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Subject:      RFE/RL Daily Report 27 JAN, 1993

The RFE/RL Daily Report is a digest of the latest developments
in Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia, and Central and
Eastern Europe. It is published Monday through Friday (except
German holidays) by the RFE/RL Research Institute (a division of
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc.). Copyright 1993 RFE/RL,
Inc.


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                RFE/RL Daily Report

                                    No. 17, 27 January 1993

                              RUSSIA

RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE STATEMENT ON WEAPONS PROLIFERATION.  The
Russian Foreign Intelligence Agency will, for the first time,
present to the public a wide-ranging analysis on the danger of
nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons proliferation,
Nezavisimaya gazeta reported on 27 January.  The document is to be
presented by the agency's head, Evgenii Primakov, at a press
conference in the Foreign Ministry on 28 January. The analysis is
expected to show the extent to which third world countries are
developing their own nuclear weapons.  According to information
obtained by Nezavisimaya gazeta, the document also warns of a lack
of international control over the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction. Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL, Inc.

KOZYREV URGES PARLIAMENT TO RATIFY START-2. Russian Foreign
Minister Andrei Kozyrev urged the ratification of the START- 2
strategic arms reduction treaty in 26 January testimony before the
Russian parliament's committee for international affairs and
foreign economic relations.  According to Interfax, he proposed
that joint hearings in the Russian parliament and the U.S.  Senate
should be organized. Kozyrev suggested that Russia had "nearly
approached the limits of [arms] cuts...." and said that priority
should now be shifted to the tasks of preventing the proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction, and in confidence-building
measures to ensure international security and stability.  Doug
Clarke, RFE/RL, Inc.

KOZYREV ADDRESSES PARLIAMENT.  Russian Foreign Minister Andrei
Kozyrev offered the Russian parliament on 26 January a summary of
Russia's latest foreign policy activities and a glimpse into the
future. Among other things, Kozyrev noted that the number of
official visits abroad will be reduced and that Russia will be
receiving more foreign officials in Moscow. In any case, President
Yeltsin will travel to Japan, "if Japan does not put too much
pressure on Russia during the discussion of the Kuril problem."
Yeltsin will also travel to Brussels to conclude an agreement with
the European Community, ITAR-TASS reported on 26 January.  Suzanne
Crow, RFE/RL, Inc.

CONTROVERSY OVER YELTSIN'S SUPPORT FOR FRIENDLY TV COMPANY.
Representatives of the Russian media have criticized President
Yeltsin's recent decree stipulating that the All-Russian State TV
and Radio Broadcasting Company will begin showing its programs on
the first TV channel.  The first channel has been occupied by
Ostankino TV, whereas the All-Russian TV has been broadcasting on
the second.  The first TV channel is far more widely received in
the Russian Federation and in most new countries of the former
Soviet Union than the second channel.  On 26 January,
Komsomolskaya pravda reported that despite the fact that
Ostankino's audience will be reduced because of the change, its
popularity might increase, since it has already begun to acquire a
reputation of a "suffering dissident." Ostankino's reporting is
usually more critical of the policies of the Russian leadership
then those of the All-Russian State TV.  Vera Tolz, RFE/RL, Inc.

YUSHENKOV APPOINTED TO FEDERAL INFORMATION CENTER. Interfax
reported on 26 January that the deputy head of the new Federal
Information Center (FIC), a media supervisory body, would be
Sergei Yushenkov, a leader of the Radical Democrats parliamentary
faction and a member of the parliamentary committee on the media.
The FIC has been described as "illegal" by parliamentary speaker
Ruslan Khasbulatov, and parliament is scheduled on 28 January to
debate a motion calling on the Constitutional Court to examine
President Yeltsin's December 1992 decree establishing the FIC.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Lisin, newly-appointed chairman of
parliamentary committee on the media, told Interfax that the
committee had recommended against holding a parliamentary debate
on a draft resolution covering economic and legal support for the
media, and that he favored transferring responsibility for some
media funding from the parliament to the press minister.  Wendy
Slater, RFE/RL, Inc.

