FT: Iraq 'seeks Ukraine arms links'
07/09/2002 | Shooter
Iraq 'seeks Ukraine arms links'
By Tom Warner in Kiev and Stephen Fidler in London
Published: July 8 2002 22:04 | Last Updated: July 8 2002 22:04
Iraq is exploiting its growing links with Ukraine in an effort to obtain weapons technologies, arms control experts say.
They say the government of the former Soviet republic has been taking an active role in organising direct ties between Ukrainian companies and Iraq.
Amid concerns about Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction, new evidence of links between the two countries has brought calls for a heightened international scrutiny of their relationship.
"For some years there was an intensive defence-technology relationship between Ukraine and Iraq. This appears to be re-emerging and we don't want to repeat the mistakes of the past," said Timothy McCarthy, a former United Nations weapons inspector.
The US looks likely to launch an offensive against Iraq. President George W. Bush is said to be concerned about Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programmes, and news of Ukraine's relations with Iraq is likely to anger the US.
The US said on Monday the failure of talks between Iraq and the UN last week showed Washington was right to suspect Iraq. Richard Boucher, State Department spokesman, said Iraq had not indicated "that it intends to allow inspectors to come in with unfettered access to verify that they're not doing what we suspect they're doing . . . that is, developing weapons of mass destruction". In recordings - heard by the Financial Times - of what appears to be a conversation between Ukraine's president, Leonid Kuchma, and Yuri Alexeyev, director of Yuzhmash, Ukraine's largest rocket maker, the men mention Iraq, Iran and rockets.
The recordings were supplied by Mykola Melnychenko, one of Mr Kuchma's former bodyguards. Mr Kuchma and Mr Alexeyev denied having supplied missile technology to Iraq.
In a three-part investigation, which begins on Tuesday, the FT reveals a dangerous lack of control over weapons of mass destruction and their availability to countries such as Iraq - and even terrorists.
An Iraqi delegation led by Hikmat el-Azzawi, deputy prime minister, visited Ukraine last month. Local media reports citing Ukrainian government sources said Iraq offered to buy aircraft, ships and steel pipes. New bilateral agreements were also reportedly signed.
Ukraine opened an embassy in Baghdad in 20 00 and its ministry of foreign affairs accepted the credentials of Yuri Orshansky, a Ukrainian businessman, as an honorary consul for Iraq.
Mr Orshansky told Ukrainian media he has visited Iraq 40 times since 1992, but denies breaking international sanctions. In 2001, Mr Orshansky organised a trade fair in Baghdad. "Even if they want to create a nuclear bomb, we will study this," he was quoted as saying. "After all, in 50 years, maybe we will offer our services." He could not be reached for comment.
By Tom Warner in Kiev and Stephen Fidler in London
Published: July 8 2002 22:04 | Last Updated: July 8 2002 22:04
Iraq is exploiting its growing links with Ukraine in an effort to obtain weapons technologies, arms control experts say.
They say the government of the former Soviet republic has been taking an active role in organising direct ties between Ukrainian companies and Iraq.
Amid concerns about Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction, new evidence of links between the two countries has brought calls for a heightened international scrutiny of their relationship.
"For some years there was an intensive defence-technology relationship between Ukraine and Iraq. This appears to be re-emerging and we don't want to repeat the mistakes of the past," said Timothy McCarthy, a former United Nations weapons inspector.
The US looks likely to launch an offensive against Iraq. President George W. Bush is said to be concerned about Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programmes, and news of Ukraine's relations with Iraq is likely to anger the US.
The US said on Monday the failure of talks between Iraq and the UN last week showed Washington was right to suspect Iraq. Richard Boucher, State Department spokesman, said Iraq had not indicated "that it intends to allow inspectors to come in with unfettered access to verify that they're not doing what we suspect they're doing . . . that is, developing weapons of mass destruction". In recordings - heard by the Financial Times - of what appears to be a conversation between Ukraine's president, Leonid Kuchma, and Yuri Alexeyev, director of Yuzhmash, Ukraine's largest rocket maker, the men mention Iraq, Iran and rockets.
The recordings were supplied by Mykola Melnychenko, one of Mr Kuchma's former bodyguards. Mr Kuchma and Mr Alexeyev denied having supplied missile technology to Iraq.
In a three-part investigation, which begins on Tuesday, the FT reveals a dangerous lack of control over weapons of mass destruction and their availability to countries such as Iraq - and even terrorists.
An Iraqi delegation led by Hikmat el-Azzawi, deputy prime minister, visited Ukraine last month. Local media reports citing Ukrainian government sources said Iraq offered to buy aircraft, ships and steel pipes. New bilateral agreements were also reportedly signed.
Ukraine opened an embassy in Baghdad in 20 00 and its ministry of foreign affairs accepted the credentials of Yuri Orshansky, a Ukrainian businessman, as an honorary consul for Iraq.
Mr Orshansky told Ukrainian media he has visited Iraq 40 times since 1992, but denies breaking international sanctions. In 2001, Mr Orshansky organised a trade fair in Baghdad. "Even if they want to create a nuclear bomb, we will study this," he was quoted as saying. "After all, in 50 years, maybe we will offer our services." He could not be reached for comment.
