RAISING MOSCOW’S PROFILE IN LATIN AMERICA.

Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov will visit Mexico, Cuba, and Venezuela May 19-25. Declaring that "Russia, as a great state, does not leave Latin America and has never intended to withdraw from there," a ministry spokesman said that the main purpose of the visit is to strengthen Moscow’s presence in Latin America. (Itar-Tass, May 14)

Veteran Russian Human Rights Activists Sound Alarm.