On February 15^th, 2002 an absentee voting meeting of the Board of Directors of the North-West Telecom was held, where one of the items on the agenda was selling the Company-owned block of shares of CJSC Delta Telecom (24.1% of the ordinary and 100% of the preferred shares.)

The North-West Telecom’s Board of Directors decided to withdraw from CJSC Delta Telecom by selling all the stock of TELCO Overseas Limited owned thereby for US$ 2,900,000.

Commenting on the decision of the Board, Sergei Vladimirovich Soldatenkov, General Director, OJSC North-West Telecom, noted:

“The North-West Telecom has both direct and indirect interests in Delta Telecom as a shareholder of Telecominvest. Owning blocks of shares in companies developing different cellular communication standards in one market, shareholders of the North-West Telecom, just as shareholders of Telecominvest, sooner or later would have to make a decision containing an alternative.

At the Telecominvest Board of Directors’ meeting of January 25^th, the North-West Telecom voted for withdrawal from Delta. Therefore, the decision of the Board of Directors of the North-West Telecom made on Friday, February 15^th was logical.