President Alyaksandr Lukashenka declared yesterday to the Minsk press that "economics, not politics, must form the basis of a future union treaty" between Russia and Belarus. Obliquely responding to Russian President Boris Yeltsin's recent suggestion that such a treaty be signed at a special summit... MORE

On September 1 Russian troops occupied the Dagestani villages of Karamakhi and Chabanmakhi, the main centers of the republic's Islamists--the so-called Wahabbis (NTV, RTR, ORT, September 1). If the Russian mass media is to be believed, all the villages in Dagestan's Botlikhsk region have been... MORE

Flagging ties between Russia and Japan got a much-needed boost yesterday when the two sides reached an agreement which will allow former Japanese residents of the disputed Kuril Islands to visit those islands freely. The two countries also signed a package of economic and trade... MORE

Negotiators in Kosovo have made no progress over the past several days in resolving a standoff between ethnic Albanian demonstrators and Russian troops outside the city of Orahovac. The demonstrators oppose the replacement of Dutch and German peacekeepers with Russian troops in Orahovac and, since... MORE

Summers' demarche was the first indication that the Bank of New York scandal could have serious negative consequences for Russia, which at the end of this month is supposed to receive a second US$640 million tranche from a US$4 billion loan to pay off previous... MORE

While the International Monetary Fund Director Michel Camdessus has denied Western press reports that US$200 million from International Monetary Fund (IMF) credits to Russia may have been laundered through the Bank of New York, the Clinton administration apparently fears that the charges may have merit.... MORE

Kyrgyzstan observed its national day yesterday and Uzbekistan is observing its own today in the shadow of the Islamic rebel raid--spearheaded by Uzbek militants--inside Kyrgyzstan near the countries' common border. The observances in Bishkek were scaled down to a minimum amid elaborate security measures. Russian... MORE

Petro Symonenko, leader of the Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU), personifies the Red menace at the presidential elections this fall. Symonenko blames "capitalism" and Ukraine's independence for the economic and social crisis and promises restoration of the Soviet system. He tries to capitalize on current... MORE

Recent reports from Moscow and Beijing indicate that Russia and China are very close to finalizing a deal whereby China would acquire as many as sixty potent Sukhoi Su-30 multirole combat aircraft. The sale has been in the works for at least four years but... MORE

The South Korean side has, in any event, shown decidedly mixed feelings about the long-discussed submarine deal. According to one source, government leaders in Seoul have been considering the deal primarily as a means to improve relations with Russia. Those relations were left in tatters... MORE