Yeltsin returns to Kremlin

MOSCOW, DEC 6: President Boris Yeltsin, hospitalised for a week with pneumonia, returned to work at the Kremlin Monday morning to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Leonid Kuchma, officials said. "Yeltsin arrived at the Kremlin for a meeting with Kuchma," a Kremlin spokesman said.

When asked when Yeltsin had left hospital or if he would have to return, the spokesman said only: "We will give information about this later." Yeltsin, 68, was hospitalised last Monday and forced to cancel planned talks Tuesday with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Though Yelstin spent the week in hospital, the Kremlin insisted he had continued working and meeting with his main aides. On Friday Moscow Echo radio reported he was recovering.