MOSCOW WILL BLOCK BALTIC MEMBERSHIP IN NATO.

Russian deputy foreignminister Sergei Krylov told a Kaliningrad meeting of Russianambassadors in the region that Moscow would use all means underinternational agreements to prevent the Baltic countries from joiningNATO, BNS reported May 30. Krylov also reasserted Moscow’s right tobase troops in Kaliningrad; we can do it, he said, “because this isRussian territory.” The same day, Baltic foreign ministers met in theNetherlands with their NATO counterparts, and Baltic defense ministersagreed to coordinate their defense policies within the Westernalliance’s Partnership for Peace program.

Vilnius Parliamentarian Says Russia Must Move Border Posts.