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Subject:      RFE/RL Daily Report 21 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. 13, 21 January 1993

                              RUSSIA

RUSSIAN CABINET MOVES TO COUNTER HYPERINFLATION. At a news
conference after the cabinet meeting on 20 January, Deputy Prime
Ministers Boris Fedorov and Anatolii Chubais warned of the
imminent threat of hyperinflation, Russian and Western agencies
reported.  Retail prices could rise by 55-60% in January.
Referring to proposed countermeasures, Fedorov spoke of a "tough
discussion" within the cabinet and forecast a battle with the
parliament. The proposals included the setting of quarterly
ceilings for the budget deficit, doubling interest rates on
savings deposits, reducing subsidies to inefficient enterprises,
and issuing government bonds to finance the budget deficit.
Fedorov hopes to bring inflation rates down to 5% a month and the
budget deficit down to 5% of the GNP by the end of 1993.  Keith
Bush, RFE/RL, Inc.

KHASBULATOV AND CHERNOMYRDIN MEET LOCAL LEADERS. Both the Russian
Prime Minister, Viktor Chernomyrdin, and the parliamentary
speaker, Ruslan Khasbulatov, held meetings on 20 January with
leading members of Russia's Union of Governors (the influential
body uniting the local leaders in Russia's regions).  ITAR-TASS
reported that during the discussions, which covered, among other
topics, the Federation Treaty, members of the Union expressed
their concern that Russia's regions did not have the same
political weight as the constituent republics of the Russian
Federation. Chernomyrdin, however, called for the institution of
regular meetings between the Union of Governors and members of the
cabinet, and for closer co-ordination between the central and
local governments, since, he said, the Russian government was
shifting the emphasis of its reform program to the regions.  Wendy
Slater, RFE/RL, Inc.

RUSSIAN NEO-COMMUNISTS PLAN REVIVAL.  Over 1,000 initiative
committees were already working towards the revival of communist
party structures in preparation for the second congress of the
Communist Party of Russia (CPR), due to take place in Moscow on
13-14 February, Valentin Kuptsov, chairman of the congress's
organizing committee, said at a press conference reported by
Russian TV on January 19. Following the Constitutional Court's
November ruling lifting the ban of the CPSU, Russia's communist
parties have accelerated their plans for a revival, but Kuptsov
denied that they were carrying out propaganda among active members
of the security services, and noted that members of the CPR had to
become accustomed to the fact that they belong to an opposition
and not a ruling party.  However, it was clear that not all
communist sympathizers planned to participate in the forthcoming
congress; in particular, Nina Andreeva's All-Russian Communist
Party of Bolsheviks have categorically refused to attend. Wendy
Slater, RFE/RL, Inc.

NEW WARNING ABOUT CHERNOBYL. A European Community team has
examined the Chernobyl nuclear power station and found it unfit to
operate by Western safety standards, Reuters reported on 20
January. One of the experts told a news conference in Hamburg that
"it is not responsible to keep this plant in operation." The
reactors lack fire protection doors to keep any blaze from
spreading and their safety systems are not physically separated,
making them liable to being knocked out at the same time.  The
cost of required safety improvements is put at about DM 60
million.  Keith Bush, RFE/RL, Inc.

RUSSIA'S NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS. An Interfax report on 19 January
suggests that Russia's nuclear power plants are in need of repair.
One bloc in each of the Novovoronezh, the Kalinin, the Smolensk
and the Kursk nuclear power plants are currently closed for
repairs, and within the last week four incidents took place at
different power stations; three of the problems were resolved
within one day, but one resulted in a bloc at the Kalinin plant
being closed for major repairs.  Sheila Marnie., RFE/RL, Inc.

RUSSIAN ARMY BIGGEST PEDDLER OF WEAPONS. A unnamed military
official was quoted by "Rossiiskie vesti" on 19 January as saying
that Russian military personnel are the primary suppliers of black
market weaponry on the territory of the former USSR, particularly
in the Caucasus region. According to AFP, the official said that
the breakup of the Soviet Union had led to a loss of control over
the army's weapons inventory, and that the reorganization of the
Russian army since last spring has complicated the situation
further. He claimed that some 25,000 firearms have disappeared
over the last six months, including 21,000 in the Caucasus.
Stephen Foye, RFE/RL, Inc.

