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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

Weapons Sales 

29 December, 1998 - 00:00

The last two months at especially noisy at the military firing range close
to the Greek town of Litochoro. Tank crews from six countries, Ukraine,
the USA, Germany, France, Great Britain, and Russia, were trying to convince
Greek generals that their tanks are the best. Athens is now pricing which
country to make 500 tanks for the Greek army, so there is something to
fight over.

The tank firing was carried out on December 14. The Ukrainian Embassy
in Greece reported after the firing was over that Greeks are quite satisfied
with our T-80. Greece's deputy minister of defense D. Apostalakis, who
watched the firing, said that the Ukrainian tank was presented on the market
of NATO countries for the first time and that in terms of its specifications,
it gives way to no western tank. After summing up the results of the field
trial, which, according to the diplomats, went without a hitch, "The Ukrainian
side has a real chance to participate in the Greek tender."

However, it became known in Kyiv that our tank driver was injured during
test firing and driving. All our attempts to clear up the crux of the problem
with Ukrspetseksport (Ukrainian Special Exports), the only company now
having the right to trade arms, including tanks, failed. Except that the
chairman of the Export control service Valery Hubenko let slip, "As far
as I know, he hit himself by accident when clearing an obstacle. We made
inquiries three days ago. He is fine there." As to the slightly nervous
reaction of Ukrspetseksport representatives to questions about Greece,
this can be explained by other circumstances, which threaten the company's
position.

The T-80 tank was presented in Greece by  Kharkiv's Malyshev Plant,
and not by Ukrspetseksport. The Kharkiv plant has been long trying to outstrip
what it considers the too obtrusive surveillance of this company. According
to law, the plant can sell complete weapons systems abroad only through
it, if there is something to sell, that is. If the government allowed Kharkiv
to go solo Ukrspetseksport would lose one of the most profitable segments
of its offering, for these are the tanks that promote national arms export.
That is why even the smallest failures are extremely undesirable to Malyshev
plant workers, because in the view of Greece Ukrspetseksport has an opportunity
to say "See what happens..."

In his turn Valery Hubenko comments upon the plant's actions very calmly,
"I do not think this is failure. If someone understood something wrong
or wanted to achieve more, but failed, this does not mean it is a failure.
Malyshev and our other enterprises are looking for an opportunity to increase
production, to enter foreign markets somehow, and get orders. We should
have mercy on them."

It is too early to predict how this story will influence the balance
of forces in the domestic combat between Ukrainian arms manufacturers and
traders. As for the foreign fronts, we have to admit that Greece is a hard
nut for us to crack because our legal armor bearers are not doing all right
in this market, either. Recall, this September the Ukrainian Zubr amphibious
landing craft, manufactured in Fedosiya, was supposed to demonstrate its
unique potential in Greece. Athens intends to purchase at least six ships
of this type. However, the Zubr did not make it to Athens because Ankara
did not let it through Turkish-controlled straits, because the application
for passing the Bosporus and Dardanelles had been made too late. National
Security and Defense Council Secretary Volodymyr Horbulin said then, "We
simply lacked coordination between ministries and establishments. I think
that errors will be corrected in the immediate future - within a month."
Soon afterwards the managing board of State Export Control Service, which
grants licenses for arms sales and exports from Ukraine, was changed. Valery
Hubenko, until recently the President's Military Inspector General, was
appointed the service chairman instead of Viktor Vashchylin. Cloakroom
scuttlebutt had it that that Vashchylin was caught in a situation, where
higher-ups disagreed over whether we can intensify military technical cooperation
with Greece without spoiling relations with Turkey. And victory in the
tender on manufacturing 1000 tanks for Ankara is Kyiv's fondest dream.
One has to be a grand master to successfully sell arms to both Greece and
Turkey, whose relations are rather complicated, to say the least. Ukrspetseksport
considered it worth taking the risk. Of course, they wanted the best. And
it turned out the way it usually does: our Zubr failed to make it to Greece
and irritated the Turks. Then, a month later, a large Russian amphibious
landing ship visited Greece with no fuss. Our arms traders could only beat
their breasts.

Now the question arises whether Ukraine is willing to lose its chance
to sell Turkey tanks by sending its T-80s to Greece? This same dilemma
leaves the USA, France, and Germany absolutely unconcerned. They will fight
for the Turkish order with equal determination. We should follow the example
of the Old World. Secondly, it would not be a failure, if Ukraine suddenly
wins the tender to supply Greece with 500 tanks instead of 1000 to Turkey.
It would also be a rather wide field of operation for our Military Industrial
Complex. A different thing seems to be the problem - what if these tank
armadas are nothing but a bluff in the game between two distrustful competitors
- Ankara and Athens?

 

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