ROBERTSON SAYS MILOSEVIC IGNORES CHERNOMYRDIN. British Defense Secretary George Robertson said in London on 4 May that "while Mr. Chernomyrdin continues with his diplomacy-- and it's very commendable that he should [continue] trying-- there's nobody really listening to him in Belgrade," Reuters reported. Robertson stressed that NATO wants Russia, Ukraine, and other countries to be involved in a peace-keeping force. The previous day in Paris, French President Jacques Chirac said in an address to the nation that he sees "no reason to change strategy." He added that "Milosevic's political will remains the same. ...NATO must, therefore, pursue its mission." Chernomyrdin is scheduled to meet with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on 4 May in New York. FS

AZERBAIJANI OFFICIAL HINTS AT FURTHER EXPANSION OF GUUAM. Azerbaijani State Foreign Policy advisor Vafa Guluzade told Turan on 3 May that Poland and Romania are interested in joining the Georgia-Ukraine-Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan-Moldova alignment in the near future. He added that GUUAM is expected to intensify its activities and hold meetings with the heads of state of countries that have expressed an interest in membership. Talks are under way on the optimum location for the organization's headquarters and the formation of its Secretariat, Guluzade added. In related news, a delegation from the Romanian Defense Ministry and military-industrial complex visited Georgia last week to discuss areas of future cooperation, Caucasus Press reported. LF

KUCHMA EARNS PLACE IN PRESS 'HALL OF SHAME.' The U.S. Committee to Protect Journalists has included Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma in a list of 10 heads of state considered to be the biggest "enemies of the press." The list, which was made public on 3 May, places Kuchma alongside the leaders of Yugoslavia, China, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ethiopia. The committee says that by "using tax and libel laws as instruments of his hostility to journalists, Kuchma runs roughshod over any expression of opposition." It also accuses Kuchma of "tacit acceptance of violence against the press," which encourages assaults on Ukrainian reporters and editors and adds to a "general climate of fear and self-censorship." Conspicuously absent from the list is Belarusian President Lukashenka, who had been included on it for the past several years. JM