31.   Yeltsin and the French foreign minister also discussed preparations for a high-level meeting on nuclear safety issues that is scheduled to take place in Moscow in April.

32.   Yeltsin and Ikeda also were expected to discuss preparations for the April nuclear summit to be held in Moscow.

33.   Yeltsin and Nazarbayev discussed preparations for the summit during a telephone conversation Monday, the Interfax news agency reported.

34.   He will also discuss preparations for a conference involving Mediterranean countries to be held in the Spanish city of Barcelona in November.

35.   A Russian delegation arrived in Azerbaijan Monday to discuss preparation of the pipeline for the first shipments of oil.

36.   Bir discussed preparations for the manoeuvres at a meeting with Israeli Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai and US officials in Tel Aviv, the ministry said.

37.   Christopher is then due to fly to the Bosnian capital on Thursday to discuss preparations for the elections with the OSCE.

38.   The Palestinian leader met Tuesday with US Vice President Al Gore, who is visiting Israel and the West Bank, to discuss preparations for the elections.

39.   The policy change came during a cabinet meeting convened to discuss preparations for the resumption of direct inter-Korean economic exchanges stalled since December last year.

40.   The Russian general said they would also discuss preparations for joint military manoeuvres in the NATO partnership programme, of which Russia is a member.