YELTSIN TO FIRE KOZYREV.

Russian president Boris Yeltsin said on Thursday that he would soon fire Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev. Kozyrev has been widely accused of letting Russia be sidelined in international peace efforts in former Yugoslavia. Nationalist and other hardline elements in the lower house of parliament accuse Kozyrev of selling out to the West and following its line on Bosnia. Last month parliament demanded his dismissal. However, Yeltsin gave a bureaucratic reason for the firing. He said Kozyrev had not been able to coordinate foreign policy and trade activity within the government. "All foreign policy issues in the government are to be coordinated by the Foreign Minister," Yeltsin said. "But he (Kozyrev) is unable to cope with many ministers. This is the gist of the problem."

Estonian President in the US.