LITPOLBAT TAKES TO THE FIELD.

Also on September 12 the joint Lithuanian-Polish battalion, LITPOLBAT, began its first combat exercise, code-named Gruenwald Wind. Until September 18, the 800-strong unit will practice peace enforcement operations at the Orzysz testing grounds in Poland’s Suwalki province. Formed on the basis of bilateral agreements in 1997, the battalion is being financed on a parity basis and uses English as language of command. It intends to be ready for participation in NATO-led peacekeeping operations by next January (BNS, September 11; PAP, September 13).

MINSK BLASTS YELTSIN AS “GORBACHEV” AFTER POSTPONEMENT OF SUMMIT.