdin appeared to agree this week, Russian radiosaid June 29. In comments on Ostankino television June... MORE

Because theRussian government has not sent the funds promised in this year'sbudget, the Russian missile plant at Votkinsk in the Middle Volgaregion of Udmurtiya will close until the end of July, Segodnyareported June 28. This plant, one of Russia's largest andmost advanced, was inspected by... MORE

Boris Yeltsin has signed a newlaw increasing the minimum pension in Russia to 52,486 rublesa month, (about $11 at current rates of exchange), and indexingpensions in the future, Segodnya said June 29. But Russianofficials told Interfax that the country did not have the fundsto index... MORE

DespiteShamil Basayev's assertions this week that his Chechen raidersmoved into Budennovsk because they were unable to bribe theirway further north toward Moscow, Russian officials now claim thatthe entire raid had been carefully planned. Moskovskie novosti(no. 44) and Segodnya on June 29 reported claims byinterior ministry... MORE

Turkishauthorities really had offered political asylum to Chechen leaderDzhokhar Dudayev, as Yeltsin claimed at the Halifax G-7 meetings,but backed off when the deal became public, Moskovskie novosti(no. 44) reported. The Turkish government has consistentlymaintained that there was no such offer. Lebed Leads Presidential Poll.