THE PRICE OF RUSSIAN OIL. On 1 January, Interfax reported the
substance of a telegram from the Ministry of Fuel and Power
Engineering to the effect that Russia was selling oil and gas to
the former Soviet republics at world prices in dollars or in
rubles at the commercial rate of exchange. This was widely
reported and caused a stir. Mikhail Berger in Izvestiya of 15
January explains that the amounts of oil and gas involved are
relatively small, since the arrangement covers only direct
agreements between Russian producers and their foreign customers.
The overwhelming bulk of oil and gas deliveries are covered by
special intergovernment agreements based not on dollars or
convertible rubles but on clearing.  Keith Bush, RFE/RL, Inc.

RUSSIA'S EXTERNAL DEBT.  A Russian government official
participating in the Russian-Japanese trade talks in Tokyo
announced that Russia's external debt at the beginning of 1993
amounted to $75.8 billion, ITAR-TASS reported on 21 January. This
appears to be the most recent and authoritative estimate of
Russia's foreign debt. The official claimed that Russia had
appropriated $16.6 billion to service its debts in 1992. On the
credit side, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Shokhin told a news
conference in Moscow on 20 January that the debts owed to the
former Soviet Union [mostly by insolvent client states and other
third-world countries] totaled $146 billion at the official
exchange rate in 1991, Russian TV reported.  Many debtor nations
were proposing that current exchange rates be used to assess the
debt, according to Shokhin.  Keith Bush, RFE/RL, Inc.

RUBLE PLUNGES.  On the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange on 26
January, the ruble fell to 568 rubles to the dollar, down from 493
rubles on 21 January.  The initial demand was $99 million and the
initial offer was $51 million.  Turnover amounted to $85 million.
The steep decline was attributed by Russian and Western agencies
to a variety of factors: the fear of imminent hyperinflation; the
perennial rumors of monetary reform, this time sparked by the
issue of new banknotes on 26 January; the Russian Central Bank's
plans to limit hard-currency trade; and Finance Minister Vasilii
Barchuk's projection of a 1993 budget deficit of 3.5 trillion
rubles. Meanwhile, the Russian Central Bank announced that it is
preparing designs for 50,000 and 100,000 ruble banknotes.  Keith
Bush, RFE/RL, Inc.

DUDAEV PROTESTS DUTCH VISA REQUIREMENTS.  The Chechen press agency
has distributed a report saying that Chechen president Dzhokhar
Dudaev was unable to attend the third session of the general
assembly of the Organization of Unrepresented Peoples in The Hague
because of "artificial obstacles" created by the Dutch consulate
in Turkey, ITAR-TASS reported on 26 January. In a statement sent
to the Dutch government and the participants of the assembly
session, Dudaev says that the demand that the visa application be
submitted through Russia's consular offices and that a Russian
citizen's passport be presented was an attempt to impose the
citizenship of another state on representatives of the sovereign
Chechen republic and interference in its internal affairs. Ann
Sheehy, RFE/RL, Inc.

AEROFLOT FLIGHTS TO GROZNYI TO BE RESUMED? Interfax reported on 26
January that twice-weekly Aeroflot flights from Moscow to the
Chechen capital Groznyi would be resumed in February if Chechnya
guaranteed the safety of the flights. The flights had been stopped
some months ago after a series of highjackings. Resumption of the
flights was one of the chief demands of the Chechen authorities,
and can be seen as part of Russia's current efforts to improve
relations with Chechnya in the interests of stabilizing the
situation in the North Caucasus as a whole.  Ann Sheehy, RFE/RL,
Inc.

