1.   The presidents of Russia and neighboring Belarus initialed a charter Wednesday that would pave the way for a union of the two republics.

2.   The charter was initialed in the Kremlin by Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, who kissed each other after the signing.

3.   The charter was initialed in the Kremlin by Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, who kissed each other three times after the signing.

4.   The NATO ministers were also set Thursday to initial a charter with Ukraine similar to the accord just signed with Russia.