In the wake of the informal Azerbaijani-Armenian summit in Geneva, the main opposition parties in Baku continue criticizing President Haidar Aliev's search for a mutually acceptable compromise over Karabakh (see the Monitor, July 22). On July 23, moreover, the Democratic Congress--an umbrella organization encompassing most... MORE

Azerbaijan's defense minister, Colonel-General Safar Abiev, held talks with two Turkish military delegations on July 23-27 in Baku. General Erdal Geilanoglu, deputy chief of staff of Turkey's ground forces, headed one of the delegations to discuss assistance in developing Azerbaijan's military doctrine and training Azerbaijani... MORE

In fact, Media Most has received credits from the state's Sberbank, Vneshtorgbank and Vneshekonombank, and has reportedly angered the Kremlin by demanding that it be allowed to pay off its debts in the form of state bonds (Vlast, July 27). But the battle undoubtedly has... MORE

The propaganda war between the Media Most group and the Kremlin has again flared up in a big way and, for the first time, President Boris Yeltsin appears to have gotten directly involved. Yesterday Yeltsin cut short his vacation and returned to the Kremlin. While... MORE

Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin's visit to the United States unfolded amid a minor tempest over the scope of Moscow's espionage operations in the United States. The "Washington Times" published a report on July 26 claiming that the Clinton administration has quietly asked Moscow to... MORE

Russia and the United States continued their post-Kosovo reconciliation efforts yesterday, announcing that they will launch a new round of strategic arms control negotiations in Moscow next month and pledging fresh efforts to boost trade and investment between the two countries. These announcements followed talks... MORE

Kazakhstani official Yuri Bogatyrev, chairman of the Karaganda region's commission to investigate the recent crash of the Russian Proton rocket, has committed suicide. Bogatyrev, 33, was also the deputy akim (head of administration) of that region, over which the rocket exploded on July 5, minutes... MORE

Last week's successful inauguration of the Butinge maritime oil terminal has forced Russia to rethink its policy on oil deliveries to Lithuania and its overall relations with that country. Russia's Fuel and Power Ministry and the LUKoil company--which is authorized by the government to "coordinate"... MORE

Latest developments in the formation of the national budgets indicate that the three Baltic states are serious about steeply raising defense appropriations to the NATO benchmark of 2 percent of the gross national product. This Baltic area-wide commitment stems mainly from two recent developments: first,... MORE

These recent incidents suggest that Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin's comments in Washington yesterday should themselves be taken with a grain of salt. Stepashin himself has emphasized the need to fight against "economic crime"--which is another way of describing the criminalization of the economy. In February... MORE