ABKHAZ MAY HOLD REFERENDUM ON RUSSIAN TIES.

Leaders of Abkhazia who hope to secede from Georgia may hold a referendum on whether the population wants to remain in union with Georgia or to seek to enter the Russian Federation, Moscow radio reported June 7. Georgia is very much against such a vote, and Russian peacekeepers in the region are probably in a position to block it.

New Rule of Engagement for Russian Forces in Tajikistan.