Ukraine claims Soviet arsenal: Kiev insists it must own nuclear arms pending their destruction

KIEV - President Leonid Kravchuk added his powerful voice yesterday to those of Ukrainians calling for former Soviet nuclear weapons on their territory to be temporarily proclaimed national property. 'My feeling is that it should be set down that Ukraine must be the owner of nuclear weapons on its territory pending their destruction,' he said, referring to a parliamentary resolution to this effect last week.

But the President repeated his longstanding insistence that Ukraine had to rid itself of nuclear weapons in the long term. 'I firmly believe that Ukraine is a non-nuclear state and will never change this opinion,' he said.

Parliament has been embroiled in anguished discussions on approving the Start 1 and Non-Proliferation treaties, with discussion due to resume later this month. Mr Kravchuk had earlier insisted that parliament had to back both pacts and voiced no support for calls by many deputies, including his own Prime Minister, that Ukraine should conditionally proclaim itself a nuclear power.

Parliament last week proclaimed the 1,800-odd former Soviet nuclear warheads on its territory national property, but the Foreign Ministry and several deputies have said the decision violated parliamentary procedure. Russia has rejected all Ukrainian claims to the weapons, saying international treaties make it the sole successor to the Soviet nuclear arsenal.

Mr Kravchuk said declaring the weapons Ukrainian property would amount to a compromise which would allow Ukraine to achieve the non-nuclear status it first proclaimed in July 1990 - 18 months before independence from the Soviet Union. 'If this is not said, one could get the impression that we are proclaiming ourselves a nuclear power and that there is no boundary beyond which we would not do so,' he said.' This is a compromise. As long as the weapons are on our territory, the question will arise, 'Whose are they?'.'

The United States has repeatedly urged Ukraine to honour its international commitments and approve the treaties. It believes last week's parliamentary action has complicated the disarmament process.