DUMA VOTES AGAINST REORGANIZATION, WITHDRAWAL OF 14TH ARMY.

On June 21, the Russian parliament passed on the third reading the final version of a bill that would halt Yeltsin’s plans to reorganize, reduce, and withdraw the 14th Russian army from Moldova, Itar-Tass reported. The bill, which must now clear the Federation Council and be signed by Yeltsin himself, fails to mention either the 1994 Russian-Moldovan accords on withdrawal of the troops, or even the fact that the army is on foreign territory. But it does mandate the financing of the army’s continued presence by a special line in next year’s budget. Meanwhile, Russian deputy defense minister Konstantin Kobets told Russian television June 21 that Russia’s “limited troop contingent” would continue to serve “on Transdniestr’s territory” and that because of its drawdown in forces there already, “Russia has fulfilled its obligations inasmuch as it no longer has an army in Transdniestr.”

Yeltsin Woos FIGs.