TURKIC LEADERS BACK REGIONAL SECURITY CONFERENCE IDEA.

The presidents of six Turkic countries–Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan–held a summit in theKyrgyz capital of Bishkek August 28, Russian radio reported.In addition to a variety of agreements on economic and cultural questions, the six agreed to Uzbekistan’s call for a regionalsecurity conference, Kazakhstan’s suggestion for the creationof a confidence building forum there, and Kyrgyzstan’s proposalfor converting the Issyk Kul conference on Central Asia intoa permanent organization. The Uzbek and Kazakh leaders urged thecreation of a special UN peacekeeping battalion for the region–something Moscow would certainly oppose–but Turkmen presidentSaparmurad Niyazov said that he preferred to work bilaterallyon such questions. Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev said thatBaku wanted to participate more fully in all Central Asian projects.The next meeting of the group will take place in Tashkent.

From Cosmonauts to Coffins.