Latest Developments

Here’s what happened Friday in the Soviet Union:

TROOP CUTBACK: The new Soviet defense minister announced plans to scale down the Red Army, turning it into a smaller, more professional force and halving the time served by conscripts. Air Marshal Yevgeny I. Shaposhnikov said the Soviet Union wants to see similar cuts by its neighbors, particularly in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

TALKS ON POWS: Deputies in the Russian Parliament called for negotiations with Afghan rebels based in Pakistan to free Soviet prisoners of war.

YELTSIN TO CAUCASUS: Russian Federation President Boris N. Yeltsin embarked on a peace mission to the Nagorno-Karabakh, where he aimed to broker a truce between battling Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

BAD MARKS: The Supreme Soviet voted overwhelmingly to deem President Yeltsin’s handling of economic affairs as “unsatisfactory.”