President Boris Yeltsin took steps yesterday to distance Russia's hawkish interior minister, Anatoly Kulikov, from decision-making on Chechnya. Yeltsin ruled that from now on all policy on Chechnya is to be made by the Security Council. (Interfax, May 5) Security Council secretary Ivan Rybkin and... MORE

There was confusion yesterday about how the Chechen authorities would react to threats by renegade field commander Salman Raduev to continue the struggle for Chechen independence by means of terrorist attacks in St. Petersburg and Voronezh. Railway stations in Voronezh were closed and police in... MORE

The Kremlin announced yesterday that Presidents Boris Yeltsin of Russia, Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine, and Petru Lucinschi of Moldova, together with Transdniester leader Igor Smirnov and an OSCE representative, will meet on May 8 in the Kremlin to sign a memorandum on the principles of... MORE

An IMF mission to Azerbaijan announced on May 2 that the Fund will extend a new $230 million credit in support of the country's economic reform program for 1997-1998. This would be in addition to the $400 million in IMF assistance already provided to Azerbaijan,... MORE

President Eduard Shevardnadze warned yesterday on national radio that Georgia will, in a matter of weeks, terminate the mandate of the Russian "peacekeeping" troops in Abkhazia unless the troops immediately launch an operation to repatriate Georgians who were forced out of Abkhazia. That operation was... MORE

In his radio address yesterday, Shevardnadze also accused the Russian government of violating interstate agreements by refusing to extradite accused terrorist Igor Giorgadze to Georgia. Expressing "concern over senior Russian officials' attitude toward notorious terrorists," Shevardnadze noted that "not only Giorgadze but various other terrorists... MORE

U.S. ambassador Stanley Escudero yesterday handed a grant of computer equipment to Uzbekistan's unofficial Human Rights Society, praising its activities in five years of existence. Escudero expressed hope that the state will grant the society a legal status and that its leader, Abdumanop Pulatov, will... MORE

Russian first deputy finance minister Vladimir Petrov said on May 3 that the government's budget sequestration bill will be presented to the Duma on May 21, with the aim of cutting spending by 108 trillion rubles ($19 billion). While wages and social benefits will not... MORE

Russian president Boris Yeltsin on May 2 signed a law providing the legal foundation for the destruction of Russia's 40,000 metric tons of chemical warfare munitions and agents. The bill was first passed by the Duma last December and then was vetoed by the Federation... MORE

Russia has reportedly reiterated its determination to maintain friendly relations with Iran, despite tensions between Tehran and the European Union over a decision by a German court last month that connected Iran to a terrorist act committed in Berlin. Russia's ambassador to Iran said yesterday... MORE