YELTSIN ENVISAGES MILITARY DIMENSION TO CIS.

Marking the fifth anniversary of the CIS, the volume "CIS in Transformation: A Portrait" was officially issued in Moscow last week. Russian president Boris Yeltsin writes in the preface: "The creation of a single economic space is inconceivable without reliably protecting the CIS outer borders and strengthening our states’ defense capability. Potential threats to our security will not disappear anytime soon. Efforts to strengthen our security are necessary as long as conflicts, terrorism, militant nationalism, and territorial claims exist." (Interfax, January 28)

Meanwhile, direct or indirect territorial claims and military intervention have been features of Russian policy toward some CIS states. Yeltsin’s statement corroborates previous suggestions in Moscow that CIS economic integration should lead to military integration.

Ukrainian-Romanian Negotiations at Crucial Juncture.