NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE WITH BLACK SEA CAPTORS, PASSENGERS UNHURT.

In Turkey, law enforcement authorities appeared successful in their bid to defuse the tension over the seizure of the ferryboat Avrazya and steer the event toward a nonviolent solution. Authorities continued to talk to the armed pro-Chechen group in possession of the boat and its nearly 200 passengers and crew as the boat sailed across the Black Sea toward the Bosphorus. The passengers, mostly Russian, were all reported unhurt. Russia’s "power" ministries, Foreign Ministry, and Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin have all offered to send Russian special units to help "punish" the hostage-takers. (2)

Moscow Warns West Against Double Standard…