U.S. extends Nunn-Lugar program in Ukraine (08/08/99)

U.S. extends Nunn-Lugar program in Ukraine

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - The United States will continue helping Ukraine dismantle its nuclear weapons and reorganize its military for another six years in an agreement signed on July 31 by the top defense officials of the two countries.

U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen and Ukraine's Minister of Defense Gen. Oleksander Kuzmuk exchanged documents extending U.S. technical and financial assistance until the year 2006. The ceremony took place in Foros, Ukraine, a town located outside of Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula.

The agreement prolongs the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, better known as the Nunn-Lugar program, until the year 2006, during which Ukraine will continue to eliminate its nuclear stockpile, most importantly SS-24 ICBMs and their missile silos, the Bear and Black Jack strategic bombers and air-launched cruise missiles.

The current agreement was due to expire at the end of next year.

The U.S. has channeled $569 million to Ukraine in the last seven years to secure and dismantle weapons of mass destruction, including the elimination of 111 SS-19 ICBMs, a project that was completed earlier this year.

Mr. Cohen was in Ukraine for a six-hour visit to meet with President Leonid Kuchma, Secretary of the Defense and Security Council Volodymyr Horbulin and Defense Minister Kuzmuk. He arrived after attending the 40-nation Balkan Summit in Sarajevo the day before.

Commenting on the U.S. decision to continue supporting nuclear disarmament in Ukraine, Mr. Cohen said this was another important step in the development of U.S.-Ukraine military relations, according to Interfax-Ukraine. The defense secretary noted that since Ukraine declared independence U.S. and Ukrainian servicemen have taken part in more than 100 joint military programs.

Mr. Cohen announced that the U.S. would continue to assist in the reform and modernization of Ukraine's armed forces. Thus far, Washington has channeled some $3.4 million to that end in the last three years. The emphasis in the near future will be on modernizing the Yavoriv training facility in western Ukraine, which NATO recently decided to make a primary training range for its international peacekeeping forces.

Mr. Cohen promised $900,000 from U.S. coffers immediately for the Yavoriv base and to help train Ukrainian peacekeeping contingents. More than 1,300 servicemen from 21 countries began annual NATO-sponsored training exercises, called Peaceshield '99, at Yavoriv the day after Mr. Cohen's visit.

The U.S secretary of defense and Ukrainian officials also discussed how to fund Ukraine's peacekeeping contingent of 800 soldiers that is scheduled to leave for Kosovo within the week.

While reaffirming NATO's interest in Ukraine's involvement in the KFOR peacekeeping effort, Mr. Cohen told President Kuchma that the U.S. is willing to help defray the cost of utilizing the Ukrainian force in a lump sum payment that would involve technical and material aid, with additional funding coming from European countries.

The two sides did not discuss the specific cost of Ukraine's involvement, nor did they settle on the exact nature of the contingent's mission - matters that were to be fleshed out during a visit by NATO Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief Gen. Rupert Smith, who was due in Kyiv on August 5.

Mr. Cohen, however, did volunteer the services of a U.S. military ship to transport Ukrainian soldiers from Crimea to the NATO staging area at Thessaloniki, Greece.

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