CIS WON’T INVOKE COLLECTIVE SECURITY MACHINERY IN CENTRAL ASIA.

Representatives of some of the nine countries, signatory to the CIS Collective Security Treaty, conferred in Moscow yesterday following the Taliban’s latest victories in northern Afghanistan. The CIS Security Council’s Russian secretary, Vladimir Zemsky, spoke of a potential threat to Central Asia and supported convening a top-level Collective Security Council session. However, the participants agreed only to further consultations at deputy ministers’ level and drafting proposals while monitoring the situation. (Itar-Tass, May 27)

Yeltsin’s Missile Pledge: It’s the Thought that Counts.