After more than ten weeks of nearly unceasing acrimony over NATO policy in the Balkans, Russia and the West decided over the weekend to put that unhappy chapter behind them and to work together to restore friendly relations. The reconciliation between the two sides was... MORE

Turkish President Suleyman Demirel yesterday paid an official visit to Moldova, which culminated in a tour of the country's Gagauz-inhabited region. Accompanied by Moldovan President Petru Lucinschi, Demirel inaugurated a water supply system designed and financed by Turkey in that area. Turkey takes an active... MORE

The Latvian parliament yesterday narrowly elected Vaira Vike-Freiberga as the country's new president. Vike-Freiberga will replace the incumbent President Guntis Ulmanis, whose powers are due to expire on July 7. Ulmanis was elected to three-year terms in 1993 and 1996 and is not eligible to... MORE

A Russian daily has written in detail on how the taking of hostages has become a profitable business in Chechnya. According to the newspaper "Kommersant," the practice of slavery has also become widespread: People who are not wealthy, and thus not a good source for... MORE

Russian sources indicated yesterday that Yeltsin will meet on June 20 on the sidelines of the G-7 summit with U.S. President Bill Clinton and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. This abbreviated schedule of bilateral contacts has been attributed to the time shortages created by Yeltsin's unexpected... MORE

The State Duma voted yesterday 219-101, with six abstentions, to reject a gas-pump tax bill--one of several revenue-raising bills the government of Sergei Stepashin is trying to get passed in order to meet the conditions of an International Monetary Fund loan. The Duma rejected the... MORE

Despite the expressions of optimism, there were also indications yesterday that the two sides might be digging in their heels. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told reporters that Washington is continuing to make "[it] quite clear that there would not be a separate Russian... MORE

Negotiations between Russian and U.S. government officials will drag on into a third day today after the two sides were unable to resolve all their differences during talks in Helsinki yesterday. The negotiations involve the conditions under which Russian troops might serve under the NATO-led... MORE

The government of Kazakhstan has decided to sell to Western companies a controlling stake in Kazakh Atomic Industry, the largest uranium producer and exporter in Central Asia and one of the largest in the former Soviet Union. The company consists of three uranium mines, an... MORE

On June 15, Armenian President Robert Kocharian appointed by decree the members of the cabinet of ministers formed by Vazgen Sarkisian, whom Kocharian nominated on June 11 as prime minister (profile in the Monitor, June 14). Sarkisian is the leader of the Republican Party, which... MORE