RUSSIAN AIR DEFENSE CHIEF COOL ON MERGER.

The commander-in-chief of Russia’s air defense troops, Gen. Viktor Prudnikov, said on February 14 that it would be “unreasonable” to start merging his forces with the Air Force. Such a merger has been proposed in a number of military reform plans. He also said that he was considering banning flights by MiG-31 interceptors because the pilots could not get enough flight time to manage the aircraft safely. (Interfax, February 14)

Gaidar Team Acting as Yeltsin’s Speechwriters.