DATE SET FOR COUP TRIAL.  Various western and Russian media
reported that 14 April had been named as the opening day in the
trial of participants in the failed coup of August 1991. Anatolii
Ukolov, deputy chairman of the Russian Supreme Court's military
division, which was handling the case, provided details at a press
conference on 26 January. The 12 defendants have been formally
accused of treason by plotting to seize power, and at least five
of them also face a charge of abuse of power. The trial will be
held in open session in Russia's Supreme Court, with eight
prosecutors and 21 defense lawyers. At least 120 witnesses are to
be called, including ex-USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev, Russian
parliamentary speaker Khasbulatov and Russian Vice-President
Rutskoi, but not, initially, President Yeltsin. The last four
defendants in the case to remain in prison were released on 26
January, pending the trial.  Wendy Slater, RFE/RL, Inc.

RUSSIA'S CRIME RATE UP IN 1992.  The Russian Federation General
Public Prosecutor's Office has reported that there were 2,760,000
crimes registered in Russia in 1992, according to Interfax on 26
January.  This represents a 27% increase over 1991. Thefts were
the most frequently committed crime. The incidence of theft as a
whole went up by 30.4%, and apartment burglaries by 48.3%. There
was a 47.7% increase in murders and attempted murders.  The number
of reported rapes went down in 1992, but this is attributed to the
fact that rape victims are not reporting the crimes rather than an
actual drop in the instance of rape.  Sheila Marnie, RFE/RL, Inc.

MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX CUTS 600,000 JOBS. During 1992 the
number of workers employed in Russia's military-industrial complex
declined by 600,000 according to figures revealed during a recent
conference of defense industry officials. In a report published on
26 January, Interfax added that state orders for military hardware
had decreased by 68% in the same year.  It quoted conference
participants as saying that one out of five defense enterprises
had to either curtail or halt production entirely. As a result,
they said, wages at military- industrial enterprises were 62%
lower than those in other industries. They felt that the downward
trend in production would continue this year.  Doug Clarke,
RFE/RL, Inc.

                  TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

KYRGYZSTAN TO FIGHT BUDGET DEFICIT WITH OPIUM? Businessmen in
Kyrgyzstan have proposed overcoming that country's immense budget
deficit by growing opium poppies, Kyrgyz Vice-President Feliks
Kulov told the daily Slovo Kyrgyzstana according to a 26 January
news report on Ekho Moskvy. The proposal was made in response to
President Askar Akaev's call for emergency measures to prevent the
total collapse of Kyrgyzstan's economy. According to the radio
report, the newspaper had commented that there are more opponents
than supporters of the opium plan.  But reports from the Central
Asian states during 1992 indicated that many people have gone into
the drug-producing business on their own.  Bess Brown, RFE/RL,
Inc.

AZERBAIJANI PRIME MINISTER REPLACED. Azerbaijani Prime Minister
Ragim Guseinov has resigned for unspecified reasons, ITAR-TASS
reported on 26 January.  In a decree of the same date, Azerbaijani
President Abulfaz El'chibey appointed as Guseinov's successor his
first deputy, the 40-year-old economist Ali Masimov, who had also
held the position of chairman of the Azerbaijani State Committee
for Economics and Planning.  Liz Fuller, RFE/RL, Inc.

UZBEKISTAN DEFINES MILITARY DOCTRINE. Uzbekistan's Defense
Ministry has nearly completed a document setting out the country's
military doctrine, Interfax reported on 22 January.  The doctrine,
according to the report, takes into account Uzbekistan's signature
of the CIS collective security agreement in 1992 and is predicated
on a rejection of war as a means of resolving international
disputes and disputes between CIS states.  It also declares that
Uzbekistan has no territorial claims on any other state, rejects
first use of force, and intends to remain non-nuclear.  Bess
Brown, RFE/RL, Inc.

