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Russian Pres Boris Yeltsin have reassured First Deputy Prime Ministers Anatoly Chubais and Boris Nemtsov that he will do everything in his power to ensure that the two remain in their posts until the year 2000. The president also provided full support for Chubais' economic policy recommendations. The Deputy First Prime Minister emphasizes that the government's top priorities include restoring the financial soundness of the economy and resolving the indebtedness of budget-money recipients.

Informed sources reveal that the Russian government is set on converting coal industry enterprises into joint-stock companies. This move is seen as an attempt to overhaul an industry which has changed very little from the situation under the former USSR. The government had always insisted on supporting the industry's losses until recently when it realized that it could no longer afford to do so.