Ukrainian soldiers take shelter behind a military vehicle in the southern Iraqi city of Kut. Ukraine's parliament voted to demand the withdrawal of the 1,600 Ukrainian troops from Iraq.(AFP/File/Karim Sahib)
Ukraine parliament demands withdrawal of troops from Iraq
KIEV (AFP) - Ukraine's parliament voted to demand the withdrawal of the 1,600 Ukrainian troops from Iraq, in a move the opposition distanced itself from and denounced as a provocation by government forces.
"We don't think this is the right time to raise this issue," Irina Gerashchenko, the spokeswoman for pro-Western opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, told AFP.
"We need to resolve the internal crisis in Ukraine," she said, adding that the motion had been proposed by the Communists and backed by pro-government lawmakers with the support of a minority of opposition deputies.
"This is a provocation, an attempt to discredit us," the opposition spokeswoman said.
The lawmakers voted by 257 out of 397 present in the 450-member chamber to ask outgoing President Leonid Kuchma to pull out the Ukrainian contingent serving in the US-led coalition force in Iraq.
Both of the rival candidates to replace Kuchma, Yushchenko and pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, have said the troops should return but the opposition is pushing for a faster withdrawal timetable.
"We do support a pullout of the Ukrainian forces, but not in a hasty manner. It needs to be discussed properly in parliament first," Gerashchenko said.
The United States has given covert support to the West-leaning opposition leader in this strategic nation as it engages in a Cold War-style battle for influence with Russia, which openly backed the Kremlin-friendly Yanukovich.
'Kuchmagate' and Iraq (Ukraine weapons sales to Iraq) - At the centre of the Iraqi arms scandal stand the hundreds of hours of tapes made illicitly in the office of Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma by security guard Mykola Melnychenko. The portion of the tapes dealing with Iraq was only released in March on the eve of the Ukrainian elections. The existence of the tape of the Iraqi radar sale was reported earlier in the year but at that stage the US still did not publicly back up the accusations. In March, shortly before the Iraq allegations surfaced, Valeriy Malyev, head of the arms export company Ukrspetseksport, died in a mysterious car accident.
The tape, which has been authenticated by the FBI, is of a conversation between Kuchma, Malyev, and then Security Service chief Leonid Derkach (who is accused of other illegal arms sales) which took place in July 2000. In April 1999, US intelligence sources discovered that Ukraine had signed a secret agreement for military co-operation with Iraq in November 1998. In January 1999, a Ukrainian delegation led by a deputy minister visited Iraq. During the first stage of the agreement equipment identified for customs as 'agricultural' was sent to Iraq.
On the Melnychenko tape of the July 2000 meeting, Kuchma is heard giving the go ahead to sell four Kolchuga units to Iraq for $100 million. Melnychenko claims to know the name of a "high-ranking Russian official" who was also alleged to be present.
The scenario of events after the meeting follows a clear pattern that seems to confirm the Kolchuga units were indeed dispatched to Iraq. Only four days after the conversation, the government released the Kolchuga system from any export restrictions. On 9 October 2000, an agreement on trade and scientific and technical co-operation was signed with Iraq. This was ratified by the Ukrainian parliament on 15 November 2001.
FR KEYWORD: KOLCHUGA