Twenty-five years ago, on June 23, 1993, the U.S. State Department spokesman, Mike McCurry, praised Ukraine for intercepting a shipment of rocket fuel ingredients bound from Russia to Libya. “The United States welcomes the Ukrainian action. Seizing the cargo of ammonium perchlorate demonstrates a responsible approach to proliferation by the Ukrainian government,” Mr. McCurry said in a statement.
The 80-metric-ton shipment, destined for Libya and intended for use in the Libyan missile program, was first reported by The New York Times. The report named a Moscow-based company called Pavoks as the supplier.
Reuters said the State Department spokesman stressed that U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher had highlighted efforts to halt the proliferation of missiles and weapons of mass destruction as “the arms control issues of the 1990s.” Mr. McCurry added, “I think it’s fair to say we are all over the Russians on this issue and related issues.”
Ammonium perchlorate is used in the manufacture of solid rocket fuel and its sale was restricted under provisions of the Missile Technology Control Regime, a multilateral agreement to which the U.S. and other states were party in an effort to prevent the sale of missile technology to destabilizing countries. The U.S., Russia and Ukraine are among the 35 countries that are partners in the MTCR agreement.
“The United States requests assistance of all concerned governments to ensure that this shipment does not reach its destination, Libya. And, in that connection we urge the government of Russia to accept the return of this shipment from Ukraine,” added Mr. McCurry.
Russia had been attempting to sell rocket engines to India, at a time when the U.S. was pressuring Russia to abandon the sale as a violation of international agreements. The Clinton administration expressed particular concern over Moscow’s decision to sell technology as well as the rockets themselves.
A scheduled U.S. meeting between Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and U.S. Vice-President Al Gore was postponed following public disagreements over the sale of Russian rocket technology to India and over the dismantling of nuclear weapons. The meeting was also scheduled to discuss U-S.-Russian cooperation on energy, science and technology. Russia had decided to postpone the visit rather than drop the contentious issues from the agenda.
Today, Russia continues to draw international criticism for its distribution of weapons and technology to areas of strategic interest for the Kremlin, including Crimea and eastern Ukraine, as well as Syria, among others.
Source: “Ukraine intercepts Russian shipment bound for Libya,” The Ukrainian Weekly, July 4, 1993.