INVESTIGATION OF CORRUPTION IN WESTERN GROUP OF FORCES.  The
former chief of Control Administration at the Russian President's
Office Yurii, Boldyrev, has submitted to President Yeltsin a
report recommending that several generals of the Western Group of
Forces (WGF) be stripped of rank for corruption and embezzlement,
Radio Rossii reported on 15 January. Boldyrev has headed a joint
investigative commission led by officials from the Ministries of
Security and Defense, the Russian Prosecutor's Office, and the
Russian Central Bank. According to the investigation, some of the
WGF generals set up in Germany, Poland, and Russia illegal
commercial firms connected with organized crime and the black
market.  Typical of these activities is the illegal export from
Germany to Poland, and thence to Russia of food and alcohol
products in short supply or unobtainable in Russia; in addition,
military supplies are also sent for black market sale in Russia.
The total sum of these supplies sold at free market prices by
military wheeler-dealers has reached DM 100 million, according to
the report.  Victor Yasmann, RFE/RL, Inc.

COMPROMISE ON DATE OF ELECTION OF INGUSH PRESIDENT. The Presidium
of the Russian parliament decided on 20 January that the election
of the president of Ingushetia should take place on 28 February
and the election of the Ingush parliament on 11 April, ITAR-TASS
and Interfax reported. A congress of the Ingush people on 17
January had decided that the presidential election should be held
on 24 January. This had been opposed by the interim administration
in North Ossetia and Ingushetia on the grounds that the election
should take place when things were more settled in the area. The
administration had proposed 11 April instead.  Ann Sheehy, RFE/RL,
Inc.

MOSCOW COMPLAINS ABOUT LOST EXPORT REVENUES. Andrei Kushnirenko,
identified by Interfax on 20 January as the First Deputy Head of
the Division of Strategy and Support of Exports of the Russian
Foreign Economic Relations Ministry, said that constraints faced
by Russia in the sale of rocket technology could cost Moscow up to
$200 million annually.  Kushnirenko, who was complaining over the
failure of Moscow and Washington to reach a compromise on a
dispute over interpretation of the rocket technology control
regime, charged that the US was trying to drive Russia from the
international market in this area of technology. The two sides
have clashed especially over Moscow's efforts to sell rocket
technology to India. Stephen Foye, RFE/RL, Inc.

                          INTERREGIONAL

FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS AGENDA FOR CIS MINSK SUMMIT.  At a
meeting in Minsk on 20 January the CIS foreign ministers discussed
the agenda for the CIS summit on 22 January, ITAR-TASS and
Interfax reported.  The Belarusian Foreign Minister Petr
Kravchenko said that the draft CIS charter would be on the agenda,
and that he thought that it would be approved.  The Ukrainian and
Turkmen delegations repeated, however, that their countries had
reservations about the charter.  Russian Foreign Minister Andrei
Kozyrev said that the creation of an interstate bank, which was to
have been one of the important items to be discussed, had been
dropped because it required more work.  Kozyrev added that Yeltsin
would come to Minsk "with a solid package of fundamental ideas and
proposals on strengthening the CIS.  Perhaps this will be the
doctrine of the CIS." Ann Sheehy, RFE/RL, Inc.

DISCORD OVER STRATEGIC FORCES PROPOSAL?  The Secretary of the CIS
Council of Defense Ministers, Leonid Ivashov, said on 20 January
that a proposal to redefine the composition of the CIS strategic
forces was likely to be discussed at the summit in Minsk,
scheduled for 22 January. Ivashov, in Minsk for a meeting of the
Council of Defense Ministers, was quoted by ITAR-TASS as saying
that the CIS joint forces command had acceded to the wishes of
most of the CIS national defense ministries that strategic forces
would be comprised only of units and objects possessing and
storing strategic nuclear weapons and units serving them. Ivashov
said that this would include primarily strategic nuclear missile
forces, naval and air forces, and some anti-aircraft units.  He
also said that each CIS state would independently determine the
list of strategic forces on his territory.  However, an Interfax
report, also dated 20 January, said that the Russian military
leadership had clashed with the CIS command over both its
definition of strategic forces and over the provision that each
CIS state be allowed to determine which units on its territory
were to be classified as strategic. Stephen Foye, RFE/RL, Inc.

