At this week's moment of maximum intrigue, Mr Chernomyrdin tried to delaythe Norilsk auction, but was persuaded that he lacked the legal powers to do so at such short notice and besides, the government needed the money.
While the Soviet Union may have receded for the moment from these demands by settling for a more ambiguous formulation of the resolution and an affirmation that political and diplomatic measures would receive maximum use, the principal Soviet objective seems to have been served: to delay U.S. action and to increase the pressure against unilateral American military steps.