Ukraine's defense minister in U.S. to strengthen strategic partnership (05/11/97)

Ukraine's defense minister in U.S. to strengthen strategic partnership

by Yaro Bihun
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WASHINGTON - Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk came on his first visit to the United States on April 28. Four days later - after talks with American military and political leaders and visits to numerous American military bases - he returned home a satisfied man, with a strengthened U.S.-Ukraine "strategic partnership," a better understanding of the U.S. military and how it works, two military medical cooperation agreements and an additional $47 million for Ukraine's disarmament process, and a promised visit to Ukraine this summer by Defense Secretary William Cohen.

"The visit was a very fruitful one, in my estimation," Gen.-Col. Kuzmuk said before flying back to Kyiv. "We achieved the goals we set for ourselves."

The military side of the visit schedule for Gen.-Col. Kuzmuk and his delegation, which included the commanders of Ukraine's armed forces and top Defense Ministry officials, took them to the major U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps bases in the southeastern United States, to the Pentagon for talks with Secretary Cohen, and to National Defense College for discussions with military strategists and historians.

On the political side, Minister Kuzmuk and his commanders met with officials at the National Security Council and the State Department as well as with members of the U.S. Congress. The highlight was the Pentagon visit for talks with Defense Secretary Cohen, which included the ceremonial arrival parade with a 19-gun salute and the inspection of U.S. Armed Forces units, and a signing ceremony at which Minister Kuzmuk and Secretary Cohen signed three bilateral agreements:

The Amendment to the Strategic Nuclear Arms Elimination Agreement, which gives Ukraine an additional $47 million to help it destroy remaining strategic delivery vehicles and silos that once housed the nuclear warheads Ukraine inherited from the Soviet strategic arsenal.
The Reciprocal Health Care Agreement, which gives Ukrainian military personnel and their dependents stationed in the U.S. for more than 30 days access to U.S. military medical facilities if they have health problems and gives American military personnel similar reciprocal rights in Ukraine.
The Statement of Intent for Future Military Medical Cooperation, which sets in motion preliminary work toward that goal.

At the news conference following the signing, Secretary Cohen said Ukraine's commitment to peaceful disarmament is "an inspiration to the rest of the world." He underscored the close U.S.-Ukraine bilateral cooperation in removing Ukraine's nuclear weapons, in helping to train Ukrainian noncommissioned officers, in the NATO Partnership for Peace program and in drafting the NATO-Ukraine charter.

Asked about the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO, Minister Kuzmuk reiterated the stated Ukrainian position that it has proclaimed itself to be a neutral and non-aligned country. However, he added - with what he called "a little bit of a philosophical bent" - that "there is nothing permanent in the past, in the present and in the future."

Minister Kuzmuk pointed out that the negative image of the United States ingrained in the Soviet military over the past 70 years has been swept away. "Today, there is a strong desire to work together, a strong desire to deepen our friendship, and a strong desire to improve and further strengthen our ties."

At other stops during his visit, in Congress and during a reception at the Ukrainian Embassy, he pointed out that Ukraine views NATO as the guarantor of stability in Europe and that Kyiv intends to expand and strengthen its relations with the alliance both within the Partnership for Peace program and within the special relationship now being negotiated with NATO.

"We have done everything that we can to establish a special relationship between NATO and Ukraine, which would both define these relations and include certain guarantees," he said.

Minister Kuzmuk stressed Ukraine's insistence that a similar charter outlining future relations between NATO and Russia be a parallel process and "not be a second Yalta," selling out Ukraine and its interests.

Summing up the five-day visit, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Yuri Shcherbak, who accompanied Minister Kuzmuk and his delegation throughout most of his tour and meetings, said the "unprecedented openness, warmth and friendship they encountered demonstrated that Ukraine, indeed, has a strategic partnership with the United States."

The "extremely productive talks," as he described them, with Secretary Cohen and with senior officials at the National Security Council, served to further strengthen that strategic partnership, Ambassador Shcherbak said.

