AZERBAIJANI PROSECUTOR-GENERAL ON EXTRADITIONS FROM RUSSIA. In an interview published in "Trud" on 28 February, Azerbaijani Prosecutor-GeneralEldar Hasanov argued that the extradition from Russia of a number of prominent political figures to stand trial on charges of terrorism or treason is in accordance with a Russian-Azerbaijani agreement concluded in 1992 and the subsequent Minsk Convention signed by CIS states. Hasanov rejected Russian press allegations that Azerbaijanis are extradited to Baku because of their political beliefs. He also denied that he has ever received a request from President Heidar Aliev to demand the extradition of one of Aliev's political opponents. But a recent bulletin released by the Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan cites several cases in which Azerbaijani political refugees in Ukraine have been detained and mistreated before their extradition to Azerbaijan, where they were tried and sentenced. LF

UKRAINIAN DEPUTIES CRITICIZE ACCORD WITH RUSSIA. A group of Ukrainian parliamentary deputies on 2 March criticized the 10-year economic cooperation agreement signed by Ukrainian and Russian Presidents Leonid Kuchma and Boris Yeltsin in Moscow last week. Deputy Serhiy Teryokhin said such an agreement must be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament. He added that the country would lose billions of dollars as a result of the accord, which included tax exemptions and lower tariffs for Russian gas transiting Ukraine. PB