Russia's Gazprom and Ukraine's Chornomorneftehaz companies signed on May 29 a protocol of intent to create the joint venture Chernomorneftegazshelf. The venture, which will be based in Crimea and use mainly the floating assets of the Ukrainian partner, will prospect and develop oil and gas... MORE

In a May 29 statement, Russia's Foreign Ministry called on Abkhazia to allow the return of the "more than 30,000" Georgians displaced during the recent fighting in Gali district. Reacting to Abkhazia's imposition of a "state of emergency" and other restrictions in Gali (see the... MORE

In a statement distributed in Dushanbe on May 29, the U.S. State Department urged Tajik President Imomali Rahmonov to veto the parliament's recently enacted ban on parties of a religious character. The State Department further urged Rahmonov, his government and the parliament to accelerate the... MORE

President Askar Akaev told a Bishkek news conference on May 30 that "there are no reasons for speaking of a threat of religious extremism in Kyrgyzstan for the time being...Should such a threat arise, the state will take the most severe measures toward the representatives... MORE

Russia joined with NATO members yesterday in condemning the five nuclear tests Pakistan undertook earlier in the day. The consensus appeared in a statement issued as foreign ministers from Russia and the NATO countries met in Luxembourg. It expressed deep concern and dismay over the... MORE

Russia's battered ruble won a temporary reprieve yesterday as investors paused to consider the government's emergency efforts to shore up the currency. Markets rallied and the ruble strengthened slightly against the dollar. Now the Kremlin has to follow through on its promises of further tough... MORE

The government is to try again to raise money by selling Rosneft, the last major Russian oil company still in state ownership. Its first attempt to sell the company fell through when, on May 26, potential buyers refused to bid on the grounds that the... MORE

Last night, Prime Minister Kirienko fired the top management of Rosneft, including the company's president, Yuri Bespalov. (Financial Times, May 29) The board has been riven by internal squabbling but insiders say the real reason may have been Bespalov's links with CIS politician and media... MORE

The government remains hopeful that the IMF will release the latest US$670 million tranche of the extended loan to Russia as early as today. However, this is not a new loan and the money has already been anticipated in the federal budget. It is certainly... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin has apparently created yet another agency to deal with policy related to Russia's armed forces. According to a statement released by the presidential press service on May 27, Yeltsin has decreed the creation of a State Commission for Military Development. A brief... MORE