Russian troops on the ground in Kosovo have thus far reacted to the blockade of Orahovac with restraint and patience. The same is not true of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow. A ministry statement on August 24 denounced the Albanian protests as a deliberate... MORE

A fourth day of negotiations yesterday failed to end a blockade of the city of Orahovac, located some thirty miles southeast of Pristina, by ethnic Albanian protesters opposed to the entry of Russian troops into the city. As they have every day this week, Russian... MORE

Other revelations concerning alleged high-level Russian corruption surfaced yesterday. The newspaper Kommersant cited a report this week in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, that Swiss prosecutors, while investigating alleged money laundering involving Mabetex (the Swiss firm which had won lucrative Kremlin renovation contracts), had... MORE

The dimensions of the Bank of New York moneylaundering scandal in Russia appear to be growing exponentially. Yesterday's edition of USA Today led with an article devoted to it, which included allegations that, if true, are nothing short of sensational. The paper, citing unnamed "senior... MORE

Kyrgyz officials admitted yesterday that the Islamic rebels in the Osh Region are more than holding their own in combat with Kyrgyz and Uzbek troops. The rebels have occupied two more villages in the Batken district, where they now control five villages. The officials cite... MORE

As anticipated (see the Monitor, August 24), the Karabakh leadership and Azerbaijani opposition parties are attacking Presidents Robert Kocharian and Haidar Aliev in the aftermath of their Geneva meeting, at which the presidents explored mutually acceptable solutions to the Karabakh conflict. In Yerevan yesterday, Kocharian... MORE

The scandal surrounding the alleged laundering of Russian money through the Bank of New York is continuing to grow. The "New York Times" reported today that U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno is taking a "personal interest" in the investigation and that the U.S. House of... MORE

Just on the heels of reports that U.S. and British law enforcement are investigating the alleged laundering of billions of dollars from Russia through the Bank of New York, a new wrinkle has emerged in another Russian corruption scandal. The Italian newspaper "Corriere della Sera"... MORE

These various motives underlay the remarks and the consultations of the Russian and Chinese delegations in Bishkek yesterday. The same motives and concerns were also reflected in talks which have been taking part this week in Beijing. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov has been... MORE

Russia and China restated their intention yesterday to work jointly toward countering the global influence of the United States and signaled that they will seek to make their already warm bilateral relations even friendlier. Those points were made clear yesterday during a meeting in Bishkek... MORE