                    CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

HAVEL ELECTED CZECH PRESIDENT.  After a stormy session of the
Czech parliament on 26 January, the playwright and first president
of postcommunist Czechoslovakia Vaclav Havel was elected the
President of the Czech Republic.  In a secret ballot Havel
received the support of 109 deputies in the 200-member parliament
(the ruling right-of-center coalition that proposed Havel has a
total of 105 deputies). Havel will be inaugurated for his
five-year term on 2 February. The other two candidates, Marie
Stiborova (proposed by the Communist Party) and the leader of the
extreme-right Republican Party, Miroslav Sladek, won 49 and 14
votes, respectively. Many commentators described the election
process itself as unworthy of a civilized country. The Republicans
delivered a series of lengthy speeches attacking and personally
insulting Havel, thus postponing the vote by four hours. A bomb
threat also delayed the proceedings.  Shortly after the election,
the new president announced that the strengthening of relations
with Slovakia will be among his top priorities.  Jan Obrman,
RFE/RL, Inc.

SLOVAK PARLIAMENT FAILS TO ELECT PRESIDENT IN FIRST ROUND.
Meanwhile, the Slovak parliament has failed to agree on one of the
four presidential candidates proposed by various parties
represented in the National Council. Unlike the Czech Republic,
where the president is elected by a simple majority of the
deputies, in Slovakia the constitution requires a three-fifths
majority in Parliament.  Roman Kovac, the candidate of the ruling
Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, won 69 votes (in the
150-member parliament) and Milan Ftacnik, supported by the
excommunist Party of the Democratic Left, received the support of
30 deputies.  Anton Neuwirth and Jozef Prokes received fewer votes
and did not qualify for the second round of the election, which is
to be held on 27 January.  Given the fact that at least five MDS
deputies voted against the official candidate of their party, some
observers have noted that resistance to Prime Minister Meciar is
growing within his own party.  It is yet unclear whether the
second round of voting will produce a winner. Jan Obrman, RFE/RL,
Inc.

CROATIA FIGHTING ESCALATING.  Croatia's offensive against Serbian
militiamen around the Adriatic port of Zadar continued on 26
January despite a UN resolution calling for the Croats to withdraw
from the UN-controlled area. Fighting also spread into areas of
the self-proclaimed Serbian Republic of Krajina.  Croatian
President Franjo Tudjman told reporters after a meeting with
military and police leaders that Croatian troops will withdraw
from the Zadar area on condition that Serb forces give up their
heavy weapons seized in depots controlled by the UN and allow
Croatian police to control the region to ensure a return to normal
life. Belgrade TV described Croat artillery barrages on Serb
positions in the Zadar area as "unprecedented" and "incessant" and
said that Serb reinforcements were coming in from all over
Krajina. The news agency ISKRA of the "Serbian Republic of
Krajina" claims more than 500 civilians, mostly women and
children, were killed in an Croatian offensive that began on 22
January.  Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL, Inc.

SERBIAN REACTIONS.  The commander of the Novi Sad Corps of the
federal Yugoslav army said on 25 January that the army is ready to
react in case of a Croat army attack on Serb-held eastern
Slavonia, Baranja, or Srem regions.  Federal President Dobrica
Cosic told Greek TV on 26 January that "Croatia has launched an
all-out war against the Serbs in Krajina.  What's going on there
is a genocidal war.  "Bosnian Serbs promised on 26 January to give
the UN time to end the fighting in Croatia before they intervene.
The Serb National Council of Bosnian Krajina today urged Belgrade
to intervene militarily in order to halt Croatian army attacks.
Radio Serbia carried the reports. Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL, Inc.

