Posted on 08/01/2002 3:02:28 PM PDT by knighthawk
WASHINGTON (AP) — Using Ukraine's NATO ambitions as a wedge, U.S. officials are pressing the one-time Soviet republic to better protect its missile technology so that it does not end up in the hands of Iraq.
A senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Thursday that delegations from countries such as Iran and Iraq have visited Ukraine, seeking meetings with those who hold the technology.
``The Ukranians are generally pretty open with us about this,'' the official said.
The United States has no evidence that Ukraine has transferred technology to Iraq, the official said, but is awaiting the results of an investigation, promised by President Leonid Kuchma, into the practices of those who trade with Iraq.
In the meantime, U.S. officials are working with Ukraine on improving security at its 11 nuclear power plants and other institutions that contain sensitive materials used to make weapons such as dirty bombs, the official said. Also, they are looking to tighten security at Ukraine's border along Russia and the Black Sea, to prevent illicit nuclear weapons trafficking.
Ukraine declared in May that it would seek membership in NATO, and is now in the process of bringing its economy and democratic institutions in line with international standards.
The United States has made clear that the way Ukraine controls its sensitive technologies will be a factor in its NATO bid, the official said. Those technologies include precision instruments, sensitive steel, gyroscopes and the knowledge of individuals who worked with nuclear material.
Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal in 1991, after independence from the Soviet Union. It declared itself neutral, but has taken an active role in numerous NATO-sponsored exercises and U.N. peacekeeping missions in Kosovo and parts of Africa.
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