The chances for quick ratification by Russia's parliament of the START II Treaty appeared to suffer a setback this week following a session in which Russia's defense and foreign ministers attempted to sell the treaty to reluctant Duma leaders. The September 16 meeting, which was... MORE

The commander of the Estonian army, Maj. Gen. Johannes Kert, and the Defense Ministry's chancellor (second only to the minister), Toomas Kitsing, resigned from their posts yesterday, one day after it was announced that Defense Minister Andrus Oovel would do the same. (See Monitor, September... MORE

The UN General Assembly on September 16 elected Ukrainian foreign minister Hennady Udovenko as its president for the current (52nd) session. East-Central European and former Soviet countries had agreed some time ago to support the Ukrainian minister for the post. Udovenko, 66, has long experience... MORE

"It is alarming to hear voices from Karabakh calling for a military resolution of this age-old conflict," Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov told a Moscow news conference yesterday. Primakov stated that he was authorized by President Boris Yeltsin to declare that the recently signed Russian-Armenian... MORE

Taliban authorities announced today that their troops have captured the city of Hairaton on the Amu-Daria river, which separates Afghanistan from Uzbekistan. This would be the first time that Taliban troops have reached the Uzbek border. Also today Taliban forces are said to be attacking... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin has dismissed two presidential aides -- Lev Sukhanov, who is retiring, and Georgy Satarov, who is leaving "in connection with his transfer to another post." No reason for Satarov's departure was given. He has lately been heading a team said to be... MORE

Naina Yeltsina, wife of the Russian president, has been appointed co-chair of the board of trustees of Russia's new national cultural television channel, Kultura. Her responsibilities seem likely to be purely formal. According to Russian Radio, the other co-chair will be the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.... MORE

Fourteen Estonian soldiers are now presumed dead after their unit was swept by the sea tide on September 11 during an exercise near the Paldiski naval base. The 22-man unit, commanded by a junior lieutenant, was part of the Estonian contingent of the joint Baltic... MORE

The Ukrainian-British-Polish military exercise Cossack Steppe-97, organized under the framework of NATO's Partnership for Peace program, began on September 13 at the Shiroky Lan training range in Mykolayiv region. Three airborne companies, one from each country, are acting jointly as the vanguard of an international... MORE

Two Turkish coastal guard ships are currently paying a three-day "friendly visit" in Georgia's port Poti. The Turkish commander announced Ankara's intention to give Georgia two Griffon-type coastal guard cutters as a gift and to train the Georgian crews in Turkey. (Russian agencies, September 15).... MORE