Leonid Kuchma has nipped an attempt of leftists to begin the process of abolishing presidency in Ukraine in the bud. On January 28, he vetoed the motion on abolishing the post of president, which the parliament passed on January 14 by a vote of 237-26,... MORE

On January 27 trade unions in Minsk held a protest rally of unprecedented size and virulence, reflecting the precipitate fall in the living standards. More than 10,000 industrial workers participated at the call of official and unofficial unions. The speakers, and the resolutions approved by... MORE

Yesterday the Latvian parliament approved the appointment of Lieutenant-Colonel Raimonds Graube, 41, as commander of the country's armed forces. Graube--who served as commander of the paramilitary Home Guard until 1998--is the third commander of Latvia's armed forces in the space of less than a year.... MORE

According to Lithuanian press reports, Russia's Lukoil state company is withholding crude oil supplies to Lithuania's Mazeikui Nafta refinery and other processing facilities. Moreover, Lukoil threatens to line up lesser Russian oil suppliers behind this boycott threat. The tactic seeks to pressure the Lithuanian government... MORE

South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade Hong Sun-yong wound up a three-day visit to Moscow this week during which he held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov. Afterward, both sides declared themselves satisfied with the... MORE

This week the prime ministers of Russia and China reiterated their intention to cooperate in international affairs and high-level talks scheduled to take place in Moscow next month. As a forum for his remarks, Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov used a meeting in the Russian... MORE

This week, after more than a month of being savaged by Russian diplomats, the embattled chairman of the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) launched a few verbal salvos of his own at Moscow. In remarks published by the "Sydney Morning Herald" on January 27, Richard Butler... MORE

Krasnoyarsk Governor Aleksandr Lebed's battle with local industrial barons looks set to break out again. Lebed spoke on the subject during an interview yesterday on NTV television's "Hero of the Day" program. He said that a proposal by a consortium of local businessmen led by... MORE

Yevgeny Primakov is due to arrive in Davos, Switzerland, to participate in the annual international economic forum. The Russian prime minister is expected to meet today with Vice President Al Gore, and tomorrow will attend the forum. Other Russian officials, including Fuel and Energy Minister... MORE

Turkmenistan's Competent Authority for Oil and Gas disclosed yesterday the conclusions of an eagerly awaited feasibility study of a trans-Caspian pipeline for the export of Turkmen gas. The United States company Enron, a world leader in pipeline construction and management, conducted the study under a... MORE