RUSSIA OPPOSES BOSNIAN SERB SECESSION.

Russian foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev, on last night’s MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, said that Russia opposes any move by the Bosnian Serbs to secede from Bosnia and to join forces with the neighboring Serb state. Russia, according to Kozyrev, in firm agreement with the Contact Group, supports maintaining Bosnia’s territorial integrity. Allowing the Serbs to secede from Bosnia would set a bad precedent which could be used later by ethnic minorities in Russia, the foreign minister added. Kozyrev believes that a cease-fire in Bosnia is "somewhat within reach," but only if the West uses its clout with the Bosnian Muslims and the Croats to stop their military offensives to recapture Serb-held territory.

Russian Gold Production Down 30 Percent.