Reports out of Vienna -- where the 30 states that are party to the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty are trying to "adapt" the treaty to today's circumstances -- indicate that negotiations have run into difficulties. The main problem stems from the May... MORE

In a bid to stem what it calls a flow of biased information, the Russian Duma voted yesterday to strip TV journalists of the right to broadcast footage of its sessions that they have recorded themselves. TV journalists who currently sit in the balcony of... MORE

Chechnya is trying to forge informal ties with the international community. Chechen envoy Ruslan Kutaev arrived in Moscow yesterday on the first leg of a tour that will take him to Ukraine, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Switzerland, Belgium, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Malaysia, and Indonesia. (Interfax,... MORE

During the first of a five-day visit to China, Russian defense minister Igor Rodionov said on April 14 that friendly relations with Beijing fit into Russia's "long-term strategic course" and that the "strategic partnership [between Russia and China] is extremely important for the consolidation of... MORE

An Iraqi Oil Ministry official was quoted on April 14 as saying that a Russian-Iraqi contract for the development of a major oil field in southern Iraq could earn Baghdad more than $80 billion over the 23-year term of the contract. Iraq's parliament ratified the... MORE

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry announced yesterday that Armenian forces had attacked Azerbaijani positions twice on April 14 and once more on April 15. Baku's announcement claimed that 13 Armenian soldiers were killed and/or wounded in the two April 14 attacks, but that Azerbaijani forces suffered no... MORE

As predicted (see Monitor, March 28 & 31, April 1-2), the agreement reached at the March 28 CIS summit to enlarge the mandate of "CIS peacekeeping" troops so as to repatriate Georgian refugees and disarm Abkhaz secessionist forces has turned into a dead letter. In... MORE

According to official statistics, the Russian economy grew by 0.2 percent year-on-year in the first three months of this year. (Itar-Tass, April 14) This would be the first quarterly growth since 1991. Observers are skeptical about the claim, however. Russia's State Statistics Committee recently changed... MORE

The Russian government is raising the tax on domestically-produced vodka, producing a price increase of 37.5 percent. The tax hike, which will not affect imported brands, is intended to boost sagging state revenues. Russia's Independent TV commented caustically that the government is clearly determined to... MORE

The governor of Sverdlovsk oblast called yesterday for the Russian government to restore the recently abolished Ministry for Defense Industries. According to Eduard Rossel, Russia's defense industrial sector requires "state protection," and the transfer of the defunct agency's responsibility to the Economics Ministry will result... MORE