Vladimir Lukin, head of the Russian State Duma's International Affairs Committee and a former ambassador to the United States, yesterday voiced what is likely to be a common Russian interpretation of NATO's new turn to Moscow. Lukin suggested that the West--and the United States in... MORE

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Kosovo shifted into high gear yesterday as NATO foreign ministers convening in Brussels reiterated their intention to continue the bombing until Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic accepts Western terms. With the NATO air campaign entering its twentieth day, however,... MORE

On the eve of and during his visit to Turkmenistan, Karimov expressed strong disagreement with the decision to grant basing rights to Russian forces in Tajikistan (see the Monitor, April 8). "Why are Russian military bases needed in Tajikistan? The pacification process is in full... MORE

Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian's latest statement on the situation in the region seems to combine an overestimation of Russia's ability to press for a "common-state" solution to the Karabakh conflict, an equally exaggerated view of Turkish hostility to Armenia and an expectation--hardly warranted by... MORE

As predicted (see the Monitor, April 8), Uzbekistan has lost no time in challenging Moscow's attempt to turn Tajikistan into a Russian satellite. On April 9 Uzbek President Islam Karimov initiated a bilateral meeting with his Tajik counterpart Imomali Rahmonov in Turkmenistan's capital of Ashgabat.... MORE

In a live interview from Paris yesterday, Boris Berezovsky--who last week became the target of an arrest warrant issued by the Prosecutor General's office concerning alleged embezzlement from Aeroflot airlines--angrily lashed out at Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov. The tycoon and former Commonwealth of Independent States... MORE

It is generally believed that, despite strong nostalgic sentiments among the population for Soviet times, Ukraine's "reds" can win the presidential elections in October only if they come up with a single candidate. Prospects of an accord among the anti-reformist forces, however, look dim. At... MORE

In his April 10 address, Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov vigorously defended his record, claiming that his cabinet--which replaced the one headed by Sergei Kirienko following last August's financial collapse--had brought stability to the country at a time when it seemed to be on the brink... MORE

Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov took to the airwaves on April 10 with a televised address in which he defended his record and answered a less-than-ringing endorsement which President Boris Yeltsin had made the day before. The highlight of the twelve-minute address, which was broadcast by... MORE

Although Russian President Boris Yeltsin's April 9 remarks caused a stir in the West, they did not deter the NATO countries either from continuing their military buildup in Europe or from an intended intensification of the air campaign against Yugoslavia. Indeed, NATO supreme commander General... MORE