TALKS between the EU troika, headed by the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, and the Russian Prime Minister, Mr Viktor Chernomyrdin, scheduled for tomorrow have been cancelled.
Mr Spring, Mr Lamberto Dini, Italy's Foreign Minister, and his Dutch counterpart, Mr Hans Van De Broek, were to have discussed economic matters with Mr Chernomyrdin but the meeting, which might have given Mr Spring the opportunity to raise the issue of Russian beef imports, was called off by the Russian side yesterday.
Mr Chernomyrdin had been acting President of the Russian Federation from the time of Mr Yeltsin's operation until early yesterday when Mr Yeltsin formally resumed control. With Mr Yeltsin's ability to govern severely restricted by the recuperation process, however, Mr Chernomyrdin will effectively be implementing Kremlin policy for some time.
The troika will hold a scheduled meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister and former KGB chief, Mr Yevgeny Primakov, on political and economic stability in Russia and on preparations for a forthcoming summit of the Organisation for Security and Co operation in Europe (OSCE).