Ukraine Observes UN Sanctions

Ukraine is honoring its international commitments and controlling all arms trade issues and would never break UN sanctions, Foreign Affairs Ministry press service head Serhiy Borodenkov said in a comment on the reports of the Prosecutor’s Office at the German town of Mannheim referring to court the case of alleged illegal sales of military hardware and materiel to Iraq. One of the indictment counts deals with purchases of spare parts for Mig-21 jet fighters from Ukraine. A company owned by 59-year-old Bernd S., suspected of illegal cooperation with Iraq, had an office in Ukraine. The indictment deals with the period from 1997 through 1998 when parts for the Mig planes were shipped from Ukraine via Jordan to Iraq, which was in violation of UN sanctions. A German law enforcement representative said that the case had been instigated on charges against a German national, for which reason they declined to comment on the possible consequences of the Mannheim trial for Ukraine. According to official sources, it could start late this year, reports Interfax-Ukraine.