UKRAINE: YEMENI ARMS BROKERS SEEKING WEAPONS/AMMUNITION - REQUEST FOR CLARIFICATION

SECRET S E C R E T KIEV 002523 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT ALSO FOR ISN, EUR/UMB, EUR/PRA E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/29/2016 TAGS: ETTC, PARM, PREL, YM, UP SUBJECT: UKRAINE: YEMENI ARMS BROKERS SEEKING WEAPONS/AMMUNITION - REQUEST FOR CLARIFICATION REF: A. KIEV 2453 B. STATE 99121 C. KIEV 319 Classified By: Acting Political Counselor George Kent for reasons 1.4(b ,c,d) 1. (U) This is an action request. Please advise how to respond to MFA inquiry in para 3. 2. (S) MFA Arms Control and Military-Technical Cooperation Counselor Serhiy Kucherenko requested clarification of the following point contained in our demarche of June 22 (taken from ref B) regarding arms transfers to Yemen: "Moreover, given the unusual quantity and highly destructive nature of some of the munitions at issue in this reported case, we urge you to suspend any plans to complete such transactions, regardless of the recipient of the delivery, if they are in fact under consideration by UKRINMASH or any state trading agency. Similarly, we urge you to stop any such planned transfers by Immersion Hi Tech Ltd or any other private Ukrainian companies." 3. (S) Kucherenko inquired whether we were urging suspension of pending contracts only with Yemeni brokers. Further, he inquired whether we were urging suspension of contracts with Yemen by all Ukrainian arms traders, whether "state trading agency" or "private Ukrainian company." Finally, Kucherenko asked whether this restriction should apply only to possible export of large quantities of specific munitions. He noted that our clarification was required to further process our information correctly. 4. (C) Comment: Kucherenko's question indicates the seriousness with which our Ukrainian government (GOU) interlocutors take our requests. Given perceptions that our requests seem to operate according to shifting guidelines, GOU officials will probably desire as much specificity in our response as possible. We also take this opportunity to remind that the MFA has previously asked for general information on USG arms export restrictions (ref C, sent January 24, 2006) to which we have not yet responded. 5. (U) Visit Embassy Kiev's classified website: www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/kiev. Taylor