OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 219, 12 November 1996

GENERAL: RUSSIA NEEDS ASSISTANCE TO DESTROY CHEMICAL WEAPONS. Russia
wants to eliminate its chemical weapons stockpile but needs foreign
assistance to build the necessary facilities, Col.-Gen. Stanislav
Petrov, head of the Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defense
Troops, told ITAR-TASS on 11 November. Petrov said about $100 million in
foreign aid has been pledged, but only about 10% of that has been
disbursed. A federal program calls for Russia to begin destroying its
40,000 metric tons of chemical weapons in 1998 and complete the task by
2005. Petrov urged the speedy ratification of the 1993 Chemical Weapons
Convention, saying that if the agreement enters into force before Moscow
has ratified it, Russia may have difficulty getting financial
assistance. While the U.S. has not ratified the treaty either, Hungary
recently became the 65th country to do so, meaning it will enter into
force on 29 April 1997. -- Scott Parrish

WOULD-BE NATO MEMBERS WANT SAY IN NEGOTIATIONS ON NATO-RUSSIA
CHARTER.
Czech Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec on 11 November said NATO
applicants should be invited to take part in talks on a strategic
partnership between the military alliance and Russia, Reuters reported.
"For us NATO allies, it is very important that the debate with Russia
not take place over our heads," Zieleniec said after talks with his
visiting Hungarian counterpart Laszlo Kovacs. Both countries along with
Poland are expected to become members in the first round of NATO's
enlargement. Kovacs backed Slovakia's membership in the alliance, saying
it is in line with the interests of the Czech Republic and Hungary to
have Slovakia become part of Euro-Atlantic structures. Slovakia has been
repeatedly warned by the United States and the European Union that its
potential membership in NATO and the EU is in jeopardy unless it makes
more progress on democratic reforms and improves treatment of its large
Hungarian minority. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

OSCE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR MINORITIES IN SLOVAKIA. Max van der Stoel
arrived in Slovakia on 11 November for a two-day visit following his
trip to Hungary last week, Slovak dailies reported. His recommendations
concerning the Hungarian minority issue in Slovakia were submitted to
the Slovak government last August, and the government's answer--which
was received in October--is now publicly available. According to van der
Stoel, Slovakia should pass a law enabling the use of minority languages
for official contexts. Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar's spokesman said
van der Stoel believes "more loyalty from the Hungarian minority toward
the Slovak state is needed." -- Anna Siskova
[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Victor Gomez
Compiled by Susan Caskie