The U.S. State Department yesterday expelled the first secretary of the Belarusan embassy in Washington, Uladzimir Hramyka, on a 24-hour notice. The move came in retaliation for the March 24 expulsion of Serge Alexandrov, first secretary of the U.S. embassy in Minsk. Also yesterday, the... MORE

Transdniester troops yesterday turned back from Bendery the delegation of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, which was due to attend in that city a regular meeting of the Joint Armistice Control Commission (JACC). Inside the conference hall, the Transdniester side vetoed the OSCE's attendance. Tiraspol... MORE

Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma hosted his Azerbaijani counterpart Haidar Aliev on a state visit to Kiev on March 24-25. At yesterday's concluding news conference, the presidents announced their "complete unity of views" on all issues discussed and the signing of a "declaration of deepening partnership"... MORE

Chinese vice premier and foreign minister Qian Qichen yesterday held talks in Moscow with Boris Yeltsin and Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov. All the principals expressed their satisfaction with the continued deepening of bilateral relations and predicted that the upcoming Russian-Chinese summit, scheduled for late... MORE

Indian prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda also met yesterday with Boris Yeltsin and, following separate talks with Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, the two countries announced the signing of four intergovernmental agreements, including one on the elimination of double taxation and another dealing with cooperation... MORE

A spokesman for Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin has dismissed as "a crude provocation" allegations by Chechen vice president Vakha Arsanov that the Russian security services are planning to use Chechen criminals living in Moscow to stage terrorist acts in three Russian cities and thereby... MORE

The Russian Supreme Court has upheld an appeal by Russian Public Television (ORT) against a decision by the Duma to suspend the accreditation of five ORT correspondents for one month. (ORT, Itar-Tass, March 25) The Duma reacted in anger on March 5 to what it... MORE

Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, the former chairman of the Gazprom natural gas monopoly, last week called the reform of Russia's natural monopolies a "priority task." (Itar-Tass, March 21) However, Chernomyrdin described plans for breaking up firms like Gazprom and the UES electrical energy monopoly "inadmissible,"... MORE

Interpol is the latest addition to the ever-expanding cast of characters in the struggle for control of Russia's aluminum industry. (Izvestia, March 18) The struggle is not only about who is to control a major national asset but also about Russian resistance to control by... MORE

In a step reflecting extreme displeasure with a foreign government, the U.S. State Department yesterday summoned its ambassador to Belarus, Kenneth Yalowitz, to Washington for consultations. The consultations will focus on further responses to the Belarusan government's violations of diplomatic norms and human rights. (Western... MORE