Federation Council member Aleksandr Nazarov on 4 September submitted an official request in the name of the upper chamber to the Prosecutor-General's Office asking for an investigation into whether Eduard Shevardnadze exceeded his authority while serving as Soviet foreign minister in 1990. The request stems from the 1990 agreement that delimits the border between Russia and the United States in the Bering Sea, which transferred rich fishing grounds to the United States. If an investigation determines that Shevardnadze, who is now president of Georgia, did exceed his authority in signing the pact, Nazarov will ask for a criminal case to be filed against him. Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mikhail Margelov, who coordinates contacts between the upper chamber and the U.S. Senate, told ORT that Russia is raising the issue not in order to start a conflict but in order to alleviate undercurrents of tension that are hampering bilateral cooperation. (RFE/RL)