BLACK SEA COUNTRIES BEGIN TALKS ON CONFIDENCE-BUILDING.

The first round of talks on confidence-building and security measures in the Black Sea opened yesterday in Kyiv. Represented by diplomatic and naval officials, the six riparian countries–Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey–are to draw up agreements on monitoring naval activities. Navies, unlike conventional forces, are not subject to OSCE treaty limitations. The talks stem from a Ukrainian initiative whose main original aim had been to regulate the activities of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Ukrainian waters. (DINAU, June 23)

GAZPROM PRESSURED TO GET TOUGH WITH EUROPEAN CIS COUNTRIES.