McDonald's, the American fast food giant, is on the way to opening restaurants in Estonia and Latvia by the end of the year, but has no immediate plans to move into St. Petersburg, Russia's second biggest city, according to a spokeswoman.


Barbara Enzinger, director of marketing and public relations for Central Europe, said McDonald's is already accepting employment applications for a restaurant it plans to open in Riga, Latvia.


Enzinger said there was no fixed deadline for opening either restaurant but said the company was aiming to open both by the end of the year.


"We might open in Riga in December and in Tallinn in January," Enzinger said in a telephone interview from her office in Vienna.


The Canadian McDonald's company currently operates three restaurants in Moscow, which are the only McDonald's in the former Soviet Union. The new restaurants will be built by the American McDonald's.


Enzinger said McDonald's so far has no plans for St. Petersburg and Kiev, two other cities breathlessly awaiting the golden arches.


"We've taken trips to Ukraine, but haven't fixed a date there because the political situation is too shaky and the economy is struggling," Enzinger said.


A McDonald's team also visited St. Petersburg about 18 months ago, but "the situation wasn't too bright. We have so many opportunities that are easier, in Bulgaria, for example."


The team decided that supply would be too difficult a problem in St. Petersburg.