Moscow's relations with the international community continued to be dominated over the American holiday weekend by the escalating conflict in the Caucasus. Russia's crackdown in Chechnya was the cause of an angry exchange between Moscow and Prague and a major point of discussion during visits... MORE

Azerbaijan and Armenia launched, each, a proposal for a regional security pact during the Istanbul summit. Both proposals are supposed to be fleshed out in the course of negotiations among all interested parties. The Azerbaijani-proposed "Pact for Security and Cooperation in the South Caucasus" stresses... MORE

Probably reflecting Armenia's unsettled internal situation, some of Kocharian's and Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian's summit-related remarks seemed written by different hands with different agendas. The remarks on Armenian-Turkish relations, for example, included elements of both the olive branch and the genocide accusations. A landmark meeting... MORE

American-driven peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan came to a grinding halt in Istanbul at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit. As it turned out, the October 27 assassination of key Armenian leaders and the ensuing power struggle in Yerevan did... MORE

Russia took an important step forward in July 1998 when, in accordance with undertakings made when Russia joined the Council of Europe, responsibility for the prison service was transferred from the semi-militarized Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Justice Ministry. Human rights activists complain, however,... MORE

Yesterday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the Russian government of a grave breach of humanitarian law in Chechnya (https://www.hrw.org). International humanitarian law, also known as "the laws of war," forbids attacks on civilians and civilian objects, such as hospitals, and requires that... MORE

As federal forces tighten their grip on the Chechen capital of Djohar, federal authorities yesterday warned civilians to leave the city (Russian sources, November 23). Russia's information blockade means that no reliable information is available about life within the blockade, but some 5,000-6,000 militants are... MORE

Continuing his courtship of the military leadership and his campaigning as a defense hawk, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin yesterday called for restoring Russia to a "fitting place among the leading naval powers in the world." Putin's proclamation followed a meeting of the Russian Security... MORE

Russian President Boris Yeltsin moved forward earlier this week with efforts to win parliamentary ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The Kremlin announced that Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Defense Minister Igor Sergeev and Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeny Adamov had been named by Yeltsin... MORE

Ukraine's numerous political groups and oligarchs who assisted with President Leonid Kuchma's re-election on November 14 now expect to be rewarded with posts in the new government. The previous government--according to the constitution of 1996--is dissolved on the election of a new president. This, however,... MORE