South Korean Defense Minister Cho Sung-tae paid a quiet visit to Moscow last week, during which he held talks with his Russian counterpart, Defense Minister Igor Sergeev, and other Russian defense officials. The trip was part of a two-nation tour for Cho, who continued on... MORE

Visiting Uzbekistan on May 18-19, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an offer that the Central Asians in general and Uzbekistan in particular are still in a position to refuse. Putin sketched the contours of regional security arrangements under overall Russian leadership, at the same time... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin returned empty handed from his May 19 visit to Turkmenistan. Putin failed to arm-twist his counterpart, President Saparmurat Niazov, into signing an extortionate sale-purchase deal on natural gas. Nor did Putin make any headway in convincing Turkmenistan that it needs Russian... MORE

National Security Council Adviser Sandy Berger conducted two days of talks in Moscow last week, during which he met briefly with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and with the country's newly confirmed prime minister, Mikhail Kasyanov. Berger also held more intensive consultations with his Russian... MORE

The war in Chechnya is threatening to spill over into the neighboring republic of Ingushetia. On May 11, a column of Russian internal troops were attacked in Ingushetia's Suzhensk region. Over the weekend a Russian helicopter gunship bombed a wooded area in Suzhensk. Workers from... MORE

The Federal Security Service (FSB) has detailed alleged financial support for international terrorists fighting in Chechnya. According to the FSB, one clandestine source for the financing of international mercenaries fighting in Chechnya is the international Islamic charitable organization Al-Haramein, which gives financial support to Islamic... MORE

President Vladimir Putin conducted a meeting of his newly formed cabinet of ministers today, during which he said that the formation of his government was "practically finished" and that this was a "good sign" for society (Russian agencies, May 22). On May 20--in what appeared... MORE

Meeting on May 15-16 in Ashgabat, Turkmen President Saparmurat Niazov and Pakistan's new chief of executive power, General Parvez Musharraf, revived a dormant project for the export of Turkmen gas. Much discussed during the mid-1990s, the original project envisaged construction of a 1,500 kilometer-long pipeline... MORE

The post-Yeltsin era love-fest between Russia and Britain continued this week as both Foreign Minister Robin Cook and Princess Anne traveled to Moscow to attend an inauguration ceremony for the newly constructed British embassy building. The visit also provided the princess, who is the only... MORE

President Vladimir Putin named the bulk of his new cabinet yesterday after a last-minute meeting with Mikhail Kasyanov, who the State Duma had approved as prime minister the previous day. A vast majority of the previous cabinet members retained their posts, including the "power ministers"... MORE