GRACHEV DEPARTS EARLY FROM FRANCE. Russian Defense Minister Pavel
Grachev cut short a visit to France that had been scheduled to end
on 22 January and returned to Moscow on the evening of 20 January,
Interfax reported.  Defense Ministry spokesman reportedly told
Interfax that Grachev wanted to fly to Minsk to take part in the
meeting of CIS defense ministers.  According to an ITAR-TASS
report out of Paris on 20 January, Grachev expressed satisfaction
with his three-day visit to France, and said that several
agreements promoting contacts between military personnel from the
two countries had been signed during his visit.  Stephen Foye,
RFE/RL, Inc.

                   TRANSCAUCASIA & CENTRAL ASIA

TAJIKISTAN AT CIS SUMMIT.  Tajikistan's head of state, Supreme
Soviet Chairman Imomali Rakhmonov, told Interfax on 20 January
that his country needs CIS aid in the form of food, medical
supplies and construction materials, and he wants the situation in
Tajikistan to be added to the agenda of the CIS summit.  Rakhmonov
also plans to make a plea for common CIS defense of the
Tajik-Afghan border. He promised that some 3,000 Tajiks will be
drafted in 1993 for border guard duty and said that creation of a
Tajik army is a top priority of the new government.  The previous
day Interfax reported the appointment of Colonel Aleksandr
Shlyapnikov, who has served in Uzbekistan's Defense Ministry, to
be Tajikistan's Minister of Defense.  Bess Brown, RFE/RL, Inc.

TAJIKISTAN STILL HOPES FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT. Tajik Prime
Minister Abdumalik Abdullodzhonov told Interfax on 20 January that
Tajikistan needs foreign investment to rescue its economy from the
near-collapse caused by the civil war in 1992. In order to bring
production levels up to those of 1985-86, the country will need
over 200 billion rubles and two to three years, Abdullodzhonov
said. His reform program aims at the development of small and
medium businesses while continuing state support for large
enterprises; a major element in the program is development of
non-ferrous metallurgy and mining of precious stones. Existing
defense industries are to be converted to gold refining, though
Tajikistan intends to continue manufacturing weapons.  Bess Brown,
RFE/RL, Inc.

                    CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

BOSNIAN SERBS APPROVE PEACE PLAN. On 20 January the assembly of
the self-proclaimed Serb Republic in Bosnia-Herzegovina voted
overwhelmingly to approve an internationally-mediated peace plan,
thus paving the way for a resumption of talks in Geneva on 22
January.  Fifty-five deputies voted in favor and 15 against with
one abstention. The plan envisions the division of Bosnia into 10
provinces loosely governed in a federated state.  Radio Croatia
reports that the Serbs were reluctant to accept the plan until
their leaders emphasized that the vote does not mean they will
abandon their goal of eventual creation of a greater Serbia.
Radovan Karadzic, president of the "Serb Republic," told the
assembly the acceptance of the plan is a "step closer to peace"
and added that any final agreement reached during the resumption
of talks in Geneva will be put to a referendum.  Milan Andrejevich
, RFE/RL, Inc.

REACTIONS TO BOSNIAN VOTE.  The Muslim-dominated Bosnian
government greeted the vote with skepticism.  Kemal Muftic,
advisor to Bosnia's President Alija Izetbegovic, told reporters
the Serbian acceptance would mean "the rejection of everything
they have done--and they've committed a lot of atrocities in the
name of a concept they're now rejecting." The president of rump
Yugoslavia, Dobrica Cosic, said that he now hopes for a change in
attitude by "those who prescribe sanctions against Serbia."
Vojislav Seselj, the leader of the nationalist Serbian Radical
Party, said that the Serbs have "gained some time and avoided new
criticism by the international community." Germany, Britain and
the EC all have cautiously welcomed the Bosnian Serbs' vote.
Danish foreign minister Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, representing the EC
said the words must be rapidly followed by deeds. Radio Serbia and
international media carried the reports.  Milan Andrejevich,
RFE/RL, Inc.

BOSNIAN CROATS, MUSLIMS AGREE TO CEASE-FIRE. Radio Bosnia reports
on 20 January that UN-EC mediators Cyrus Vance and Lord Owen have
brokered a cease-fire in Sarajevo between warring factions of the
Bosnian Croat and Muslim armies in southwestern and central
Bosnia.  The two sides have been fighting more than a week over
control of certain provinces designated either Croat or Muslim.
The announcement came shortly after the Bosnian Serbs approved the
peace plan.  A spokesman for Bosnian Croat leader Mate Boban told
reporters that he had ordered Croat forces to stop firing at
Muslim positions but warned that Croat forces will defend
themselves if attacked.  The spokesman added that all available
Croat forces are needed to face the Serbs and warned that only the
Serbs would profit from disunity among Croats and Muslims. Some
Croat and Muslim leaders suggest the Serbs are instigating the
clashes.  Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL, Inc.

