Deputy Minister Tarasiuk speaks to press

WASHINGTON - Meeting with representatives of the press, Deputy Foreign Minister Tarasiuk made it clear his delegation was not in the U.S. to "seek a pardon for not ratifying the arms control treaties." The visit was part of a regular series of diplomatic consultations on political and military issues and not just on START.

He was unwilling to predict when Ukraine's Parliament would ratify the two treaties, stating that he was "not responsible for the actions of members of Parliament." He did, however, assure journalists he was in regular consultation with key members of Parliament.

The deputy foreign minister stated that Parliament has identified a number of problems with the treaties. The first is that two of Ukraine's neighbors have territorial claims on Ukraine, therefore, Ukraine will need national security guarantees during and after removal of the missiles. The guarantees must include protection from the use or threat of use of force by its neighbors against Ukraine.

"These guarantees are not abstract," he stated. "At issue is the existence of the state. We are not talking about a reduction by one-third or two-thirds, but complete elimination of nuclear weapons from the soil of Ukraine."

The second problem for the Supreme Council is the financial implications of the treaty. Mr. Tarasiuk stated that since the technology for the elimination of the highly toxic liquid fuels in the rockets is not even available, it is impossible to estimate the total costs of denuclearization. These chemicals pose major health and environmental problems for Ukraine.

In addition, the deputy minister pointed out the treaty calls for the host country to pay for inspection and verification procedures. "Ukraine was not party to the negotiations and cannot pay for inspections. We welcome any inspection teams but cannot pay for them," he said.

The third major problem is the method of dismantlement. Minister Tarasiuk said Ukraine considers that there is "no successor state to the USSR and that all had the right to be nuclear states." Currently, control of the nuclear forces is under the CIS Joint Command of Strategic Forces but Russia wants jurisdiction, which Ukraine opposes. He went on to state: "Ukraine considers itself a physical, though not operational, owner of the missiles. Ukraine should benefit from any use or sale of the nuclear materials. In addition, Ukraine should have the right to technically block any decision by Russia to launch the missiles located on Ukrainian soil."

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 10, 1993, No. 2, Vol. LXI

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