Ukrainian prime minister in favor of keeping some nuclear weapons

[LIDA POLETZ]

KIEV, Ukraine (UPI) -- Ukrainian Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma told
Parliament Thursday that the Ukraine could hold on to some of the Soviet
strategic nuclear missiles on its territory, and argued against haste in
getting rid of all its nuclear weapons.
Kuchma's speech to a closed session of Parliament came only hours
after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Anatoly Zlenko delivered a strongly
anti-nuclear speech at legislative hearings on the ratification of the
START I and Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaties.
Zlenko opened the long-delayed hearings by declaring that politically
and economically Ukraine cannot afford to keep the nuclear weapons it
inherited from the Soviet Union.
The apparent schism between Kuchma and Zlenko has highlighted the
divisiveness of the nuclear issue, which has become the focus of
Ukrainian nationalist sentiment in recent months because of fears of a
revival of Russian imperial ambitions in the region.
Ukraine, one of four successor states to a part of the Soviet nuclear
arsenal, is the only one that has not ratified the Strategic Arms
Reduction Treaty and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Kuchma told Parliament: ``There's no need (for Ukraine) to hurry,''
with getting rid of the 176 strategic ballistic missiles on its
territory.
Kuchma, who once headed the world's largest missile factory, said
Ukraine had the technical capability to maintain the republic's 46 SS-24
missiles, which he said did not fall under the START I accord.
The solid-fuel, multiple-warhead SS-24 missiles -- the most modern
weapons in the ex-Soviet nuclear arsenal -- are safer to maintain, and
their launchers are assembled in Ukraine.
Kuchma suggested that START I would eliminate only the 130 older SS-
18 missiles, which Kiev is said to be eager to give up because of the
safety risks posed by their liquid fuel engines.
Zlenko, meanwhile, spoke out against Ukraine keeping any nuclear
weapons and said deputies should stop putting off their decision.
``Further postponing of this decision will have a very harmful effect
on Ukraine,'' said Zlenko. ``This decision is very important for the
future of Ukraine in securing its military, economic and ecological
safety, and the definition of its place among the civilized countries of
the world.''
From the economic standpoint, Ukraine simply does not have the $60
billion to $100 billion needed to safely maintain the nuclear weapons,
which are fast reaching their expiration of safe life, Zlenko said.
To make things worse, Russia has not offered the technology or
service needed to maintain the weapons for the last year, he said.
For instance, 130 of Ukraine's 176 ballistic missiles are powered by
highly toxic liquid fuels which ``even now pose an ecological threat to
Ukraine. Ukraine has no way to deal with these problems,'' he said.
``This is very dangerous, because shortly the safe life of the
warheads will come to an end,'' Zlenko said. ``We cannot leave the
nuclear warheads as they are.''
In the political sphere, Zlenko said Ukraine will face a diplomatic
cold shoulder from the West -- and possibly worse -- if it refuses to
ratify the treaties.
``Analysis of recent events indicates that if Ukraine renounces its
course toward nuclear-free status, other countries will respond
negatively,'' he said. ``Most Western countries are against increasing
the number of nuclear states. This can be proved by sanctions against
Iraq.''
Instead of holding onto nuclear weapons, Ukraine should preserve
internal stability and build a strong market economy, while seeking
national security guarantees and assitance from nuclear states.
``The mass media has been painting a picture of Ukraine as having
excessive military ambition, and we are losing our reputation for being
a stable country,'' Zlenko said. ``We are also losing time for improving
political relations with other countries.''
Parliamentary debate on the issue, which is off to a late start and
could continue for months, is likely to be turbulent. In recent months a
growing number of lawmakers of all political stripes have begun to call
for Ukraine to hang onto its nuclear weapons, at least for the moment,
if only to use as a bargaining chip in relations with the rest of the
world to extract greater security guarantees and aid.
President Leonid Kravchuk, who was present at the hearings,
reiterated that Ukraine does not possess ``the button'' for launching
the missiles. Only his Russian counterpart Boris Yeltsin has that
capability, he said.
Zlenko said Ukraine has been under ``severe pressure'' from Russia,
which he said had designs on all nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory.
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