"WHO KILLED DONALD DUCK?" Since 17 January Belgrade media have
been extensively reporting on the Walt Disney corporation's
decision to ban publication of its comic strips in
Serbia-Montenegro and the likely sociological and psychological
impact on the country's children.  Politika, which has run the
Donald Duck series since 1932, showed an astonished Donald in
chains with Mickey Mouse crying, "Sanctions Banish Mickey and
Donald." Independent radio B92 commented, "the psychological
impact of this ban is greater than any of the other UN-imposed
sanctions." The latest cover of the independent weekly Vreme is
headlined "Who Killed Donald Duck?" and depicts a dazed Donald
being shot in the back of the head from a cannon on a model
frigate.  Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL, Inc.

MACEDONIA AND RECOGNITION.  With the UN Security Council scheduled
to review the Republic of Macedonia's request for recognition
soon, both Greece and Macedonia have sent high-ranking
representatives to the UN to promote their respective cases. In
the meantime, Reuters reported on 20 January that Greek officials
were critical of Danish foreign minister, Uffe Ellemann-Jensen,
whose country currently holds the presidency of the European
Community, for saying that the EC is being held hostage by Greece
over the Macedonian recognition issue and that such efforts
undermine EC solidarity. Macedonia has also complained that a
Greek warplane violated its airspace on 20 January, the second
such incident in 10 days.  Duncan Perry, RFE/RL, Inc.

REGISTRATION OF LITHUANIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ENDS.  On 21
January Vaclovas Litvinas, chairman of the Lithuanian presidential
election commission, told a press conference that only two of the
seven candidates nominated for the race presented the required
20,000 signatures supporting their candidacies by the 20 January
midnight deadline, Radio Lithuania reports.  The two are
Lithuanian Democratic Party Chairman Algirdas Brazauskas and
Ambassador to the US Stasys Lozoraitis. Lozoraitis is supported by
both right and center parties, but preelection polls make
Brazauskas the favorite. Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL, Inc.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC AND SLOVAKIA.  On 20
January the Left Bloc, a coalition of leftist parties dominated by
the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, nominated Marie
Stiborova, a communist deputy in the Czech parliament, as its
candidate for the post of Czech President. CTK describes Stiborova
as a 43-year-old biochemistry expert with a degree from Charles
University. Also on the 20th, the extreme-right Republican Party
nominated its leader, Miroslav Sladek, for the post of president.
Both candidates will be running against former Czechoslovak
President Vaclav Havel. Czech parliamentary leaders have
recommended that the presidential vote be held on 26 January. The
presidential elections in Slovakia are also to be held on the same
day. The official candidates for the post of Slovak president are
Prime Minister Roman Kovac, nominated by the ruling Movement for a
Democratic Slovakia, Jozef Prokes, (Slovak National Party), Milan
Ftacnik (Party of the Democratic Left), and Anton Neuwirth
(Christian Democratic Movement).  Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL, Inc.

DISMISSAL OF SLOVAK TV NEWS DIRECTOR.  Nineteen deputies in
Parliament, mostly members of the nationalist Slovak National
Party, signed a statement on 20 January expressing support for
Bohuslav Piatka, the news director of Slovak TV, who was fired on
19 January. Piatka, who shared the view of Prime Minister Vladimir
Meciar that the media should provide what Meciar has termed "a
true picture of Slovakia," was hired in October 1992 to replace
Jan Fule, a journalist who was opposed to Meciar. CTK reports that
according to the management of Slovak TV, Piatka was fired because
news broadcasts were of low quality and servile in their attitude
toward the government.  Fule said that Piatka was fired because
Slovak television had become a "joke in our country and abroad."
The nineteen deputies who protested against the firing of Piatka
blamed the dismissal on opponents of the split of Czechoslovakia,
whom they called "federalist mafia." Piatka has been replaced by
26-year-old Martina Kyselova, who told Reuters on 20 January that
for the time being she intends to continue Piatka's practice of
giving the government free access to television.  Jiri Pehe ,
RFE/RL, Inc.

