Accusations of arms smuggling to Georgia absurd - Security Council

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The accusations leveled against Ukraine of alleged smuggling of weapons to Georgia are absurd, Serhiy Khimchenko, head of the military security department at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, told a press conference Tuesday.

He noted that all of Ukraine's military technology cooperation with Georgia proceeded in full compliance with the standards of international regulations for export control, and the national laws to this effect. "As known, Georgia has not been staying under any restrictive sanctions or embargos of the United Nations' Security Council, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union, or any other international organizations," Khimchenko said adding, "The Government of Ukraine, in keeping with the law on the legal status of Armed Forces' property dated September 21, 2002, passed all decisions on alienation and export of defense technologies. The export of weapons was thus effected by one and the same state-run company, Ukrspetsexport. That is why all findings, hearsays and charges of arms smuggling are absurd in this situation".

He also emphasized that the allegations by Valeriy Konovaliuk, head of Verkhovna Rada's ad hoc inquiry team, concerning irregularity of Ukraine's exports control system and the relevant national laws do not correspond to fact. "Ukraine has an up-to-date and effective export control system. It was created with methodical and technical support of the EU member-countries and the Unites States, and thus it fully meets their standards," Khimchenko noted.

In his words, following the said accusations, a special interagency workgroup was set up within the National Security and Defense Council system to have done a deep and all-round analysis of all aspects of cooperation with Georgia in the field of military technologies. "Its main conclusion is that this cooperation was conducted in a strict abidance by norms of the international export control procedure, and national legislation. Ukraine's special exporters did not deliver any arms to Georgia during the Russian - Georgian military conflict, and never supplied any defense goods under the guise of humanitarian cargos," he stated.

The security council spokesman also called as unfounded all talks about alleged involvement of Ukrainian experts into combat actions in Southern Caucasus.

Seventeen civil experts of OJSC Holding Company AvtoKrAZ and government company Kharkiv's Morozov machine-building design bureau of the Industrial Policy Ministry of Ukraine, state-run enterprises Mykolaiv mechanical repair plant and the Balaklea repair works of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine, as well as the UkrOboronServis government company officially went to Georgia on July 3, 2008 within the framework of contract implementation. They were engaged in warranty repair and servicing of automobile, armored, anti-aircraft and other defense technologies. Yet, immediately after the start of the combat actions, they all without exception moved to hotels in Tbilisi, Akhaltsykh and Poti, and returned to Ukraine by Ukrainian planes over the August 8 - 13 period.

Khimchenko urged politicians, mediamen and the public against speculating over subjects that could damage the national interests and make Ukraine a hostage of groundless manipulations on international arena.

Meanwhile, addressing the military technology cooperation commission meeting on Tuesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev again accused "a number of states" of supplying arms to the "Saakashvili regime", which "rather actively instigated him for aggression". Medvedev also accused "a number of neighbor states" of the plans "to overload that regime with extra kinds of weapons". "We will not forget it, and will naturally take it into account in our practical policy. I would like everybody to know this," the Russian President emphasized.

UKRINFORM