ARE BOSNIAN PEACE TALKS PROGRESSING? Fred Eckhard, spokesman for
the UN-EC talks, said on 26 January that "definite progress" was
made after a rare joint meeting between Bosnian President Alija
Izetbegovic and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic in Geneva.
Karadzic said his side has accepted a plan put forth by mediators
Cyrus Vance and Lord Owen for a central coordinating body to
govern Sarajevo during the runup period to adopting a new
constitution for Bosnia-Herzegovina.  The Serbs also agreed to
setting up a municipal body for Sarajevo with three
representatives each from the Serb, Muslim, and Croat communities.
Serbs and Muslims would administer the surrounding province on the
basis of consensus, he said. Karadzic felt the proposal "could end
the war in Sarajevo immediately if it is accepted." But
Izetbegovic showed no sign of agreeing to the proposals after his
80-minute meeting with Karadzic.  He described the talks as "Only
a discussion, without any results." Karadzic and Izetbegovic will
resume talks on 27 January, according to Radio Serbia.  Milan
Andrejevich, RFE/RL, Inc.

US REACTS TO EMBARGO VIOLATIONS. The United States has called for
strict enforcement of the embargo imposed against rump Yugoslavia,
Western agencies reported on 26 January. State Department
spokesman Richard Boucher said the US has again told the
governments of Bulgaria and Romania that they have the authority,
as well as the responsibility, to stop Danube vessels suspected of
sanction-busting. Boucher added that the UN Security Council
Committee on Sanctions, which convened last weekend, is of the
same opinion. He also revealed the State Department has been in
contact with Ukraine, which is believed to have provided the fuel.
Meanwhile, early on 27 January, agencies report that the fuel
convoy led by the tugboat Bihac has already reached Serbian
waters. Reporting from the Bulgarian port of Ruse, BTA named three
more tugboats pulling barges and "navigating without impediment"
on the Danube. Kjell Engelbrekt, RFE/RL, Inc.

MACEDONIAN RECOGNITION IN SIGHT?  On 25 January Greek Foreign
Minister Michael Papaconstantinou announced that his government is
prepared in principle to accept a plan that would enable the UN
Security Council to recommend admission to the UN for the Republic
of Macedonia. Western sources reported that the plan, coauthored
by France, Great Britain, and Spain, calls for Macedonia's
admission under the name "the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia." Both Greece and Macedonia would then be expected to
negotiate resolution of their differences.  Macedonia is likely to
accept this compromise as the IMF and the World Bank already
admitted the new republic using this name. On 26 January, Kiro
Gligorov, President of the Republic of Macedonia, invited Greek
Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis to meet with him to discuss
and resolve their countries' differences.  Duncan Perry, RFE/RL,
Inc.

POLAND ADAPTS TO EC NORMS. The government on 26 January approved
an adaptation program designed to bring the Polish legal system
into conformity with EC norms.  The program includes the adoption
or revision of 61 laws and 53 other legal acts. Priority is given
to economic legislation, including customs regulations, financial
services, industrial law, copyright protection, and environmental
preservation.  According to experts quoted by Polish TV on 26
January, the gaps between Polish and EC standards vary greatly;
laws governing corporate activity are already on a European level,
while environmental regulations lag far behind.  Adaptation to EC
norms is one of the areas for which the government has requested
"special powers." A draft bill enabling the government to issue
decrees with the force of law reached the Sejm on 26 January, with
a request for urgent action.  Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL, Inc.

WALESA SLANDER TRIAL RESUMES.  The trial of two adherents of the
fringe Freedom Party resumed in Brzeg on 26 January. The two
students admit they shouted "Down with Walesa--SB (secret police)
agent!" at a number of rallies in 1992. Their attorneys contend
that a verdict cannot be handed down until the prosecutor proves
that Walesa had no ties with the SB. A number of former luminaries
of the Solidarity movement, including Andrzej Gwiazda, Anna
Walentynowicz, Kornel Morawiecki, and Kazimierz Switon, appeared
in court or submitted statements asking that their names be added
to the indictment, as they too contend that Walesa was an SB
agent.  All four bear grudges against Walesa and have long voiced
extremist political views. Legal observers commenting on the case
for Polish TV lamented that the legal system provides no effective
mechanism to protect public figures from slander and character
assassination. Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL, Inc.

