Commonwealth Of Independent States Armed Forces

The North Atlantic allies on Wednesday marked a new era in military cooperation with their erstwhile adversaries as defense ministers of the Western alliance met under the NATO symbol for the first time with counterparts from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The historic meeting of defense chiefs of 33 nations brought Western promises of military aid to the East--and recommendations to initiate joint military exercises for peacekeeping and crisis-management forces.

One daily drill of soldiers in the new Georgian army is to launch rockets across the Gumista River at a three-story building by the Black Sea. Their aim is lousy, but after months of occasional hits, the windows are gone and the concrete walls look like Swiss cheese. Still, the strategic value of the site is intact--a deep underground seismic laboratory used by Russia's army to detect nuclear explosions in Southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The Commonwealth of Independent States ceased to exist as a unified military bloc on Friday after Russia failed to dissuade Ukraine and two other republics from breaking away to establish their own separate armies. Through 10 hours of often heated, emotional discussions with other Commonwealth leaders, Ukraine's President Leonid Kravchuk remained staunch in his commitment to raise a Ukrainian army as a symbol and guarantor of his nation's emergence as an independent state.

The military commander of the Commonwealth of Independent States on Tuesday officially gave up on trying to form NATO-style joint forces from among the fractious former republics of the Soviet Union. "I'm starting to feel either a peculiar vacuum around myself or that I'm up against an impenetrable wall," complained Air Marshal Yevgeny I. Shaposhnikov, who has already accepted a new job as Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin's top security adviser.

Tensions between the two largest republics of the former Soviet Union flared again Friday, when Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin threatened to take the Black Sea Fleet under his control if "anyone"--meaning Ukraine--attempts to change its status.

Troops of the former Soviet army became further embroiled in the bitter territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan when Armenian militants threatened to kill 10 captured officers unless the army turns over a huge quantity of arms and ammunition. Maj. Gen. Nikolai Stolyarov warned in Moscow that the military, now the unified armed forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States, will attack the Armenian town of Artik unless the officers are released unharmed.

The prime ministers of the 11 member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States are to meet Friday in Moscow to address some of the crucial economic issues afflicting the loose new grouping. Among the issues are the customs policy for the newly created borders that exist among the former Soviet republics; tax coordination and pension guarantees.

Pressed to decide the future of the former Soviet armed forces before 5,000 disgruntled officers meet in the Kremlin today, leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States struggled Thursday night to hammer out a unified military policy but to little avail. Russian Federation President Boris N. Yeltsin, who chaired the meeting at an estate in southwestern Moscow, announced at its conclusion: "Today, we agreed calmly, with mutual understanding, on all the issues we intended to resolve."

The military commander of the Commonwealth of Independent States on Tuesday officially gave up on trying to form NATO-style joint forces from among the fractious former republics of the Soviet Union. "I'm starting to feel either a peculiar vacuum around myself or that I'm up against an impenetrable wall," complained Air Marshal Yevgeny I. Shaposhnikov, who has already accepted a new job as Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin's top security adviser.

Leaders of the three-month-old Commonwealth of Independent States failed Friday to resolve most of the key political, economic and military issues it faces, putting its future in serious doubt. With the rancorous rivalry between Russia and Ukraine, the Commonwealth's biggest members, dominating the summit meeting, the leaders of the 11 former Soviet republics in the group found they could agree completely on less than half of the nearly 30 items on their agenda.

The majority of the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed a collective security treaty Friday, committing themselves to come to each other's aid in case of attack and assuring Russia a controlling military role in most of the old Soviet Union. "Now that most of the states within the Commonwealth have opted for their own armed forces, we are shifting toward a defensive alliance," Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, told a news conference.

After four months of political sparring, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met here Wednesday to resolve the future of the Soviet Union's powerful Black Sea Fleet, an issue that has embittered relations between the two former Soviet republics and consequently jeopardized the whole Commonwealth of Independent States. Air Marshal Yevgeny I.

Tensions between the two largest republics of the former Soviet Union flared again Friday, when Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin threatened to take the Black Sea Fleet under his control if "anyone"--meaning Ukraine--attempts to change its status.

The North Atlantic allies on Wednesday marked a new era in military cooperation with their erstwhile adversaries as defense ministers of the Western alliance met under the NATO symbol for the first time with counterparts from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The historic meeting of defense chiefs of 33 nations brought Western promises of military aid to the East--and recommendations to initiate joint military exercises for peacekeeping and crisis-management forces.

Leaders of the three-month-old Commonwealth of Independent States failed Friday to resolve most of the key political, economic and military issues it faces, putting its future in serious doubt. With the rancorous rivalry between Russia and Ukraine, the Commonwealth's biggest members, dominating the summit meeting, the leaders of the 11 former Soviet republics in the group found they could agree completely on less than half of the nearly 30 items on their agenda.

Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin assumed direct control over most of the former Soviet armed forces Monday, creating a Russian Defense Ministry and appointing himself its acting chief. The hundreds of thousands of troops on Russian territory, technically, will remain for now under "operational command" of the Commonwealth of Independent States' military, according to Deputy Russian Prime Minister Sergei M. Shakhrai, who announced Yeltsin's decree.

After four months of political sparring, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met here Wednesday to resolve the future of the Soviet Union's powerful Black Sea Fleet, an issue that has embittered relations between the two former Soviet republics and consequently jeopardized the whole Commonwealth of Independent States. Air Marshal Yevgeny I.

The majority of the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed a collective security treaty Friday, committing themselves to come to each other's aid in case of attack and assuring Russia a controlling military role in most of the old Soviet Union. "Now that most of the states within the Commonwealth have opted for their own armed forces, we are shifting toward a defensive alliance," Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, told a news conference.

Ten officers of the former Soviet Army were released by their Armenian captors early this morning, a spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States said. The Armenian militants had held them hostage for four days, demanding ammunition for their battle against Azerbaijanis in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. "According to our information, no arms or ammunition have been given to the captors in exchange for the hostages," Vladimir S.

Troops of the former Soviet army became further embroiled in the bitter territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan when Armenian militants threatened to kill 10 captured officers unless the army turns over a huge quantity of arms and ammunition. Maj. Gen. Nikolai Stolyarov warned in Moscow that the military, now the unified armed forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States, will attack the Armenian town of Artik unless the officers are released unharmed.