U.S. sends mixed signals on Ukraine's dealings with Iraq (05/12/02)

U.S. sends mixed signals on Ukraine's dealings with Iraq

by Yaro Bihun
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WASHINGTON - The U.S. government, in an official statement issued by the State Department, discounted allegations that Ukraine was illegally selling air defense systems to Iraq.

The president's national security advisor, Condoleezza Rice, however, was more circumspect in her comments on the allegations.

In a statement posted on April 29, the State Department said the United States has seen "no credible evidence" that the Kolchuha system was transferred to Iraq.

The allegations, which first surfaced in Ukraine in March, were based on one of the secret recordings made by President Leonid Kuchma's former body guard, Mykola Melnychenko. On the recording, the president allegedly discusses the proposed sale with the head of Ukraine's arms export agency, Valerii Malev.

"The Ukrainian government has stated that such a transfer has not and will not happen," the State Department said. "We expect Ukraine to continue to ensure no such transfer occurs."

That same day, when Dr. Rice was asked about the allegations, she acknowledged that Washington had held discussions with the Ukrainian "regime" about proliferation issues but declined to get into the specifics of the Iraqi case.

"As to Ukraine," she said in response to a question following her speech at the Johns Hopkins University's School for Advanced and International Studies, "I don't want to comment on the specific example because there's a lot that's gone on there and I don't want to comment on what is really still an allegation. But I will say that we have talked very seriously to the Ukrainian regime about some of the issues of proliferation that we are concerned about with the Ukrainian regime."

While seeking good relations with Ukraine, Dr. Rice said, "we have let the Ukrainian government know that the proliferation issues are extremely important not just in the war on terrorism, but, for instance, in the Balkans, as well."

"We've been very clear about that, and U.S.-Ukrainian relations will progress more strongly when there's some action on some of those items," she said.

The national security advisor said the Bush administration considers its relations with Ukraine - a "huge" country "that borders on extremely important countries like Russia" - to be "potentially extremely important," especially to stability in southern Europe."

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