GREEK-CYPRIOT DEFENSE CHIEF IN MOSCOW.

Participants were close-mouthed following a meeting in Moscow on July 10 between Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeev and the visiting Defense Minister from Cyprus, Yiannakis Omirou. The two men reportedly discussed military cooperation between Russia and Cyprus, but revealed nothing of their talks. Afterward, Omirou said only that the meeting had been fruitful and expressed his gratitude over Russian support for the Greek Cypriot government. Sergeev, for his part, congratulated Cypriot specialists who had just completed a training course in operating Russian S-300 air defense missiles at a testing range in Russia’s Astrakhan region. (Russian agencies, July 10)

Russia signed a controversial deal to supply Cyprus with the S-300s early last year. Both Turkey and the United States have expressed their strong opposition to the deal. Neither Sergeev nor Omirou commented on reports that delivery of the S-300s to Cyprus, which had been scheduled to start this summer, has been put off until later in the year. The president of Cyprus, Glafcos Clerides, arrived in Moscow on July 11. He was scheduled to meet with President Boris Yeltsin and Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov during what has been described as an unofficial visit. (Russian agencies, July 10)

SCANDAL AT RUSSIAN MILITARY FOOD DEPOT.