An initial meeting of the Russia-NATO Permanent Joint Council -- established in the recently signed Russia-NATO founding act -- is likely to be held in late July, a high-ranking NATO diplomat said in Brussels on June 27. According to the diplomat, the meeting was proposed... MORE

The Indonesian foreign minister, Ali Alatas, last week confirmed that his country plans to buy Russian-made jet fighters. Indonesia recently canceled a deal to buy 9 American-built F-16 fighters after members of Congress criticized its human rights record. The Indonesians are reportedly interested in the... MORE

Tajik president Imomali Rahmonov, United Opposition leader Saidabdullo Nuri, and the UN envoy for Tajikistan, Gerd-Dietrich Merrem, signed today in the Kremlin a General Agreement on Peace and National Accord. Attending the ceremony were Russian president Boris Yeltsin, officials of Iran and several countries involved... MORE

Law enforcement organs in Belarus have begun searching the homes of a number of opposition leaders, inventorying their possessions with a view to confiscation. Those already targeted include former parliament chairman Mechislau Hryb, former defense minister Pavel Kazlouski, and social-democrat leader Anatol Lyabedzka. More are... MORE

Transdniester president Igor Smirnov and other leaders announced at news conferences on June 25 that a Ukrainian peacekeeping company and a group of Ukrainian military monitors are shortly to be introduced in the security zone that separates Moldovan government troops from those of Transdniester. The... MORE

An incident in which Russian border forces fired upon a Japanese fishing boat near the disputed Kuril Islands has elicited a protest from the Japanese government and precipitated yet another diplomatic clash between the two countries. The incident, which occurred on June 25 near the... MORE

Voters go to the polls this weekend in Nizhny Novgorod oblast to elect a governor to replace Boris Nemtsov, who moved to the Russian government in March. They will also be voting in the city of Samara, to elect a mayor in place of Oleg... MORE

The major achievement of the government over the past month was to persuade the Duma to accept on first reading its new draft tax code. The Duma approved the code on June 19 by a 294 to 80 vote, with only the Yabloko faction opposed... MORE

Russian first deputy premier Anatoly Chubais announced yesterday that the Russian government has released the funding necessary to Russia's regions to enable them to pay off all outstanding state pension arrears. Banks will be open this weekend so that pensioners can collect their money. "By... MORE

Reform of Russia's public utilities, spearheaded by First Deputy Premier Boris Nemtsov, moved ahead yesterday with the announcement of new pricing policies in the electricity industry. From July 1 Russia's electricity monopoly, United Energy Systems (UES), will not accept payment in barter or money surrogates... MORE