Russia’s accusations hold no water, Ukraine’s FM says

October29200820:35

According to the Oct. 29 UNIAN report, the statement was made by an official of Ukraine FM Oleksandr Nykonenko, head of FM department for control of armaments and military/technical cooperation.

“The tone of Russian accusations suggest that the Kremlin intends to justify its aggression in Northern Caucasus,” he said.

Ukraine has strictly adhered to its international agreements on arms supplies, he stressed.

Instead of settling the issue, the Russians prefer finger-pointing, O. Nykonenko added. It is too early to draw the line on the conflict in Georgia, as the fact of an aggression cannot be ignored by the world community of nations in the XXI century.

Answering the question on how Ukraine will protect itself against the allegations of complicity in the Georgian conflict, Nykonenko replied that Ukraine will participate in the efforts by international organizations aimed to find the conflict perpetrators.

Asked if he thought the tone of Russian accusations was threatening, the FM official replied: “We won’t be cowed because Ukraine is under the umbrella of the international community. We rely on its safety potential and the common sense which should prevail in international politics.”

Recall that on Oct. 2 Premier Vladimir Putin called a criminal the official who inked the contract to supply Ukrainian weapons to Georgia. “We can understand the sales of arms, it’s business. However, when the arms are used to kill servicemen in war zones, notably, Russian servicemen – it sends a very chilling signal.” Putin said. Putin expresses fears that the arms could have been supplied to Georgia after the war broke out and could have been manned by Ukrainian experts. “Should we find evidence of this, we would react adequately,” V. Putin warned.

Oct. 28, Russia Pres Dmitrij Medvedev warned that his country will curb military and technical cooperation with those countries that supplied arms to Georgia and supported Pres Saakishvili in August.