A major new Russian request for food aid, announced by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman on September 28, is generating considerable controversy in the United States. U.S. government sources have indicated that Russia may be asking for as much as 5 million tons of additional... MORE

Iraqi officials kept up their pressure on Moscow this week both to defy UN sanctions and to begin work developing a major Iraqi oil field. Reports out of Baghdad yesterday indicated that Iraqi Oil Minister Amer Mohammed Rashid had warned a visiting Russian delegation that... MORE

The Belarusan Popular Front (BPF), strongest numerically among the national-democratic opposition parties, is splitting. On September 11, the BPF's Soym [ruling body] rejected the emigre chairman Zyanon Paznyak's idea to divide the BPF into two organizations: a "social," nonpolitical one to focus on grass-roots activities... MORE

It was also unclear whether Ivanov's visit has helped the two countries move forward on a pair of key issues: the repayment of Cuba's Soviet-era debt to Moscow and a joint project by which the two countries hope to complete the controversial Juragua nuclear power... MORE

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov completed a two-day visit to Cuba this week during which he held talks with Cuban President Fidel Castro and other top officials. The rhetoric which accompanied the visit was what might have been expected. Both countries spoke of the importance... MORE

Some Russian media reacted today to statements by Krasnoyarsk Governor Aleksandr Lebed, who--while heading President Boris Yeltsin's powerful Security Council in 1996--brokered the deal with ended the 1994-1996 war with Chechnya. Lebed was quoted this week by the French daily Le Figaro as saying that... MORE

There are reports that Russian troops have entered Chechnya on the ground in pursuit of Islamic guerrillas. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying today (September 30) that "combat operations in Chechnya are already underway," with troops taking control of hills and mountains just... MORE

Breaking a five-day lull in the fighting, insurgents attacked Kyrgyz government troops during the night of September 27-28 in the Kadamazhai district, attempting to break into neighboring Uzbekistan. According to the Kyrgyz command, its troops repulsed the all-night attack and continue blocking the Islamic rebels'... MORE

Defense analysts in the United States are reported to be watching with increasing interest signs of cooperation among Russia, China and India. Although the three countries are perceived to be still a long way from coalescing into any sort of anti-NATO axis, they do appear... MORE

Two Russian newspapers today again detailed what they claimed were Moscow's plans to introduce ground forces into Chechnya. One of the papers, Segodnya, reported that the Russian military aims at gaining control over the entire breakaway republic, not just the region around the Terek River,... MORE