Writing in Nezavisimaya gazeta on 4 June, Communist deputy Aleksei Podberezkin, deputy chairman of the Duma International Affairs Committee and a foreign policy adviser to Communist leader Gennadii Zyuganov, proposes guidelines for Russia to follow while implementing existing arms control agreements and negotiating new ones. Demurin said that under the terms of UN Resolution 986, which allows Iraq to sell a limited amount of oil to purchase food and medicine, Russian firms can conclude contracts with Iraq to purchase and transport oil. ITAR-TASS reported on 4 June. ITAR-TASS reported on 5 June. There are an average of nine applicants for every vacancy.
Most openings are in low-paying sectors, such as agriculture and education.
The employment service has found jobs for more than 580,000 people since the beginning of the year and sent 200,000 on retraining courses. Meanwhile, participants in a conference on labor safety said about 300,000 to 400,000 people sustain industrial injuries every year, with 7,000 to 8,000 losing their lives. Aleksandr Kazakov, the head of the State Privatization Commission, was appointed the chairman of the board of directors of Gazprom at its annual general meeting, Nezavisimaya gazeta reported on 4 June. Under the law on joint stock companies which came into effect on 1 January 1996, the posts of CEO and board chairman cannot be held by the same person. The allocation of the remaining Gazprom shares is not known.