Despite legislation that continues to block allbut humanitarian aid from the US to Azerbaijan, Washington has grantedmost-favored-nation trade status to Baku, Itar-Tass reported May 23. EnergySecretary Hazel O'Leary made the announcement during her visit to theAzerbaijani capital for an oil meeting this week. Inter-Tajik Talks... MORE

The fourth round of talksbetween the Tajik government and the Tajik opposition continued in Alma-AtaMay 24, but the two sides remained far apart, Interfax reported. Thegovernment side wants to retain all of the existing power structures; theopposition wants an interim government formed to conduct new... MORE

The Stalin Society in Georgia is seeking to locate allstatues of the former Soviet dictator still extant in the former Soviet republics,Podmoskovskie izvestiya reported May 23. "Every Stalin statue must be foundand erected at an appropriate site," the society's chairman Grigol Oniani said.He did not... MORE

Russianforces attacked throughout southern Chechnya May 23, withChechen forces counterattacking in at least nine places, Moscowtelevision said. The intensified fighting cast doubts thattalks between the Russians and the Chechens will in fact takeplace later this week. On May 23, OSCE officials said thatChechen president Dzhokhar... MORE

Boris Yeltsin's vetoof the Duma-passed bill setting the rules for the upcomingparliamentary elections may delay that vote, even thoughpresidential aide Georgy Satarov told Moscow television May 23that such a delay was not likely. In his veto message, Yeltsinsaid that he wanted 300 deputies to be... MORE

Lt. Gen. Aleksandr Lebed tolda Duma committee May 23 that disbanding the 14th Russian Armyin Moldova's Transdniestr region could lead to a "secondChechnya," Moscow radio reported. Lebed said that a hastywithdrawal of the forces he commands would allow terroristsfrom across the former Soviet Union to... MORE

The German foreign and defenseministers on May 23 warned Moscow against violating theConventional Forces in Europe agreement. In comments widelyquoted in Europe, foreign minister Klaus Kinkel said Moscowmust not take "one-sided measures" in this sensitive securityarea. Defense minister Volker Ruehe was more explicit: he saidthat... MORE

BorisYeltsin is prepared to visit Iran but has not decided when,presidential foreign affairs aide Dmitry Ryurikov toldItar-Tass May 23. Presidential press secretary Sergei Medvedevspecifically rejected Tehran's suggestion that the visit wouldoccur this year. In another step aimed at shoring up Russianinfluence in the Middle East,... MORE

The failureof democratic political groups to unite may allow PrimeMinister Chernomyrdin's "Russia is Our Home" bloc to win theparliamentary elections, political observer Aleksei Kiva wrotein the May 23 Kommersant-daily. More to the point, thedemocrats may themselves lose many of the seats they now holdbecause of... MORE

The rightist RussianOfficers Union now has organizations in 78 major military unitsthroughout the country, the chairman of its Murmansk chaptertold Murmansky vestnik April 5. Viktor Kislitsyn said that thegroup had far more supporters than it appeared: many officersagreed with its anti-Semitic and anti-democratic platform butwere... MORE