TAJIK PRESIDENT GETS ACCOLADE FROM MOSCOW MAYOR.

On a "working visit" to Moscow yesterday, Tajik president Imomali Rahmonov was received discreetly by Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and with fanfare by Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov. Rahmonov and Luzhkov agreed that Tajikistan will increase cotton deliveries to Moscow, while Moscow will assist Tajik industrial plants that employ ethnic Russians. (Interfax, November 18) The political connotation of the agreement reflects the nationalist position that presidential hopeful Luzhkov is staking out on "near abroad" issues in general.

Turkmen President Undergoes Health Check in Istanbul.