Despite his warning about the undesirability of a confrontation with the West--or perhaps because of it--President Boris Yeltsin also chose yesterday to single out for praise the man who commanded the June 12 march of Russian paratroopers to the Slatina airport in Pristina. During the... MORE

In what appeared to be yet another effort at reining in military hardliners while retaining their political loyalty, Russian President Boris Yeltsin warned top commanders yesterday that they must avoid direct confrontations with NATO. In remarks at the Kremlin before senior officers from both the... MORE

An unexpected and apparently hastily arranged visit to Moscow by Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz has produced little in the way of headlines over the past several days. Aziz arrived in Moscow on July 5, ostensibly to take part in a conference of former... MORE

On May 19 of this year, Turkmenistan served official notice that it is abrogating the 1993 agreement with Russia on joint protection of Turkmenistan's borders and on the stationing of Russian border troops in the country. The agreement--unlike most documents of this type--was considered by... MORE

In the run-up to Kazakhstan's parliamentary elections, five mostly leftist and Russian-leaning organizations have formed an opposition bloc. The bloc's centerpieces are the Communist Party and the Republican People's Party, which is led by the former prime minister and presidential aspirant Akezhan Kazhegeldin. The other... MORE

The controversial Vilis Kristopans resigned on July 5 as prime minister of Latvia. The step--urged on him by his party, Latvia's Way (LW)--automatically entails the resignation of the entire cabinet of ministers after barely eight months in office. The event offers Latvia a distinct chance... MORE

Preparations for a treaty joining Belarus with Russia would appear to be moving ahead very quickly. Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin, speaking yesterday to a meeting of the Russian-Belarusan Executive Committee, the structure set up to work on the issue, said that a union treaty will... MORE

An 85 percent stake in "Kommersant," Russia's influential business-political daily newspaper, has been purchased by American Capital, a British Virgin Islands-registered investment fund run by two young Americans of Iranian descent--Kia Joorabchian and Reza Irani-Kermani. According to unconfirmed reports, the fund, which has a charter... MORE

The absence of concrete agreements at the close of Assad's visit may have been a reflection merely of the hastily arranged nature of the event. With regard to the talks on military-technical cooperation, Moscow's silence may also have been related to a warning issued by... MORE

A surprise, two-day visit to Moscow this week by Syrian President Hafez Assad signaled a new move by the two countries to resuscitate the close bilateral ties which existed between Moscow and Damascus during the Soviet period. Assad's visit was prompted by Ehud Barak's election... MORE