nuune Posted October 2, 2008 Finally, Ukrain government admitted!!! October 2, 2008, 12:25 The Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Timoshenko, says her government has information that Ukraine is involved in the illegal arms trade. The statement came after conflicting reports about the final destination of ‘Faina’, the cargo ship that was transporting Ukrainian T-72 tanks to either Kenya or Sudan when it was captured by pirates. "We pass all the information we have to a special investigative commission which was established in the Rada [ukrainian parliament] in order to probe the illegal arms trade, in which Ukraine is unfortunately involved today," Timoshenko said. Timoshenko said that such things as the arms trade should be under governmental control. "The government today is trying to combat the grey economy and, in order to stop the illegal arms trade, the issue should be transferred from the president's control to the government’s. Then we will be able to put this issue in order," she added. But Timoshenko expressed concern whether or not the Ukrainian President, Viktor Yushchenko, and the National Security and Defence Council will allow the government's watchdogs to check the legality of the arms trade. "All arms trading is under direct control of the president and the National Security and Defence Council. The government, in fact, stands off this activity," she explained. Yulia Timoshenko was talking at a media-conference in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev. The event was scheduled for live coverage on Ukrainian TV. However, it so happened that the country’s channels were closed for maintenance at that moment. Ukraine’s arms laundry list The Russian newspaper Izvestia has published a list of Ukrainian arms supplied to Georgia over the last 10 years. The newspaper says the list was compiled by the Ukrainian Parliament’s investigative commission. Source Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
