Foreign Ministers Boris Shikhmuradov of Turkmenistan and Hasan Hasanov of Azerbaijan agreed yesterday in Ashgabat on two fundamental issues. First, that the Caspian Sea should be divided into national sectors. Second, that the two countries shall delimit their respective sectors according to the median line... MORE

Belarusan Foreign Minister Ivan Antanovich and Belarusan opposition activists yesterday publicly protested Poland's recent hosting of two seminars. Held in Bialystok and Warsaw, the sessions -- as seen by Antanovich -- discussed "how to destabilize the legitimate presidency of Belarus" and "trained the opposition to... MORE

The standoff continued yesterday between Ukraine's central government and the leaders of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Passions ran high in the Crimean parliament, which repeated its threat to call a referendum on Crimea's status. The Supreme Soviet also announced its intention of appealing to... MORE

Russian Foreign Ministry Chief Spokesman Gennady Tarasov yesterday accused Estonia of displaying a "colonialist attitude toward the Russian-speaking population and unwillingness to seek a civilized solution to human rights problems." Also yesterday, Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin's chief spokesman Igor Shabdurasulov ruled out the Moscow... MORE

A new military pay plan for Russian military officers reportedly increases the wages of junior officers. Unfortunately, the funds for this come from the pay benefits of the senior officers. Under the plan, reportedly developed by the Defense Ministry, senior officers just below the rank... MORE

The newly appointed commander of the Air Force -- Col. Gen. Anatoly Kornukov -- announced yesterday that nuclear weapons had been removed from a strategic air base located just 10 kilometers from the border with Chechnya. Kornukov was on a tour of his units in... MORE

The Chechen Foreign Ministry says Grozny is ready to serve as an intermediary in the Iraq crisis. (NTV, February 4) While it is unlikely that Iraq or any other country will take Grozny up on this proposal, Chechnya has already made a first step on... MORE

Speaking to the Monitor this week, Chechen Foreign Minister Movladi Udugov denied that the program of the "Islamic Nation" movement, which he set up, makes any territorial claims to Dagestan. The "Islamic Nation" contains both Chechen and Dagestani political organizations. Its program calls for the... MORE

The public rhetoric that has accompanied the diplomatic face-off between Russia and the United States over Iraq sharpened over the past two days as Russian President Boris Yeltsin twice warned Washington that its proposed military strikes on Iraq could start a new world war. Yeltsin's... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin yesterday affirmed his support for First Deputy Premiers Anatoly Chubais and Boris Nemtsov, saying he intends to keep both men in his cabinet until the year 2000. "I will push aside all those who are attacking them. I will not allow anyone... MORE