This week's Russian-U.S. arms control talks failed despite what some reports suggested was a desire by both sides to reach an agreement before President Clinton meets this weekend in New Zealand with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The two men, who will be attending the... MORE

Two days of talks in Moscow have apparently done little to break a deadlock in arms control negotiations between Russia and the United States. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, who headed the American delegation at the talks, departed Moscow yesterday amid reports suggesting... MORE

In broadcasts beamed to Central Asia on September 4 and 6, Iranian state radio described the insurgent force as targeting Uzbekistan only, and merely seeking passage through Kyrgyzstan. Endorsing the insurgency, the radio at the same time faulted the Uzbek government for the fact that... MORE

Kyrgyz troops clashed in the Batken district yesterday with a guerrilla group which had entered Kyrgyzstan from Tajikistan. The crossing confirmed the Tajik government's inability to control its side of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border. Tajik opposition (UTO) forces, which once controlled that area, have recently been... MORE

Meanwhile, on September 7, Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo held a telephone conversation with U.S. FBI Director Louis Freeh, during which Rushailo claimed that the intellectual motivator and main financier of the rebel forces in Dagestan is Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden. Freeh responded sympathetically,... MORE

According to Russian military officials and Dagestani authorities, the federal forces have regained the initiative in the ongoing battle with Islamist rebels in Dagestan. Eki-Tyube mountain in the Novolaksk region of Dagestan is now under the complete control of federal forces. Air strikes have been... MORE

The Washington Post was not alone this week in revealing more about the expanding Russian kickback/moneylaundering scandals. Yesterday a British newspaper cited a new report in Corriere della Sera, alleging that an Italian furniture company closely tied to Mabetex received "large sums of Russian cash... MORE

Russian President Boris Yeltsin spoke to U.S. President Bill Clinton yesterday in what White House officials called a planned telephone call. During the call, which Yeltsin initiated, Clinton asked about allegations that Yeltsin and his family had received more than US$1 million in kickbacks from... MORE

The notion that Moscow was distancing itself from Milosevic gained further credence during an August 2 visit to the Russian capital by one of Milosevic's strongest and most effective critics--Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic. Djukanovic made clear during his stay that he was seeking Moscow's support... MORE

After a brief period during which its support for Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic appeared to waver, Moscow this week seemed to realign itself once again more solidly with the Yugoslav strongman. Proof of the shift appears to lie not only in stepped-up criticism by Russian... MORE