Line of Defense
The American and British experts did not establish any evidence of Ukraine selling or transferring the Kolchuha radar system to Iraq. The possibility of selling it to Iraq through third countries is also completely ruled out. Ukraine has demonstrated unprecedented openness in presenting information to the experts, even in those respects that might cause damage to the state’s economic interests and national security. Ukraine is not obliged to prove its not being implicated in arms sales to Iraq. Our country is prepared to cooperate with the United States and NATO countries, but only under condition of disclaiming the unfounded allegations against it and respect for its national interests. This is the official opinion of the Ukrainians on the conclusions made by foreign experts who stayed in Ukraine from October 14 to 20, looking for evidence of its involvement with the Kolchuha sales to Iraq, head of the Presidential Administration and chairman of the commission to create favorable conditions for the experts’ work Viktor Medvedchuk told last Tuesday’s press conference at the Presidential Administration. He recalled that the president of Ukraine ordered all central executive bodies, law enforcement bodies, and regional authorities to create appropriate working conditions for the experts and furnish them with all information they are interested in (within the limits of the active legislation, of course). In Mr. Medvedchuk’s words, the American and British experts have twice visited the Donetsk-based Topaz enterprise where the Kolchuha complexes are produced, obtaining virtually complete technical information on their production, operation, and utilization. In the period from 1987 to date, 76 Kolchuha and Kolchuha-M (modified) systems were manufactured, with 46 of them ordered by the former USSR Defense Ministry. Of 30 systems produced since 1992 18 were made by request from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, 8 — for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, 4 — for the Chinese People’s Republic. Three stations manufactured in 1991 were modernized and sold to Ethiopia in 2001. Viktor Medvedchuk drew journalists’ attention to the fact that experts were provided with serial numbers of all Kolchuha stations, with the exception of the first one, which did not have any number. The commission also got an opportunity to familiarize itself with all the nineteen stations now stationed on Ukrainian territory. Mr. Medvedchuk claims that the experts have received answers to virtually all questions connected with the possibility of the Kolchuha sales to Iraq. Simultaneously, they have raised a number of questions, which are not connected with Iraq in any way but deal with legal Kolchuha exports to other countries, particularly with China. Observing its obligations to its partners from third countries and considering the specifics of such information, Ukraine did not give it to experts, he noted.
The Mr. Medvedchuk showed a copy of the American and British experts’ conclusions to journalists, the eighteen pages of which contain, according to his calculations, seventeen assertions the Ukrainian side cannot agree with. The cases in point are, in part, the FBI recognizing the authenticity of the records of Leonid Kuchma’s conversation with the late Ukrspetseksport head Valery Malev, in the course of which the president allegedly approved Malev’s suggestion to sell the Kolchuha systems to Iraq through third countries; the “uneven” level of cooperation; indirect answers to direct questions; the “conflict of interests” between Ukraine’s Security Service and Ukrspetseksport, etc. In Mr. Medvedchuk’s view, such assertions are incorrect and groundless, since the level of openness demonstrated by Ukraine can be called “unprecedented”: experts were supplied with even transportation documents, ultimate consumer’s certificates, etc. Moreover, the information, which normally would be declassified in a month or two, was removed from secret list in a week. Incidentally, the president did have a meeting with Mr. Malev on July 10, 2000, Mr. Medvedchuk said answering the journalists’ questions; evidence of this are unofficial records in the guards’ registers (according to Mr. Medvedchuk, there is no official recording of the head of state’s visitors), which were also passed to the experts. “Would we do so if we had even slightest doubts regarding this meeting?” the PA head appealed to those present. Speaking about the contract on selling four Kolchuha systems to China, according to generally accepted norms, its contents are commercial classified information belonging not only to Ukraine, Mr. Medvedchuk stressed. “We affirm that no international regulations were violated as a result of signing this contract.”
As for the experts insisting on a meeting with Messrs. Orshansky and Derkach, Mr. Medvedchuk mentioned that, as it became known, Mr. Orshansky has left to Iraq via Moscow, while People’s Deputy Derkach during the experts’ visit to Ukraine first was abroad and later felt unwell, as he explained. “However, if such cooperation with experts takes place in the future — and Ukraine is open for cooperation — we will certainly do everything necessary to secure such a meeting,” Mr. Medvedchuk said.
According to him, Ukraine would not make public all the above, viewing the experts’ conclusions as preliminary, if the American side did not begin to divulge information. It is worth mentioning that the Ukrainian side did a good job preparing for this move. Suffice it to recall such details as the Scheme of Considering and Making Decisions on Granting Licenses for Arms Export demonstrated on the press center monitor, with the help of which Chairman of the Export Control State Service of Ukraine Oleksandr Leheida explained to journalists the complicated nature of this procedure, which, in his opinion, rules out the possibility of illegal Kolchuha sales.
PS
A few hours before Ukraine’s reaction to the publication of the American experts’ report, the Ukrainian question was considered by Committee 661 of the UN Security Council, which controls observing the UN sanctions against Iraq. To be more specific, the Committee examined Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Anatoly Zlenko’s appeal to the UN Security Council to require study the situation concerning accusations against Ukraine of the possible sales of the Kolchuha systems to Iraq. The committee members decided to discuss this problem more closely and concretely at their next meetings. As it became known, this decision was made also at the request from the US delegation, which informed Committee 661 on the additional questions posed Ukraine by the American-British expert group in the end of their work. The examination itself can last from three to six months; meanwhile, such a situation is totally unprecedented.
Ukraine’s Permanent Representative at the UN, Ambassador Valery KUCHYNSKY, commented on this situation to The Day:
“On November 9, a letter from Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Anatoly Zlenko was addressed to the UN Security Council, dealing, in part, with the results of the US-British expert group. In this letter the head of Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry turned to the Security Council with a request to be more specific in the case of allegations against Ukraine of its violating sanctions against Iraq.
“On November 11, Minister Zlenko’s message was officially passed by the Chairman of the UN Security Council for the consideration by Committee 661 on Iraq sanctions.
“At a meeting held the same day, in view of the need for a detailed examination of this letter containing a significant amount of information, the committee members agreed to discuss the issue in detail at their future meetings. This was done also at the request from the US delegation, informing [the committee] that they were waiting for answers to the questions to Ukraine posed by the results of the recent visit of the American and British experts to this country.
“I would like to stress one fundamental point. Committee 661 does not and never did consider any accusations against our country. We speak only about considering our appeal: examining the issue, investigating the case, and closing the subject of groundless claims against Ukraine.
“Ukraine did not violate sanctions against Iraq. It didn’t sell arms to this country.
“Speaking about the experts’ conclusions, I would like to stress the following. It wasn’t Ukraine who was unable to prove its not violating the sanctions. Rather, the expert group proved unable to corroborate the unfounded accusations — precisely because of their groundlessness. The principle of the presumption of innocence is obvious to not only lawyers but to average people.
“Our state has taken, in fact, unprecedented steps to remove even the slightest doubts of its observing the sanctions against Iraq. The expert group was given access to all required information.
“Indeed, this is why the results of its work are disappointing. Maybe this is why we see that the American side is unwilling to consider this issue quickly and transparently in the UN. But where, if not in the UN Security Council, should the question of violating its sanctions be examined? This is why we turned to the Security Council as a competent international institution able to make things clear and put an end to the current situation.”
