CALL FOR A BIGGER RUSSIAN PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN THE BALKANS.

Just back from a four-day trip to the Balkans, Russian Defense Council secretary Yury Baturin said on October 30 that he favors increasing the number of Russian troops participating in any future international peacekeeping operation in the region. Baturin also called for an expansion of the geographic zone of responsibility currently being overseen by Moscow’s 1,500 man IFOR contingent in eastern Bosnia. (RIA, October 30)

Japanese Military Worried About Russian Flights to Hokkaido.