POLAND CHAFES AT GERMAN ASYLUM LAW. Polish concern about the
consequences of Germany's new restrictions on political asylum,
which are expected to take effect before April, was evident during
bilateral talks held in Warsaw on 18 and 19 January. Under the new
law, asylum-seeking foreigners arriving in Germany from "safe"
countries, including Poland, would be deported to the countries
from which they came.  During the talks, described as "frank and
informal," Polish officials said they stressed that the two
countries' interests differ. As quoted by Rzeczpospolita of 20
January, deputy internal affairs minister Jerzy Zimowski said that
the Polish side asked "why a rich country wants to impose its
social problems on poorer countries." Germany faced 440,000 asylum
requests in 1992, the German side argued, while Poland had only
532. The German side claimed that over 100,000 asylum-seekers
entered Germany from Poland; Polish officials said the number was
under 30,000. Foreign Minister Krzysztof Skubiszewski told
reporters on 21 January that Germany will have to provide
financial assistance if it begins deporting people to Poland.
Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL, Inc.

MELESCANU OPTIMISTIC ABOUT RELATIONS WITH HUNGARY. On 20 January
Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu told an RFE/RL
correspondent in Bucharest that he believed relations with Hungary
are "on the threshold of rapid improvement." Melescanu said that
his assessment is based on new and positive developments in
negotiations with Hungarian Foreign Minister Geza Jeszenszky. He
also said that he was gratified by the progress in negotiations
for a basic bilateral treaty between Hungary and Romania, but
added that formal recognition of Romania's present border with
Hungary was necessary for completion of that treaty.  Dan Ionescu,
RFE/RL, Inc.

HUNGARIAN INTERIOR MINISTER CALLS FOR STRONGER EXECUTIVE.  On 20
January Minister of the Interior Peter Boross told a conference
evaluating his ministry's work that the country's internal
transformation and geopolitical situation require "a state with
the capacity to act and that is capable of protecting the
citizens," MTI reports. He called for a reform of public
administration that would increase executive authority while at
the same time avoiding the dangers of centralization.  Boross
stressed that public administration plays an important role in
preserving political stability and should be free of party
political influences.  Edith Oltay, RFE/RL, Inc.

SIEMENS INVESTS IN BULGARIA.  The Germany-based electronics giant
Siemens has founded a joint venture in Bulgaria, Western agencies
reported on 20 January.  Together with Incoms Telecom Holding,
located in Sofia, Siemens will manufacture digital
telecommunications technology.  The new company, which is called
Digicom, plans to start production in 1994.  Siemens will hold 40%
of the shares in this, its ninth joint venture in Eastern Europe
and the former Soviet Union. Kjell Engelbrekt, RFE/RL, Inc.

HUMAN RIGHTS IN UKRAINE, BELARUS, MOLDOVA, . . . In its annual
report to Congress on the status of human rights around the world,
the US State Department says Ukraine made "significant progress"
in 1992, including establishment of a multiparty system and
legislation to protect the civil and political rights of
minorities--and despite many bureaucratic obstacles, the lack of a
constitution to replace that of the Soviet era, and the inability
of the legislature to function independently of the executive
branch.  Specific human rights problem areas mentioned in the 19
January report are ethnic tensions, especially in the Crimea,
cases of intolerance between religious groups, and limitations on
freedom of expression. In Moldova too, the situation has generally
improved, the report says, but questions concerning ethnic
minorities "remain pressing," and complaints of job discrimination
in the government against nonspeakers of Romanian have been
raised. Widespread allegations of human rights abuses in the
contested Transdniester region are difficult to verify and are
probably exaggerated by both sides, the report says.  Despite what
the report called "the limited extent of political reform" in
Belarus, the country has progressed in human rights.  Two problem
areas singled out were freedom of the press and the continuing
high level of dependence of the Belarusian economy on that of
Russia.  Charles Trumbull, RFE/RL, Inc.

. .  .  AND THE BALTICS. The State Department report notes that
the three Baltic States have all reestablished themselves as
sovereign, independent, and democratic states since 1991 and have
moved to end Soviet-era human rights abuses.  All three states,
however, are grappling with the problem of keeping their native
languages and cultures predominant while not stepping on the
rights of minorities, notably the large number of Russians who
settled in the area after World War II. Estonia, the report notes,
reinstituted its 1938 citizenship law under the terms of which
most non-ethnic Estonians--some 38% of the population--were not
able to qualify for citizenship at the time of the constitutional
referendum and parliamentary elections. Similarly, in Latvia, the
State Department finds the unresolved status of the Russian
residents, possibly numerous enough to control the balance of
power in the country, to be the paramount human rights issue and
the cause of "exacerbated tensions" among ethnic groups there.
Both here and in Lithuania, new language laws are cited as
potential levers for discrimination in jobs and elsewhere.  In
addition to the Russians, Lithuania is grappling with its sizable
ethnic Polish population with whom relations "remain strained,"
the report says.  Charles Trumbull, RFE/RL, Inc.

