On the eve of talks marking the first anniversary of a major NATO-Russian cooperation agreement, a top Russian Defense Ministry official has published an article criticizing NATO on several counts and harshly warning the Alliance against expanding onto the territory of the former Soviet Union.... MORE

Ivashov's hard-line commentary comes a year after the May 27 signing of the NATO-Russia Founding Act in Paris, and a day before a ministerial session of the Permanent Joint Council in Luxembourg. The Council is a consultative body established by the Founding Act with the... MORE

As Russia and Japan enter a crucial period in their diplomatic effort to normalize and improve bilateral relations, high-level contacts between officials from the two countries look set to go into high gear. On May 31, Admiral Kazuya Natsukawa, chairman of the Japanese Defense Agency's... MORE

The first deputy chief of staff of Russia's armed forces, Colonel General Valery Manilov, stated at a briefing yesterday that Russia plans to continue its military presence and peacekeeping operations "in the areas of its traditional national interest"--a reference to former Soviet republics. "The military... MORE

On May 27: "Russia will have to beef up again its strategic-operational forces in the northwestern direction, if former Soviet republics become candidates for admission to NATO." Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov, deputy chief of staff of Russia's armed forces, issued this warning to the Baltic states... MORE

A senior official of the Russia-Belarus Union's Executive Committee stated yesterday that the Union plans to create a "regional group of military forces." According to the official, implementation can begin immediately upon ratification of the military agreements signed last December by Russia and Belarus (see... MORE

The cease-fire and disengagement of forces in Gali district took definitive hold yesterday amid evidence of a total Abkhaz victory and a new round of ethnic cleansing of Georgian civilians. Russian Television reported last night from the scene that the Abkhaz had used not only... MORE

Another trial of religious "fundamentalists" is underway in Uzbekistan. Seven defendants are accused of having committed "crimes of an extremist nature" with the "intent of undermining social and political stability." The charges stem from last December's unrest in Namangan. (Uzbek TV, May 25) The authorities... MORE

Export-Import Bank President James Harmon announced yesterday in Ashgabat that the bank is prepared to lend Turkmenistan US$2 billion to US$3 billion for various projects, mainly in the oil and gas sector. The offer expresses the U.S. interest in the development of Caspian mineral resources... MORE

Russian President Boris Yeltsin yesterday ordered budget cuts in state spending of 40 billion rubles (US$6.5 billion) as the ruble lost further ground against the dollar and Russian share prices continued to fall. (AP, May 26) The government also announced fifty new measures to replenish... MORE