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2002.07.09 | острог
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Syria, As Well As Iraq, Now Operational With Kolchuga OTHRhttp://pub14.ezboard.com/fwarandpoliticsfrm47.showMessage?topicID=736.topic
Exclusive. From GIS (Global Information System) Damascus and
other sources.
GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily sources confirmed that the
Syrian Air Defense Command, which operates under the Army with
Army and Air Force manpower, had acquired at least one Ukrainian
Kolchuga long-range (OTH) passive radar system. As well, the
sources confirmed that the Syrian Government transacted the
procurement of $100-million worth of Kolchuga OTHR systems for
Iraq. It is understood that both the Iraqi and Syrian sites
are now operational.
The acquisition of such long-range passive radar systems gives
Iraq and Syria considerably enhanced confidence in anticipating
and dealing with any possible air strike by the Israeli Air
Force (IAF), and possibly accounts for much of the present pace
of Iraqi and Syrian ongoing preparations for conflict with Israel.
It is believed that the Iraqi Kolchuga systems have been deployed
at or near the H-2 and H-3 bases in the West of Iraq, operated
by the Air Defense Force of the Iraqi Air Force to provide early
warning of Israeli Air Force movements.
The Kolchuga system has also been sold to the People's Republic
of China (PRC) in a deal concluded in the first quarter of 2002.
The system is unique on the world market, although the technology
has been under development for sometime, and a far more comprehensive
system began operational testing in Australia in 1992.
No 1 Radar Surveillance Unit (1RSU) was formed on July 1, 1992,
by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) at Mt. Everard, 50km
from Alice Springs in Central Australia. The unit was the first
to operate the High Frequency Over-The-Horizon Radar (OTHR),
known as the Jindalee system. The Unit's rôles include conducting
wide-area surveillance operations of the sea-air gap, at distances
of up to 2,000km from the coastline, and training leading up
to the introduction of the Jindalee Operational Radar Network
(JORN) early next century. The Jindalee OTHR is also used as
a research and development tool for scientific purposes and
for the further development of the multi-radar JORN. Australian
sources confirmed to GIS that, in fact, Jindalee could detect
targets well into the Northern hemisphere.
It had been hinted in some US media circles that the Iraqi acquisition
of the Kolchuga occurred through a Jordanian intermediary. This,
however, is not the case, as GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily
sources have now confirmed. However, the Ukrainian state arms-export
company, Ukrspetzexport, did highlight the Kolchuga at the SOFEX-2000
defense exhibition which opened in Amman, Jordan, on April 17,
2000. The Kolchuga system, made by the Donetsk-based Ukrainian
company, Topaz, was first shown at the IDEF-99 defense exhibition
in 1999. The system was upgraded in 2000. Topaz has said that
the Kolchuga system was capable of making an accurate evaluation
of land targets at a distance of 600km and air targets at a
distance of 800km, ample distances for Syrian and Iraqi purposes.
Topaz has also claimed that the Kolchuga system had a greater
ability to detect stealthier aircraft and - because of its passive
system - was more difficult to detect.
Ukrainian Pres. Leonid Kuchma has been implicated in approving
the transfer of the Kolchugas to Iraq, and would have had to
authorize the transfer also to Syria. It was possible, the GIS
sources believed, that the Iraqi Kolchugas were sold using Syrian
end-user certificates.
According to the Topaz Director-General, three Kolchuga systems
were also sold to Ethiopia in 2000. The Head of the State Export
Control Service, Olexandr Leheida, reportedly confirmed that
valid Ethiopian end-user documentation was provided for that
sale, although some Ukrainian media have speculated that the
Ethiopian systems were, in fact, intended for Iraq. However,
GIS analysts believe that Ethiopia's requirement for the systems
- to safeguard against possible future Eritrean attacks - was
sufficient that it would not have acted on Iraq's behalf. Technicians
from Topaz traveled three times to Ethiopia to assist in setting
up the system (in July 2000, June 2001 and February 2002). At
least one of these trips coincided in time with the armed conflict
between Ethiopia and Eritrea when the UN embargo imposed on
them by Resolution #1298 was still effective. The embargo was
lifted by the UN Security Council resolution on May 16, 2001.
It was unclear whether Ethiopia acquired the original variant
of the Kolchuga, or the upgraded system.
The original system could cover 300 land km and 600 air km.
A research program funded by Ukrspeteksport enabled mathematicians
in one of Kyiv Research Institutes to use an updated calculation
technique and extend the Kolchuga coverage radius to 600 land
km and 800 air km.
Ukrainian intelligence (SBU) Chief Volodymyr Radchenko and Ukrainian
counter-intelligence service chief Serhiy Makarenko have now
become heavily involved in the issue. It was alleged that the
Kolchuga systems were to have gone to Iraq via Jordan in crates
from the Ukrainian Kraz engineering factory, although at least
one Ukrainian source has said that no exports from Kraz went
to Jordan during the time the systems were sent to Iraq. It
was therefore considered more likely that the systems went,
as GIS sources have said, through Syria. The official who apparently
arranged the sale to Iraq, Valeriy Malev, the head of Ukrspeteksport,
has since died.
Ukrainian sources have said that the cost to Topaz to manufacture
the Kolchuga was appr. $2.8-million per system, and that the
market price was $5-million per unit. They also confirmed that
Iraq acquired four of the systems, but paid $100-million for
them, instead of $20-million.
2002.07.09 | Shooter
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