QUADRILATERAL TALKS IN BAKU. The deputy foreign ministers of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Moldova met in Baku on 25 November to discuss economic and security cooperation as well as participation in such regional projects as the TRASECA transport corridor, Russian and Azerbaijani agencies reported. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Hasan Hasanov proposed that the four countries conclude an agreement on cooperation with NATO comparable to those Russia and Ukraine have signed with the alliance. He also argued that strengthening quadrilateral ties should take place at the same time as the four countries' integration into European structures. Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev expressed his satisfaction at Moldova's recent accession to the informal Azerbaijan-GeorgianUkraine grouping, stressing that "our union is not aimed against anyone." LF

UKRAINE'S ECONOMIC PROBLEMS MOUNT. President Kuchma said on 25 November that he is extremely worried about the stability of the country's currency, the hryvna, Interfax reported. In order to cope with Ukraine's economic problems, Kuchma has done a turnabout and now backs Russian participation in the operation of Ukrainian oil refineries, many of which have been working at significantly reduced capacity. And in another indication that Ukraine faces difficulties, ITAR-TASS reported on 25 November that 24 Ukrainian ships are now being held in ports around the world owing to non-payment of various fees. PG

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT CRITICIZES CRIMEAN PARLIAMENT. In a sharply worded letter, President Leonid Kuchma told the Crimean parliament that some of its recent actions--including a measure granting the Russian language primacy on the peninsula--were incorrect and "intentionally disruptive," Ukrainian media reported on 25 November. Kuchma urged the legislators to reverse those decisions themselves lest they be overturned by Kyiv. PG