YELTSIN BRIEFED ON CAUCASUS MEETING, TO CHAIR SUMMIT.

Vladimir Shumeiko, chairman of the Russian Federation Council and of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, briefed Boris Yeltsin September 7 on the meeting of Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian parliamentary leaders which Shumeiko chaired September 4-6 in St. Petersburg. The meeting adopted a lowest-common-denominator statement expressing readiness to support efforts toward ending ethnic and political strife, restoring peace, and providing security and stability in the Caucasus. Shumeiko described the conversations as "frank"–usually an indication of disagreements; indeed the meeting failed to adopt a far more specific document drafted in advance by his staff. Yet Shumeiko reported that the meeting has laid the groundwork for a summit meeting of the leaders of the Transcaucasus countries and of the North Caucasus constituent republics of the Russian Federation to discuss conflict settlement and economic stabilization in the region. Yeltsin, who had called for such a meeting in July, confirmed his readiness to host and chair it. Current plans are to organize the meeting in late September at Yeltsin’s Black Sea residence in Sochi. (15)

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