MORE HESITATION IN KIEV ON START RATIFICATION. Parliament Vice
Chairman Vasyl Durdinets said on 20 January that Parliament
considers security guarantees offered to Ukraine by the US and
Russia to be insufficient for ratification of the START-1 Treaty,
Western agencies report.  Durdinets said that deputies want
written guarantees on Ukraine's security, greater financial help
for dismantling missile sites in Ukraine, and compensation from
Russia for the uranium in the dismantled warheads. He added that
consideration of START-1 is not on the agenda of the current
parliamentary session, which means that ratification could not
come until after the end of February.  Stephen Foye, RFE/RL, Inc.

KUCHMA ON UKRAINIAN ECONOMIC CRISIS. Reeling off a long list of
statistics on the economy, Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma told
Ukrainian lawmakers on 20 January that "the reality today is a
total, complex state crisis." The economic depression of 1990-92,
he said, has now evolved to the point where "the very degradation
of the socioeconomic structure of society has begun." Kuchma
addressed a special meeting of Parliament that was convened under
pressure from conservative deputies demanding closer integration
within the CIS and a rollback of the government's market-oriented
economic reform. Democratic deputies are boycotting the session.
Kuchma's remarks were carried by Radio Ukraine. Roman Solchanyk,
RFE/RL, Inc.

UKRAINE ADOPTS NEW DECREE ON PRIVATIZATION. The Cabinet has passed
a new package of decrees related to economic reform, Interfax and
the Wall Street Journal reported on 20 January. The most important
of these decrees calls for the transformation of a large number of
state enterprises into joint-stock companies by 1 July 1993.
Prime Minister Viktor Penzenyk says that initially the State
Property Fund will control these companies until shares are placed
into private hands. Workers will have first opportunity to acquire
shares.  Public auctions, which apparently will be open to
foreigners, are to follow.  Erik Whitlock, RFE/RL, Inc.

MOLDOVAN-UKRAINIAN MILITARY AGREEMENT.  Adding to the information
on the Moldovan-Ukrainian agreement for military cooperation
initialed on 18 January in Chisinau, Moldovan Defense Minister
Pavel Creanga told Interfax on 19 January that the accord also
covers training in Ukraine of Moldovan officers and repairs in
Ukraine of Moldovan military equipment. In December 1992 Moldova
signed an agreement with Romania on military cooperation the most
salient point of which appears to be training of Moldovan officers
in Romania.  The agreement with Ukraine seems more far-reaching
than the known provisions of the agreement with Romania and, in
any case, reflects Moldova's policy of cooperating militarily with
both neighbors.  Vladimir Socor , RFE/RL, Inc.

WITHDRAWAL OF RUSSIAN TROOPS FROM LITHUANIA. Col. Stasys Knezys,
government commissioner for the army withdrawal, said on
Lithuanian TV that 61 of the 288 units stationed in the republic
have left the republic and the number of troops has decreased from
35,000 to 10,000, BNS reported on 20 January. He attributed the
decrease in the number of railroad cars for the withdrawal
requested by the Soviet army from 1,000 in December to 160 in
January not as an indication of a slowdown, but the difficulties
of relocation under winter conditions. A Lithuanian delegation
headed by Gediminas Serksnys will hold talks with Russian Foreign
Ministry officials headed by senior adviser to its Analysis and
Forecast Department Rudolf Alekseev in Moscow on 21 January.
Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL, Inc.

NO PROGRESS AT LATVIAN-RUSSIAN TALKS.  An RFE/RL corespondent in
Riga reported on 20 January that the most recent round of
Latvian-Russian talks on issues related to the withdrawal of
Russian troops from Latvia ended a day early because of lack of
progress. The Latvian side was especially disappointed with the
Russian side's continued unwillingness to specify a date for the
completion of the withdrawal process, though it was pleased that
at least some agreements were reached in the discussion of certain
minor issues.  Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL, Inc.

[As of1200 CET]
Compiled by Hal Kosiba & Charles Trumbull
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