LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT: WEST MUST TAKE IN BALTICS AS A GROUP.

Concerned that some in the West might agree to include Estoniaor Latvia, but not Lithuania, into institutions such as the EUand NATO, Lithuanian president Algirdas Brazauskas told BNS August30 that the West should take the three in as a group. Officialsin the other two Baltic states fear that such a demand would meanthat none of them would get in. Also on August 30, German foreignminister Klaus Kinkel published an article in the Vilnius dailyLietuvos Rytas expressing his understanding for Baltic interestin joining NATO. In remarks designed to defuse the controversysparked by comments of German defense minister Volker Ruehe lastweek, Kinkel said that there must not be any "gray zones"in the future European security structures.

Lukashenko Merges Two Major Belarusian Banks.