JAPANESE PLAN FOR KURILS TO BE CONSIDERED AT MAY MEETING.

As far as Hashimoto’s controversial proposal goes, Japanese negotiators will reportedly elaborate on it during a scheduled May 6 meeting of a Russian-Japanese commission tasked with drafting a peace treaty. The commission–headed by deputy foreign ministers from each country–was created during Yeltsin and Hashimoto’s first informal summit meeting in Krasnoyarsk last November. (Itar-Tass, April 21; Kyodo April 22) Yastrzhembsky indicated on April 21 that Yeltsin is likely to respond officially to Hashimoto’s proposal during their next meeting, another informal summit scheduled to take place in Russia this fall. (Kyodo, April 21) A Russian Foreign Ministry official, meanwhile, appeared yesterday to play down Yastrzhembsky’s initial blunt rejection of the new Hashimoto plan. He said more diplomatically that the Russian side is looking forward to analyzing Hashimoto’s proposals and hearing additional comments from Japanese experts. (Kyodo, April 22)

MOSCOW SNUBS NATO SUPREME COMMANDER.