Around the World

Around the World

Yeltsin signs military pact with Belarus

An unsteady Yeltsin, who at one point lost his way in his speech and needed help from an aide to find his place, reached the agreement with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, who is accused of holding onto power illegitimately after his term as president of the former Soviet republic expired last summer.

While the Russia-Belarus treaty is largely a symbolic bid to win support from people in both countries who long for a restoration of the Soviet Union, a secondary accord signed by the leaders has a more immediate effect: It permits Russia to post troops in Belarus on the border with Poland, a new member of NATO.

President Clinton and European leaders whom Yeltsin once counted as friends have been increasingly critical of Russia's devastating war in the separatist republic of Chechnya, in which an untold number of civilians have died.

Barak, peace deal to bring security

Barak launched a campaign to sell skeptical Israelis on the price for peace after the surprise announcement that long-suspended negotiations with Syria will resume next week.

12-10-99