JCIC-XXXIII: (U) UKRAINIAN OPENING PLENARY

S E C R E T GENEVA 000964 DEPT FOR T, VCI AND EUR/PRA DOE FOR NNSA/NA-24 CIA FOR WINPAC JCS FOR J5/DDGSA SECDEF FOR OSD(P)/STRATCAP NAVY FOR CNO-N5JA AND DIRSSP AIRFORCE FOR HQ USAF/ASX AND ASXP DTRA FOR OP-OS OP-OSA AND DIRECTOR NSC FOR HAYES DIA FOR LEA E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/17/2018 TAGS: KACT PARM START JCIC INF US RS UP BO KZ SUBJECT: JCIC-XXXIII: (U) UKRAINIAN OPENING PLENARY STATEMENT, NOVEMBER 13, 2008 Classified By: Jerry A. Taylor, United States Representative to the Joint Compliance and Inspection Commission. Reasons: 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (U) This is JCIC-XXXIII-008. ¶2. (U) At paragraph 3 below is the official translation of the text of the Ukrainian Statement that was delivered at the Opening Plenary Meeting of the Thirty-third Session of the START Treaty's Joint Compliance and Inspection Commission (JCIC),held at the U.S. Mission on November 13, 2008. ¶3. (S) Begin text: Official Translation STATEMENT by the Head of Delegation of Ukraine to the Joint Compliance and Inspection Commission at the Plenary Meeting of JCIC-XXXIII (November 13, 2008, Geneva) Esteemed Mr. Chairman, Esteemed Representatives, Heads, and Members of the Delegations of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America, The Ukrainian Delegation greets its START Treaty partners as we begin the work of the Thirty-third Session of the Joint Compliance and Inspection Commission and congratulates the U.S. Delegation on the convincing conclusion of the presidential election campaign. At the last session the Delegations of the Parties did a considerable amount of work, which made it possible to resolve a number of issues without prejudice to the START Treaty, and in particular, which allowed the Ukrainian side to resolve the issue of reaching agreement on and putting into practice economically viable procedures for eliminating solid rocket motor cases of SS-24 ICBMs located in Ukraine. At the same time we failed to resolve the concerns over a number of issues related to practical implementation of certain obligations under the Treaty. Therefore, at this session the Commission will have to consider priority issues concerning the results of inspections, the terms for counting SOAs, and procedures for their elimination and conversion. The Ukrainian Delegation believes it is necessary to focus our main attention on issues related to practical implementation of the Treaty provisions. Thus far our country has in effect been using its own resources to implement the final phase of elimination of SS-24 ICBMs because U.S. assistance was curtailed in 2003. Our Delegation believes that the provisions of the Agreement between Ukraine and the U.S. Concerning Assistance to Ukraine in the Elimination of Strategic Nuclear Arms and the Prevention of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction of October 25, 1993, cannot be considered to have been fully implemented until final completion of all the elimination procedures for SS-24 ICBM cases in the territory of Ukraine. This problem becomes more important in connection with the recent statements by official representatives of the U.S. State Department on the advisability of working out a new legally binding document to replace the START Treaty, which would focus mainly on reducing nuclear warheads, rather than delivery vehicles for them. In our view, this subject merits separate attention, including during discussion of the future of the Treaty after December 2009. In the event the START Treaty terminates, there arises a certain ambiguity in the area of strategic security, which is a matter of concern to the Ukrainian side. In conclusion we reaffirm that the Ukrainian Delegation is prepared to discuss all the issues on the agenda of this session, and it expresses the hope that during our work the necessary solutions will be found so as to resolve at least some of the accumulated problems concerning further implementation of the Treaty and that practical steps will be outlined in order to bring together the positions regarding the future of the Treaty after 2009. If final agreements are reached on the issues on this session's agenda, the Ukrainian Delegation will be prepared to sign the documents which, we hope, we can come to agreement on at this session. Thank you for your attention. End text. ¶4. (U) Taylor sends. TICHENOR NNNN End Cable Text