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NATO

¨         Portugal's president on Thursday praised this Balkan country's efforts to join the European Union and NATO. "Democratic Bulgaria is very close now to NATO membership," Jorge Sampaio told reporters after meeting his Bulgarian counterpart Georgi Parvanov. Parvanov and Sampaio also discussed the volatile situation in Iraq and stressed that any solution should be based on UN resolutions. "As chairman of the UN Security Council, Bulgaria will contribute for finding a reasonable and efficient solution that is backed by a large number of countries," Parvanov said.(AP 261242 Sep 02 GMT)

¨         Russia signed an agreement Thursday authorizing Poland to service its Russian-made MiG-29 fighters, the new NATO nation's most modern strike planes. Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov called it a "civilized approach to military cooperation." Ivanov is the first Russian defense minister to visit Poland in eleven years. Together with his Polish counterpart, Jerzy Szmajdzinski, he witnessed the signing that allows a Polish armaments plant to service the MiG-29s aircraft, using parts and technology from the Russian maker. Poland is expected soon to receive another 23 MiG-29s from Germany. To meet NATO targets, Poland has to have 16 new multipurpose fighters ready for NATO operations by 2003, and 60 by 2008.(AP 261759 Sep 02 GMT)

BALKANS

¨         United Nations prosecutors will call the first witnesses on Friday in their quest to prove Slobodan Milosevic committed crimes against humanity in Croatia and genocide in Bosnia.  To prove the 61 Bosnia and Croatia charges against the ex-Serbian and Yugoslav leader, prosecutors plan to call 177 witnesses ,including former Yugoslav President Zoran Lilic and Croatian President Stjepan Mesic.  Though it is not clear exactly who will first take the stand on Friday, it is expected to be a witness on the Croatia case.(Reuters 2220 260902 Sep 02 GMT)

IRAQ

¨         The United States and Britain forged an agreement on the key elements of a tough new UN resolution setting out demands that Iraq disarm, while the Bush administration sought on Thursday to tie Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to the al Qaeda network.  In Baghdad, Iraq's state-run satellite television quoted a government spokesman as saying U.S. warplanes raided the civilian airport in Basra, home to key oil installations, and destroyed its radar system.   The Pentagon said U.S. jets destroyed a military radar at the airport that threatened coalition aircraft.   U.S. congressional leaders also reported progress toward a resolution authorizing military force against Iraq. Secretary of State Powell said he has dispatched State Department official Marc Grossman to Paris and Moscow to explain the highlights of a new UN Security Council resolution, including consequences if Iraq fails to comply with requirements that it give up its weapons of mass destruction. "We came into agreement with the United Kingdom on what we thought a good resolution looked like and should contain," Powell told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.(Reuters  0057 270902 Sep 02 GMT)

¨         Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Aziz is due to visit NATO member Turkey next week, Turkish officials said on Thursday, for talks likely to focus on the possibility of U.S. strikes against Baghdad. Prime Minister Ecevit has repeatedly said Turkey opposes an attack on its neighbor Iraq, but it is still expected to play a role in any U.S.-led campaign, at the very least providing logistical support to U.S. warplanes and forces.   Aziz and Ecevit will hold talks on Tuesday morning, Ecevit's spokesman Cem Avci told Reuters.  Aziz, expected in Ankara on Monday, will also meet President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, according to Turkish television reports.(AP 1307 260902 Sep 02 GMT)

OTHER NEWS

¨         Russia's Defense Minister Ivanov on Thursday warned the attack that killed 14 Russian troops in Ingushetia may be the last straw that pushes Russia to take action against Georgia, which it accuses of harboring terrorists. Ivanov told reporters a group of some 150 "bandits and terrorists" violated Russia's territory, probably from Georgia, attacking Russian troops and downing a Russian Mi-24 helicopter with a crew of two. Ivanov raised the issue with NATO defense ministers on Wednesday in Warsaw. Although alliance ministers said they sympathized with Russia, they insisted Moscow should work with the Georgian authorities to stamp our the incursions rather than launch an attack. "Georgian territorial integrity must be respected and protected," NATO Secretary General Robertson told reporters after the ministers met with Ivanov in Warsaw.(AP 261650 Sep 02 GMT)

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