Russian first deputy premier and finance minister Anatoly Chubais says tentative agreement has been reached for Russia to join the Paris Club of creditor nations by the end of this year and the World Trade Organization by the end of next year. Chubais was in... MORE

From his vacation villa in Sochi, President Yeltsin signed three decrees on April 28 laying out a timetable for reforms in the natural monopolies, housing utilities, and telecommunications. (RTR, Interfax, April 28) First Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov said that monopolies will be retained in... MORE

The lower house of the Russian parliament has started a two-week recess and will not reconvene until May 14. (Itar-Tass, April 28) Many members of the Communist-dominated Duma plan to take part in anti-government demonstrations in Moscow and other Russian cities on May 1 and... MORE

. Two Russian and American cosmonauts successfully completed a space walk this morning. This was the first time American and Russian cosmonauts had made a walk in space together and the first time that a US astronaut wore a Russian space suit. (Itar-Tass, BBC World... MORE

Meeting yesterday in Istanbul during the Black Sea Economic Cooperation conference -- but outside its framework -- Presidents Leonid Kuchma, Petru Lucinschi, and Emil Constantinescu agreed to begin preparations toward creating a Ukrainian-Moldovan-Romanian free economic zone and Euroregion around the Danube. (Western agencies, April 28)... MORE

Senior Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and Chinese officials yesterday signed in Tashkent an agreement to jointly design, build, and exploit a nearly 1,000 kilometer-long transit corridor from Andijan (Uzbekistan) via Osh (Kyrgyzstan) to Kashgar (China's Xinjiang region). The agreement envisages expansion and modernization of a highway and... MORE

On April 28 Gazprom and the Turkish state pipeline company Botas signed a $13.5 billion deal for a 25 year supply of gas to Turkey. (RTR, April 28) A new 500 km pipeline will be laid under the Black Sea from Izobilnoe to the Turkish... MORE

On April 28 Russian president Boris Yeltsin signed a decree ordering an increase in utility fees and the introduction of competition in the provision of housing services. First Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov said the decree lays down general principles and instructs the government to... MORE

En route to Washington on April 27 for talks with top U.S. officials, Russian first deputy prime minister Anatoly Chubais condemned plans to expand the NATO alliance and openly called upon the West to compensate Moscow for the damage Russia will sustain from NATO's enlargement.... MORE

Russian president Boris Yeltsin has summoned Interior Minister Anatoly Kulikov and other Russian security officials to his Black Sea dacha for urgent consultations in response to the worsening security situation in southern Russia. Today, a 15-year-old girl died from injuries sustained when a bomb ripped... MORE