MOSCOW PRESSES BAKU TO JOIN CIS AIR DEFENSE PACT.

Col.Gen. Viktor Prudnikov, commander of Russian and CIS air defense,will soon go to Baku to try to convince Azerbaijan to join theCIS air defense system, Interfax reported July 8. All CIS stateshave joined except for Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Turkmenistan;and Turkmenistan is prepared to cooperate with the CIS group ona bilateral basis. On July 7, Azerbaijan became the last CIS stateto sign a trade accord with Moscow.

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