Reports that the United States may be easing its opposition to independence for Kosovo appeared to be behind a warning yesterday that Russia could withdraw its military contingent from the peacekeeping contingent in Kosovo. The warning, attributed to unnamed Russian diplomatic sources, suggested that Moscow... MORE

On October 1, Nurlan Balgimbaev resigned as prime minister of Kazakhstan. Under the constitution, the prime minister's resignation entails automatically the resignation of the entire cabinet of ministers. On the same day, President Nursultan Nazarbaev tasked Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokaev--who holds the rank of a... MORE

According to the CIS Collective Security Council's General Secretary, Vladimir Zemsky, the presidents of several member countries have signed a "decision" on collective military assistance to Kyrgyzstan in the framework of the CIS Collective Security Treaty. This is the first time in the history of... MORE

Unity, the new political bloc led by Sergei Shoigu, Russia's minister for emergency situations, appears to have opted for a populist, anti-Moscow strategy as a way of widening its electoral base and challenging Fatherland-All Russia, the bloc led by Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and former... MORE

The United States appears to be moving, if anything, even more carefully with regard to Chechnya than have Washington's European allies. The Clinton administration is reportedly concerned that a further escalation of the conflict between Russia and Chechnya could have a number of dire consequences.... MORE

Although they have been careful not to aim any direct criticism at Moscow, Western capitals have begun in recent days to increase their pressure on Russian leaders to exercise restraint in Chechnya. The growing concern in the West stands in marked contrast to the general... MORE

On October 1, Russian troops crossed the administrative border with Chechnya and penetrated ten kilometers into the republic's territory. The same day, a battle broke out between Russian and Chechen units near the village of Rubezhnoe, located ten kilometers from the border. The battle, which... MORE

On September 27, Estonian and Latvian delegations handed their countries' respective NATO Membership Action Plans (MAPs) to top officials of the alliance at its Brussels headquarters. On September 29, Lithuania followed suit. Mandated by the NATO's Washington summit conference in April of this year, the... MORE

The Russian Air Force carried out more than twenty attacks on targets in Chechnya yesterday and today. Russian military sources reported that positions held by Islamist militants were hit, along with depots in caves, makeshift oil refineries and bridges. According to Russia's Federal Immigration Service,... MORE

Finance Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said today that Russia could receive the next US$640 million installment from a multibillion dollar International Monetary Fund loan at the end of this month or the beginning of November. Kasyanov's comments followed a meeting he had with President Boris Yeltsin,... MORE