ROMANIAN-HUNGARIAN TALKS.  A Hungarian Foreign Ministry delegation
arrived in Bucharest on 26 January for talks on the draft of a
bilateral treaty.  Radio Bucharest did not elaborate on the
delegation's agenda, but said that the meeting is part of a
Romanian initiative to spur relations to Hungary.  Disputes
between the two country's have often centered on treatment of
Romania's large Hungarian minority.  On the other hand, Romania
insists that the new treaty should include a clause stipulating
that Hungary had no territorial claims on Romania.  Dan Ionescu,
RFE/RL, Inc.

HUNDREDS MARK CEAUSESCU'S BIRTHDAY.  Between 200 and 500 people
commemorated Nicolae Ceausescu's 75th birthday at his graveside on
26 January. Western agencies report that the nondescript grave in
Ghencea cemetery, generally accepted as Ceausescu's burial site,
was adorned with a new headstone displaying a red star and an
inscription hailing the former communist dictator as "great
national hero." Participants in the ceremony, most of whom were
elderly and staunch communists, said that life was better under
Ceausescu, who, they claimed, was killed by "agents of the Western
imperialist forces." Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL, Inc.

ALBANIA FAILS IN BID TO JOIN NATO.  Reuters reported on 26 January
that NATO has quietly rejected Albania's request to join the
organization, the first former Warsaw Pact country formally to
apply.  Albania was advised to pursue closer links through the
North Atlantic Consultative Council, set up to foster links with
former Warsaw Pact countries.  President Sali Berisha, concerned
about the possible spread of the Balkan war, applied for
membership last month. Meanwhile, Reuters also reports that
Albanian Defense Minister Safet Zhulali met in Budapest on the
26th with his Hungarian counterpart Lajos Fur and received an
offer from Hungary to help train Albanian officers and share its
experience in reforming the military for postcommunist conditions.
Charles Trumbull, RFE/RL, Inc.

UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT OUTLINES PLANS. The Cabinet of Ministers on
26 January approved a plan of its activities for 1993 intended to
guide the country towards a market economy, Western newspapers
report.  The program, which is said to have the support of both
liberals and conservatives in Parliament, includes a stabilization
policy to reduce the budget deficit and calls for rapid
privatization of small enterprises and the transformation of
larger enterprises into joint stock companies.  Roman Solchanyk,
RFE/RL, Inc.

SMOLYAKOV ON RELATIONS WITH UKRAINE.  Leonid Smolyakov, the
Russian ambassador in Ukraine, is quoted by ITAR-TASS on 25
January as saying that Russia respects Ukraine's sovereignty and
has absolutely no intention of interfering in its internal
affairs.  Speaking with journalists in Simferopol, Smolyakov said
that the time has come to resolve the question of dual citizenship
in Ukraine and that, in accordance with earlier agreements, a
Russian consulate general should be opened in the Crimean capital.
Roman Solchanyk, RFE/RL, Inc.

MOROZOV ON UKRAINIAN MILITARY LOYALTY. According to a 25 January
Reuters report, Ukrainian Defense Minister Konstantin Morozov
criticized officers in the Ukrainian military who swore allegiance
to Ukraine in order to retain their privileges and careers.  He
reportedly said that anyone not fully committed to Ukrainian
independence should resign. Morozov's comments were undoubtedly
aimed at the large Russian majority in the Ukrainian officer
corps, many of whom joined the Ukrainian military rather than
facing dismissal or transfer to Russia, where housing is a severe
problem. Ukrainian parliamentarians have also been critical of
Morozov for his handling of the reattestation of officers and
management of the armed forces. John Lepingwell, RFE/RL, Inc.

UKRAINE REJECTS BLACK SEA FLEET OFFICERS' DEMANDS. The Ukrainian
Defense Ministry said that calls by the officers' assembly of the
Black Sea Fleet to maintain the fleet under joint
Ukrainian-Russian control and withdraw the Ukrainian navy
headquarters from Sevastopol constitute interference in Ukraine's
internal affairs. According to an Interfax report of 26 January
Defense Minister Morozov has expressed his willingness to meet
with the fleet's command to discuss the officers' demands.  John
Lepingwell, RFE/RL, Inc.

