World IN BRIEF : EASTERN EUROPE : Warsaw Pact Ends 36-Year Existence

The Warsaw Pact formally disbanded in Prague, Czechoslovakia, after 36 years as the powerful military alliance that bound the Communist regimes of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The protocol signed by the Warsaw Pact’s six remaining members cut the final political link between the Soviet Union and its Cold War satellites. The protocol advocates a “transition to all-European security structures” through the 35-member Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe and related arms-limitation treaties. The pact’s military structure was dissolved April 1, and the Soviet-led Comecon trading system was ended on Friday.