According to the Ukrainian armed forces' Chief of Staff General Oleksandr Zatinayko, Ukraine is not certain whether the Russian Black Sea Fleet stores nuclear weapons in Crimea. As things now stand, Ukrainian and international inspectors must "stop at the gates of Russian naval bases" instead... MORE

At a three-day special congress, just held in Batumi, the All-Georgia Revival Union--the ruling party of Ajaria--unanimously decided to boycott the Georgian parliament. The party is Georgia's second largest, holding approximately thirty seats in the Tbilisi parliament, and walked out of that chamber in April,... MORE

The United States has reacted with strong disapproval to Russia and India's June 21 agreement to build a nuclear power plant in southern India. (See yesterday's Monitor) State Department spokesman James Rubin said on June 22 that the deal sends "the wrong message at the... MORE

With trade and friendly relations in mind, Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos met yesterday in the Kremlin with Russian President Boris Yeltsin on the third of a three-day official visit. Delegations from the two sides also held talks, and several intergovernmental agreements were signed.... MORE

Russia is also looking to strengthen its ties with Latin American countries. Yesterday in Moscow, government delegations from Argentina and Russia met under the auspices of a bilateral commission on trade, economic and scientific cooperation. Representatives from the two sides said that Russia and Argentina... MORE

Little information was available of a meeting in Tokyo on June 22 of the Russian and Japanese diplomats tasked with drafting a peace treaty between the two countries. Both sides did indicate, however, that discussion at the meeting did not extend to the main stumbling... MORE

Believing its military and civilian helicopter industry highly competitive on the world market, Moscow counts on foreign sales to help sustain that industry until the Russian economy recovers from its recent difficulties. Recently the Kamov Design Bureau--one of the two top Russian helicopter developers--had both... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin warned the Russian parliament yesterday to approve without delay the program of financial measures put forward by the government of Prime Minister Sergei Kirienko. Addressing an unusual meeting between government and parliament, Yeltsin threw his support behind the government's emergency program and... MORE

A state of emergency and a curfew have been declared in Chechnya following the June 21 killing of the head of the republic's national security service, Lecha Khultygov. Also killed was Vakha Djafarov, deputy commander of Salman Raduev's "Army of General Dudaev." The killings suggest... MORE

Dagestani Security Council Secretary Magomed Tolboev has resigned. One of the most authoritative figures in Dagestan, Tolboev says he can no longer control the situation in the republic, which is effectively in the grip of an undeclared war. (NTV, RTR, June 22) A former pilot,... MORE