Tajik President Imomali Rahmonov announced on March 10 that he is joining the People's Democratic Party. According to the announcement, Rahmonov took this step "in order to strengthen the [party's] political and ideological work." With Rahmonov in attendance, the PDP's Executive Committee scheduled a party... MORE

Armenia is due to hold a pre-term presidential election on March 16, necessitated by the February 3 ouster of President Levon Ter-Petrosian. In that office since 1991, Ter-Petrosian won a second five-year term through a rigged election in September 1996. He was forced out last... MORE

Kocharian, 54, was born in Karabakh and worked there as an electrical engineer, factory manager and lower-level Communist party functionary. Kocharian founded the Miatsum [Unification] organization that pursued Karabakh's secession from Azerbaijan and merger with Armenia. While a Karabakh resident, and technically an Azerbaijani citizen,... MORE

The management of Kharkiv's Turboatom plant is publicly venting its ire at President Leonid Kuchma's decision to cancel Ukraine's partnership with Russia in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant project. In its latest statement yesterday, Turboatom management accused Kuchma of "acting under U.S. pressure" and "ignoring... MORE

Although yesterday's press conference with Chernomyrdin and Gore was a friendly one, during which the two sides applauded five years of cooperation, there were suggestions of other points of friction. No mention was made, for example, of Iraq or of NATO enlargement -- two issues... MORE

Mustafa Jemilev, leader of the Majlis, or Crimean Tatar parliament, warned yesterday that the Tatars may obstruct Ukraine's upcoming election if measures are not adopted to allow the Tatars to vote. (ORT, March 11) Elections to the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada and Crimea's Supreme... MORE

Russia and the United States wound up two days of high-level talks in Washington yesterday with two announcements. First, a trio of new commercial deals. Second, yet another pledge from Moscow that it will stop transfers of Russian missile technology to Iran. (Reuter, AP, March... MORE

On an official March 6-9 visit to Iran, Belarusan President Alyaksandr Lukashenka conferred with that country's President Mohammad Khatami, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, Majlis Chairman Ali Akbar Nateq-Nuri, spiritual leader Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei and top economic officials. The sides discussed possible deliveries of Belarusan-made... MORE

At the initiative of President Eduard Shevardnadze, the Georgian Parliament established yesterday an all-party special committee to conduct a dialogue with "Zviadists" -- diehard supporters of the late president Zviad Gamsakhurdia. Former Prime Minister Otar Patsatsia, now a parliament deputy, heads the committee; and the... MORE

The crisis over arrears to Gazprom also seems to have led the Ukrainian government to abandon its post-1995 attempt at decentralizing the import, distribution and financing of natural gas imports. Gas imports and distribution prior to 1995 had been the sole responsibility of Ukrhazprom, the... MORE