KHABAROVSK REGION SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH CENTER.

During his visit to Khabarovsk krai, Yeltsin signed a power-sharing agreement with the krai on behalf of the federal center. As he remarked, this is the first time the signing of such an agreement has been staged outside Moscow. In recent years, Khabarovsk’s leaders have complained about what they say is the unfair tax burden borne by the region. They have demanded greater financial autonomy and threatened to defend their interests by uniting with other regions in a Far Eastern republic. The treaty Yeltsin signed is intended to placate this kind of local discontent. (Interfax, April 24)

Yeltsin said during his visit that the government would pay off the 1995 debts of the extensive and ailing defense industrial complex of the Khabarovsk region. According to Yeltsin, a 2.6 trillion ruble credit has been extended to the complex, with another 2 trillion rubles likely to follow. (Interfax, April 24)

Russia, Paris Club to Discuss Debt Rescheduling.