Among the invited guests at the Ukrainian Embassy reception and news conference on the last day of the visit were representatives of veterans of the 1st Division of Ukrainian National Army who had fought against the Red Army in World War II.

Addressing some of Ukraine's military and security problems, Minister Kuzmuk pointed that out that when the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine inherited 1,800 nuclear weapons and armed forces totaling 880,000. Despite all of its economic difficulties, it set out to get rid of the nuclear weapons and cut back its bloated military manpower. "And to this day we have kept on schedule," he said. Ukraine has rid itself of all nuclear warheads and is in the process of getting rid of their delivery systems, while the armed forces have been downsized to 500,000, and will be cut further to 350,000 by the year 2005, he said.

Minister Kuzmuk said Ukraine has a problem with the Conventional Forces in Europe Flank Agreement because a foreign armed force - the Russian Black Sea Fleet - is stationed on its territory. Ukraine is willing to compromise with Russia, he said, and in mid-April he proposed to his Russian counterpart that both sides agree to demilitarize Sevastopol - which he stressed is a Ukrainian city - by withdrawing their naval ground troops units from the city, leaving behind only the naval vessels. "I'm still waiting for a reply," he added.

As for Ukraine's hosting of the international "Sea Breeze 97" training exercises this summer on the Black Sea, Minister Kuzmuk said the exercise, which includes some 25 participating countries, will take place despite Russia's boycott and protests. "How could this be: Ukraine, the host of such an exercise, and on the Black Sea at that, and without asking Russia's permission?" he asked sarcastically.

He said that Defense Secretary Cohen would visit Ukraine and witness either the "Sea Breeze 97" exercise or another international exercise scheduled for the summer in Ukraine called "Cooperative Neighbor." He added, "You can appreciate the names we have to invent (for these exercises)."

On another issue that has Moscow frowning, Minister Kuzmuk said that Ukraine intends to sell Pakistan some 300 T-80UD tanks. Moscow would rather Ukraine didn't, since Russia is the main supplier of these tanks to Pakistan's neighbor, India. Discussing Ukraine's arms sale policy, Minister Kuzmuk added that "Ukraine is very careful and places stringent controls on its arms exports, so that they do not fall into the wrong hands."

And still another Ukraine-Russia disagreement was raised at the Pentagon news conference on the previous day, when the Ukrainian defense minister expressed doubt that Russia will accept Ukraine's proposal to sell it the 50 or so strategic bombers Ukraine inherited from the Soviet strategic forces. Ukraine has no need for these planes, he said, and does not plan to modernize or re-equip them.

While waiting for the defense minister to arrive at the Embassy reception for Ukrainian American community representatives, members of the delegation, including the commanders of the army, navy and air force, fielded questions about the Ukrainian military, which yielded the following information:

The national composition of the military is now 88 percent Ukrainian in the enlisted ranks and 75 percent in the officer corps, which was predominantly Russian at the time of independence. Some 70,000 officers and their families still do not have housing.
The Ukrainianization of the language in the armed forces is proceeding, but not without major difficulties. While all official communications, documents and new technical manuals are now in Ukrainian, all of the old technical manuals are still in Russian, and it will take "an army of translators" many years and great expense to translate them.
The Ukrainian navy, which will number about 50 vessels when the split of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet is complete will include four frigates (the size of the Hetman Sahaidachny, which visited the Norfolk U.S. Naval Base last year), one diesel-powered submarine, and smaller patrol and support vessels.
The armed forces will get chaplains if it is determined that there is a need for them.

On the last day of the visit, there was a ceremony at the Ukrainian Embassy at which the pharmaceutical company Merck gave Ukraine 6,000 doses of the hepatitis B vaccine - enough to immunize 2,000 health-care providers.

The Ukrainian defense minister's U.S. visit preceded by two weeks a planned official visit to Washington by President Leonid Kuchma.

| Home Page |