You're reading: Kuchma calls fake allegations that Ukraine sold Kolchuga

The accusation of Ukraine of selling Kolchuga aircraft detection systems to Iraq has proven to be groundless, said former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma.

"I would like to remind you the Kolchuga affair – this is pure falsification. I don’t know what tapes he [former member of the presidential bodyguard service Mykola Melnychenko] gave to the Americans. But perhaps the Americans were interested in looking for enemies before the operation [against Iraq]. And they found one personified by Ukraine. But, you know, nothing has proven true," Kuchma told journalists before visiting the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office main investigative department for questioning on Thursday.

In the early 2000s, Melnychenko made public audiotapes making it evident that the top Ukrainian officials had sanctioned the sale of Kolchuga electronic warfare systems to Iraq. The allegation that then Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma personally sanctioned the sale of Kolchugas to Iraq caused a crisis in relations between Kyiv and Washington.

The U.S. administration announced suspension of economic assistance to Ukraine amounting to $54 million and decided to revise the whole system of bilateral relations with that country. The U.S. officially stated that the examination of the audiotapes confirmed their authenticity