YELTSIN ORDERS PULLOUT FROM CHECHNYA. President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree on 25 June calling for the "gradual withdrawal of forces and material" from Chechnya, Xinhua reported. The withdrawal is to be completed by 1 September. Previously, military sources had indicated that troops not permanently assigned to the North Caucasus military district would be pulled out. These include forces from the Leningrad, Moscow, Volga, and Urals MDs. The same day, NTV quoted the deputy commander of the North Caucasus MD as saying that the 205th Motorized Rifle Brigade would remain in Chechnya, with its 204th Regiment to be stationed in the foothills near the village of Shali. Novosti quoted Lt. Gen. Vyacheslav Tikhomirov, the commander of the federal forces in Chechnya, as saying the pullout would begin on 28 June with troops from the 245th regiment. -- Doug Clarke
RUSSIAN-BELARUSIAN JOINT ASSEMBLY MEETS. The Russian-Belarusian Parliamentary Assembly met for the first time on 25 June in Smolensk, Russian and Belarusian agencies reported. The assembly is meant to provide a basis for the merger of the two countries' economies, and some other government functions under the terms of the 2 April Agreement on the Formation of a Community. Belarusian parliamentary speaker Syamyon Sharetsky was elected Chairman of the Assembly, and Russian State Duma speaker Gennadii Seleznev was voted first deputy chairman. Six commissions were set up: legal affairs, economics, social issues, foreign policy, crime, and ecology. The first three are chaired by Russians, and the remaining three by Belarusians. The assembly is to meet at least four times a year. The next session will take place in the fall. -- Ustina Markus