SHUSHKEVICH ON BELARUSIAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS. In an interview with
Interfax on 25 January Parliament Chairman Stanislau Shushkevich
explained his country's position on nuclear weapons. The nuclear
weapons currently deployed in Belarus have been transferred to
Russia and constitute part of the Russian strategic forces,
according to Shushkevich. Belarus has not demanded any
compensation for the transfer of the forces to Russia, and
Shushkevich criticized "the supernaove judgments of people who
have no notion about fissile materials" who believe that the
materials can be used for nuclear power generation.  He further
argued that because the weapons were made in Russia, they should
belong to Russia. Shushkevich also noted that Belarus is not
interested in receiving substantial funds from the US for the
dismantling of nuclear weapons.  John Lepingwell, RFE/RL, Inc.

MORE RUSSIAN TROOPS BROUGHT TO LITHUANIA. On 26 January Lithuanian
government commissioner for Russian troop withdrawal Col. Stasys
Knezys told a press briefing that although Lithuania had given
permission for Russia to bring 207 soldiers to assist in the troop
withdrawal, 929 soldiers were flown to Kedainiai on 19 January,
BNS reports. Deputy Foreign Minister Virginijus Papirtis summoned
the Russian ambassador and queried him on the introduction of more
troops to Lithuania, the progress of Russian-Lithuanian talks, and
the return to Lithuania of embassy buildings in Rome and Paris
still occupied by Russian offices. Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL, Inc.

LAZDIJAI CUSTOMS POST OPEN AGAIN FOR BALTS. Effective 25 January,
new regulations were passed that countermanded the 9 December 1991
Lithuanian government decree restricting passage through the
Lazdijai customs post with Poland for citizens of the Baltic
States, BNS reported on 26 January. These citizens will be able to
go through the post without any special permission while CIS
citizens will be able to cross only with diplomatic passports.
According to Lietuvos rytas the number of cars crossing at the
post increased about 20% the first day.  Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL,
Inc.

JOXE ATTENDS BALTIC DEFENSE SEMINAR.  French Defense Minister
Pierre Joxe told the press in Riga on 25 January that the presence
of Russian troops in the Baltic States is a destabilizing factor
posing a threat also to the security of Europe. Joxe expressed
interest in closer cooperation between the Baltic States,
especially in the coordination of their positions prior to talks
with Russia. Joxe heads a French delegation to a seminar on Baltic
defense and security issues in Riga; the participants discussed
the formation of a Baltic military alliance, BNS and Diena
reported on 25 and 26 January.  Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL, Inc.

NEW LUTHERAN ARCHBISHOP IN LATVIA.  An RFE/RL correspondent in
Riga reported on 26 January that earlier that day the synod of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia chose Rev. Janis Vanags, 34,
as archbishop.  His predecessor, Archbishop Karlis Gailitis, died
in a car accident last November.  Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL, Inc.

ESTONIAN ECONOMICS MINISTER RESIGNS. According to Postimees of 26
January, Ain Saarman, who took the post in October when Prime
Minister Mart Laar formed his Pro Patria-led government,
reportedly stepped back for reasons of health, but government
insiders say there has been considerable dissatisfaction with
Saarman's performance.  BNS reports on 26 January that the front
runner to take over the ministry is Toomas Sildmae, general
director of the Finest Hotel Group, a highly successful
Finnish-Estonian joint venture. Saarman's resignation, the first
from Laar's government, sparked rumors that other
ministers--namely those for finance and agriculture--may follow.
Riina Kionka, RFE/RL, Inc.

[As of 1200 CET]
Compiled    by  Hal  Kosiba  and  Charles  Trumbull
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