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http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/aj/Qnato-ministers-ukraine.Rx5M_CSP.html NATO asks Ukraine about radars-for-Iraq allegations WARSAW, Sept 25 (AFP) - NATO Secretary General George Robertson on Wednesday demanded an explanation from Ukraine of suggestions that it has sold sophisticated radar material to Iraq. "We still need to get from the Ukraine some explanation for the evidence which is emerging at the moment", Robertson told a news conference in reply to a question at the end of a two-day meeting of NATO defence ministers. "Some very serious questions need to be answered," he said. US Secretary of State Colin Powell announced on Tuesday that Washington was suspending several million dollars worth of aid to Kiev pending the results of an inquiry into its allegations that Leonid Kuchma, the president of the former Soviet state, has approved the sale of sophisticated radars to Iraq in breach of UN sanctions. The head of the presidential administration, Viktor Medvedchuk, said on Wednesday that the US accusations were unfounded and aimed at supporting opponents to Kuchma. On Wednesday the Ukraine invited international experts to come in and investigate. Ukraine announced for the first time in May that it hoped to become a member of the transatlantic military alliance in the long term. ------------------------------------------------------- http://www.dawn.com/2002/09/26/int2.htm Dawn (Pakistan) September 26, 2002 US accuses Ukraine of radar sale to Iraq By Our Correspondent WASHINGTON, Sept 25: The State Department has announced it is freezing US aid to Ukraine after determining President Leonid Kuchma personally approved the sale of an advanced radar system to Iraq. "We've recently concluded an analysis of a July 2000 recording that was provided by the former Ukrainian presidential bodyguard, Mykola Melnychenko. On one of the tapes, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma is heard approving the clandestine sale of "Kolchuga" early warning systems to Iraq, and we believe this recording to be authentic," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters on Tuesday. Boucher said aid to the central government in Kiev has been temporarily frozen as part of a review of policy towards Kuchma's government. The frozen funding amounts to approximately $54 million in aid for government, legal and regulatory reform, but does not effect the majority of aid to the Ukraine including money set aside for military to military assistance. The Ukrainian government has denied the transfers ever took place, and Kuchma himself drafted a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcoming an international inquiry into the American allegations. A statement released on Tuesday from Kuchma read: "Ukraine is prepared to make available all information, and it is open to inspections by competent authorized international organizations, including US experts." Boucher said the US government was not certain the radar system was actually in place in Iraq, but was confident Kuchma did in fact approve the sale. One senior State Department official also noted "Kuchma and others denied this kind of activity to us. They denied the sales." Boucher made it clear that President Kuchma intended to violate UN sanctions against Iraq. "Our ongoing policy review reflects our serious concern that illicit transfers to Iraq were approved by President Kuchma, as well as our determination to discourage further transfers by Ukraine or by any other country that violates UN sanctions on Iraq." The timing of the US policy review could not come at a worse time for Kuchma. In the second demonstration in eight days, approximately 8,000 residents of Kiev, took to the streets to protest against the government policies and to demand his resignation. Agencies add: The Ukrainian president on Wednesday rejected demands for him to step down, but his position appeared increasingly shaky in the wake of the radar sale accusations. Kuchma on Tuesday relented on a previous refusal to meet the opposition leaders who staged a hunger strike in the presidential building, receiving them in his office where they handed him a petition demanding his resignation. Communist leader Petro Simonenko said Kuchma "told us he would not resign and would not agree to early elections." Kuchma "said he will not bow to the demands of the people," Simonenko said. ------------------------------------------------------- http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=2745501&startrow=41&date=2002-09-25&do_alert=0 UKRAINE DID NOT SELL WEAPONS TO IRAQ KIEV, September 25, 2002. /from RIA Novosti correspondent Victor Demidenko/. - The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expressed "resolute disagreement" with the accusations of selling weapons to Iraq, brought on September 24 by the US Secretary of State on behalf of the US. "When it comes to the information presented as evidence or providing any kind of explanation on the validity of the accusations", the US reasoning "does not stand criticism", the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry press service said on Wednesday. Kiev emphasizes the fact that "in the absence of notable evidence" the American side launched a review of their policy towards Ukraine. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry believes that the partial suspension of the US assistance is of "quite negative, though symbolic significance." Kiev shows "fundamental concern in whether the actions of the US administration are motivated by its assistance in the creation of a democratic and market Ukraine integrated into Europe or the United States is guided by motifs of other kind," stresses the Foreign Ministry. Kiev assures that Ukraine is ready to cooperate "with the aim of proving the accusations groundless." __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? 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