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Kiev Imperils U.S. Aid with Libya Arms Deal

Ukraine sold missiles, report says

By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Ukraine has agreed to sell short-range ballistic missiles to Libya and service its Russian- made submarines as part of military cooperation agreements that threaten to derail US. aid to the former Soviet republic, The Washington Times has learned.

According to an Oct. 2 CIA report labeled "top-secret," two Ukrainian "entities" concluded separate agreements, estimated to be worth $510 million, this year with the regime of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Congressional restrictions require a halt on U.S. aid to Ukraine if that nation is found to be trading military goods to Libya. This could affect $225 million earmarked for Ukraine in the current fiscal year and up to $900 million already appropriated.

This restrictions were added to an appropriations bill in an amendment sponsored by Sen. Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican.

An initial payment of $3 million was made to "Ukrainian officials" in July for what the CIA report said were SS-21 or Scud B missiles that will be dismantled before delivery to Libya. When completed, the transfer will be worth $500 million, the report said.

A second deal, concluded in May between another Ukrainian firm and Libya, calls for Ukraine to provide maintenance services and spare parts for Libya's four Soviet-era Foxtrot submarines and other surface ships, the report said.

The service agreement grew out of a visit to Tripoli in May by a group of Ukrainians and will be worth $10 million when completed, the report said. A third agreement outlined in the report involves Iran's purchase in August of a large shipment of unspecified Ukrainian weapons "with the intention of transferring them to Libya."

That sale would contradict statements made in Israel recently by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, who said his nation would not sell military goods to Iran or Libya.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanvahu told reporters after meeting with Mr. Kuchma on Nov. 25 that the Ukrainian president provided a "categorical statement" that Kiev is not contemplating military cooperation of any kind with Iran.

The CIA report said the Ukrainian equipment purchased by Iran will be shipped to Sudan and transported overland to Libya.

"Ukraine does not have any agreements on military-technical cooperation with Libya," the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington said in a statement.

"In the middle of September 1996, the Cabinet of ministers of Ukraine strongly ordered once again that all agencies had to adhere to U.N. sanctions against Libya," it said.

The Ukrainian government promised to investigate "any information about illegal contacts" between Ukrainian and Libyan representatives, the statement said.

One embassy official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said authorities in Kiev are unaware of any missile sales or submarine servicing agreement.

"The proper law enforcement authorities will track down these reports, and if they are confirmed, we will inform you," the official said.

Mr McConnell said he added the restriction on U.S. aid to Ukraine in the omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal 1997 "because I was concerned about the possibility of a military relationship developing between Ukraine and Libya."

"Closer ties between Ukraine and Libya would jeopardize U.S.- Ukrainian relations and global interests in nonproliferation and regional stability," Mr. McConnell said.

If additional information on Ukraine-Libya cooperation comes to light, Mr. McConnell might seek tighter restrictions on U.S. aid, an aide to the senator said.

A CIA spokesman declined to comment.

The military sales would violate U.N. sanctions imposed on Libya for its failure to turn over two Libyan agents wanted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

The missile transfer also could violate the Missile Technology Control Regime, which Ukraine pledged to observe in 1994 even though it is not a formal member.

If the missiles are Scud-Bs, the transfer would violate the MTCR, which bans exports of missiles with ranges greater than 300 miles.

The SS-21s would be illegal under the MTCR if they are fitted with chemical or biological warheads, government experts said. Pentagon officials said Libya is believed to have the capability to produce chemical warheads.

A State Department official involved in the Ukrainian aid program said the department is monitoring Ukrainian ties to Libya. The official said he was unaware of the CIA report on missile sales and submarine service.

"If this were the case, then we would seriously consider" an aid cutoff, the official said. "No recommendation for a presidential determination on that has yet been made, and clearly the standard we set for such a determination is a hard standard to meet."

Under the law, the requirement to cut off aid could be waived by the president if he determines it is in the interest of national security, the official said.

The deals followed an intelligence report, first reported by The Times in June, that Kiev had set up "comprehensive strategic cooperation" with Libya approved by "the highest levels of the Ukrainian leadership."