Russia's military high command weighed in once again yesterday over developments in the Balkans. Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeev told journalists in Moscow that military leaders were considering the possibility of withdrawing Russia's peacekeeping contingent from Bosnia. The Russian contingent--more than 1,000 strong--is part of... MORE

Yesterday's apparently amicable meeting in Oslo came as Russian diplomats continued to seek condemnations of the NATO air campaign against Yugoslavia in other key international forums. At the United Nations in New York on April 12, Russia's UN ambassador introduced a draft resolution asking the... MORE

Another day of frenetic diplomatic maneuvering yesterday failed to either bring the Kosovo conflict closer to a peaceful resolution or significantly narrow Washington's and Moscow's differences over the Balkans crisis. The highlight of yesterday's events was a long meeting in Oslo between U.S. Secretary of... MORE

Kazakhstani Prime Minister Nurlan Balgimbaev reported yesterday the results of his just-completed visit to Iran, one made in preparation for President Nursultan Nazarbaev's scheduled official visit. Balgimbaev's talks with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and other Tehran officials included plans to ship oil from Kazakhstan by... MORE

President Askar Akaev yesterday nominated Amangeldy Muraliev to serve as acting prime minister of Kyrgyzstan, a post empty since the April 4 death of Prime Minister Jumabek Ibraimov. Muraliev has until now been the governor of the Osh region (see the Monitor, April 7). He... MORE

Belarusan President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's plans for the Russia-Belarus Union are being seriously disrupted by Yugoslavia's sudden offer to join that Union as a third contracting party. The offer is one which Russian politicians feel they can't openly refuse, though even leading nationalist and pan-Slavic figures... MORE

Vyacheslav Nikonov, head of the Politika Foundation think tank, said today that the Kremlin has started to launch an effective counterattack against the actions of its enemies, which include the investigations by the Prosecutor General's Office into Kremlin corruption. He stated that the "experienced and... MORE

On April 9, President Boris Yeltsin, responding to persistent rumors, insisted that he has no plans either to dissolve the State Duma and call new elections or to ban the Communist Party (KPRF). What is more, following the exchange of apparently hostile comments between the... MORE

The State Duma decided yesterday to postpone a vote on whether to impeach President Boris Yeltsin--which had been set for April 15--until the middle or May or later. Gennady Seleznev, the speaker of the parliament's lower house, said the issue would probably be taken up... MORE

Relations between Russia and Hungary took a hit over the weekend following a decision by Hungarian authorities to block a Russian aid convoy en route to Yugoslavia. Although the two sides reached an agreement yesterday which allowed the convoy to pass, Russian President Boris Yeltsin's... MORE