Lithuania yesterday joined the UnitedStates in denouncing the Belarusan government's decision to evict foreignmissions from the Drazdy compound in Minsk (background in the Monitor, June9). Several Western governments also lodged protests, but some of them alsoasked President Alyaksandr Lukashenka to intercede for a "quiet andbusinesslike... MORE

Kyiv announcedyesterday that it prepares a major bid for importing Azerbaijani oil andtransiting it to Western Europe. The Ukrainian government made public itsdecision to initiate the formation of an international consortium for thatpurpose. The government appointed a special task force to work out thetechnical and... MORE

The National Assembly (parliament) ofKarabakh yesterday rejected president Arkady Gukasian's proposal to mergethe posts of president and prime minister and to take over the primeministership himself. (Russian agencies, June 9) The crisis stems from primeminister Leonard Petrosian's resignation under pressure from the DefenseMinister, Lieutenant-General Samvel... MORE

The gold-mining Kumtor enterprise, which someaccuse of having caused severe ecological damage on the shore of Issyk-Kullake (see the Monitor, June 9) holds a key place in Kyrgyzstan's economy.The enterprise is a joint venture of the Canada-based Cameco, a world leaderin uranium and gold mining,... MORE

The head of Russia's StateStatistics Committee (Goskomstat), Yuri Yurkov, has been arrested followingallegations that he systematically distorted statistical information onmajor Russian companies in order to help them avoid paying tax. He is alsoaccused of selling confidential corporate information to business rivals. Anunspecified number of other... MORE

Russia and Germany looked to boostbilateral relations yesterday, as President Boris Yeltsin arrived in Bonnwith an impressive delegation of key Russian ministers. A large number ofbilateral, European and broader international issues are on the agenda forthe two days of talks, which officials from both sides... MORE

An unprecedented week-longtrip to Russia by Admiral Kazuya Natsukawa, chairman of the Japanese SelfDefense Forces' Joint Staff Council, concluded on June 7 in Russia's FarEast. During his stay Natsukawa met in Moscow with Russian Defense MinisterIgor Sergeev, General Staff chief Anatoly Kvashnin, and the commanders... MORE

As Natsukawa was winding up hisvisit to Russia, news agencies in Moscow reported that the Kremlin intendsto offer a preliminary response later this month to a Japanese proposal onthe status of the disputed Kuril Islands. The proposal--made by JapanesePrime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto to President Boris... MORE

Tatarstan's PresidentMintimer Shaimiev has hit out at Rafgat Altynbaev, mayor of the city ofChalli, who ran on May 27 for speaker of Tatarstan's parliament against thepresident's nominee. (See the Monitor, June 2) Although Altynbaev wasdefeated, his temerity has clearly rattled Shaimiev, who has hit back... MORE

The Estonian-Latvian-Lithuanianbattalion, Baltbat, has begun the Smooth Road combat exercise at the Pabradetesting grounds near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. For the first time inBaltbat's three-year history, the exercise is being conducted independently,without the participation of Western military personnel. Also for the firsttime, the battalion focuses... MORE