Furthermore, the political heads in Bosnia must come to an agreement over the peaceprocess. Currently, a total of 2.33 German soldiers are stationed in Bosnia. Due to a new strike of the French railroaders, severe obstructions are to be expected in the German-French railroad traffic. German Rail Deutsche Bahn AG said that routes to Paris will be affected most. No trains at all will be running in the the Saar-Lorraine area.
French railroaders demand higher salaries.
According to Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, the main emphasis of the German EU-presidency, starting in January 1999, will be the consolidation of relations with Russia. Fischer gave this declaration after a meeting with the chairman of the Russion Communist Party, Sjuganov, in Bonn. He added that foreign support, however, could only be help for self-help. Sjuganov also met the parliamentary party leader. The communist party leader described the economic and social situation in his country as catastrophic.