Shevardnadze to Focus on Ties With Republics
Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze will devote much of the early part of his new term of office to domestic affairs, his spokesman said Thursday.
Vitaly Churkin told a news conference that Shevardnadze, reappointed Tuesday 11 months after he quit as foreign minister, has canceled all trips abroad. Instead, he will travel around the 12 Soviet republics.
“Taking into account the current situation, he believes it is necessary to save the country and defend freedom and democracy” by improving “relations with the republics in a serious . . . way,” Churkin said.
Churkin said Shevardnadze’s first visit is likely to be to the Ukraine, which has vast resources and nuclear weapons on its territory. The Ukraine will hold a referendum Dec. 1 on whether to declare independence from the Soviet Union.
Shevardnadze also plans to hold meetings with Russian Federation President Boris N. Yeltsin.
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