NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE OVER COMPOSITION OF RUSSIA’S NEW GOVERNMENT.

Behind the scenes in Moscow, maneuvering continues over the formation of the new government. Nothing is reaching the public other than rumors and unconfirmed speculation. After a meeting yesterday between Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and presidential Chief-of-Staff Anatoly Chubais, tight-lipped government sources said only that they "would not exclude the possibility" that the two men discussed the key post of first deputy prime minister in charge of the economy. Also believed to have been discussed was the new head of the state privatization agency, a post once held by Chubais. Chubais is believed to favor the present acting head, Alfred Kokh, while Chernomyrdin wants the post for Sergei Belyaev, who held the post until the beginning of this year, when he left to make an undistinguished career as leader of the "Russia is Our Home" parliamentary faction. Both Chernomyrdin and Chubais are expected to meet today with Yeltsin, who will take the final decisions. (Interfax, July 29) Reports from Moscow indicate that Chernomyrdin favors the return of former first deputy prime minister Georgy Khizha to the post of his deputy with oversight of the defense sector. (Obshchaya gazeta, July 25)

Court Nixes Yeltsin Plan.