Warning that the failure of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe to denounce Moscow's actions in Chechnya would be that body's "moral downfall," Lithuanian parliamentarian Algirdas Endriukaitis called on the OSCE mission there to catalogue all crimes against humanity committed by the Russian... MORE

The April 21 Kommersant-Daily sharply criticized Estonian minister without portfolio Endel Lippmaa for suggesting that Estonia should not fulfill all the conditions of its agreement with Moscow on troop withdrawal. The paper contrasted Lippmaa's remarks with those of new Estonian Premier Tiit Vahi who told... MORE

Russian scientists have appealed to the Latvian authorities not to blow up part of the Skrunda radar site on May 5, Itar-Tass reported May 1. The scientists said that the radar could be used to track asteroids that might threaten planet earth. A more likely... MORE

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma will visit Rome this week to press the Italians to help Kiev into the Council of Europe and other European institutions, the Ukrainian foreign ministry announced May 1. During his four-day stay, Kuchma will seek Italian assistance to close down the... MORE

Armenian Prime Minister Grant Bagratyan signed an agreement with Syria on joint development of energy resources at the end of a three-day visit to Damascus and another with Lebanon immediately thereafter, the Armenian news service reported May 2. While no details were given, the agreement... MORE

A Lithuanian official serving with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe was killed in the Georgian capital May 1 when his jeep accidentally collided with a tank, the BBC reported. Two of the other passengers in the jeep were hospitalized. The tank was... MORE

Uzbekistan was the only non-Baltic former Soviet Republic where May 1 was a normal working day, Itar-Tass reported. Tashkent has not celebrated any Soviet-era holidays since 1991. Elsewhere in Central Asia, however, there were small demonstrations in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Have You Heard a Good... MORE

The "Forward, Russia!" movement has announced a countrywide competition for the best contemporary political anecdote, Kuranty reported April 21. A possible entry was given by Moscow's leading pollster, Yuri Levada, in a Trud interview the same day. According to Levada, whenever he is asked when... MORE

Saying that Germany still hoped to be friends with a democratic Russia, Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel told Welt am Sonntag April 30 that Bonn was "uncertain" about the direction Russia is taking now. Defense Minister Volker Ruehe was more explicit. He rejected any Russian veto... MORE

In aTime interview this week, President Yeltsin continued to oppose NATO expansion. "We do not think the real problems of European Security can be resolved by expanding NATO to the east," he said. Yeltsin also defended his use of troops in Chechnya, comparing his decision... MORE