- 03 Jun 2004 18:30
#182186
The champagne is now nicely chilled, comrades!;)
Turkey Seizes Ukrainian Missile Shipment to Egypt - June 3, 2004:
Mexico Seeks More Russian Military Ties - June 3, 2004:
"There's no smoke without fire" - Carroll.
Turkey Seizes Ukrainian Missile Shipment to Egypt - June 3, 2004:
Jun 3, 8:33 AM (ET)
By SUZAN FRASER
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Customs authorities in Istanbul seized a radio-controlled missile and launcher as well as other weapons from a ship that was headed for Egypt from Ukraine, a government official said Thursday.
The weapons, which also included a number of rockets and warheads, were discovered in two containers after customs officials searched the ship that had docked at the port of Ambarli, 20 miles from the city, Kursad Tuzem, the minister in charge of foreign trade and customs, told reporters.
"The cargo declared by the ship's captain did not match what was inside the containers," Tuzmen said after meeting with customs officials and paramilitary police at Ambarli. "There were military weapons inside."
"We can say that the weapons are the kind that we can describe as 'sophisticated,'" he said.
He did not give any further details on the quantity, nature of the weapons or on the missile's range, saying an investigation was under way.
Tuzmen said the ship's captain had declared the ship was carrying spare parts. Officials became suspicious after noticing damage to numbers inscribed on the container, he said.
Asked whether the containers may have also included chemical weapons, Tuzmen replied: "The inspections are ongoing."
Tuzmen said the ship from Ukraine had unloaded the containers at Ambarli. Another ship was scheduled to carry the cargo to Egypt.
Reports said the ship's crew had been arrested, but Tuzmen refused to comment.
Port authorities on Thursday barred journalists from approaching the area where the ship was docked.
In Ukraine, Foreign Ministry spokesman Markiyan Lubkivsky said that his ministry "is in the process of checking all the relevant facts about the ship and its cargo."
Turkey has boosted security ahead of a NATO summit in Istanbul later this month which President Bush and other leaders are scheduled to attend.
Last month, police in the northwestern city of Bursa announced that they had foiled a plan to attack the summit and courts have charged nine people in connection with that plot.
Four truck bombings blamed on a Turkish al-Qaida cell killed more than 60 people in November in Istanbul. A court has charged 69 suspects in those bombings.
Mexico Seeks More Russian Military Ties - June 3, 2004:
MEXICO CITY - President Vicente Fox (news - web sites) says his country hopes to expand military cooperation with Russia, assembling some Russian helicopters in Mexico and importing a mixed civilian-military factory.
Speaking in the north-central state of Hidalgo on Wednesday, Fox said the arms issue would be "a principal topic" in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites), who arrives Monday.
Fox said possible projects include "the installation of a large maintenance center for helicopters" as the first step in a plan to assemble helicopters in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz.
The Mexican president said he also hoped to sign an agreement with Putin for a plant that would assemble heavy machinery "for the military industry, heavy machinery for the construction industry, heavy and transport machinery for various uses that occur in a dynamic economy."
Fox said that factory was intended for Ciudad Sahagun, about 50 miles northeast of Mexico City.
The president mentioned the arms plans during a speech dedicated to regional economic development. He did not elaborate on the projects.
Mexico largely avoided Russian equipment during the Cold War.
But since the collapse of the Soviet Union, it has begun to incorporate some Russian equipment — notably transport helicopters — which is less expensive than that from the United States.
"There's no smoke without fire" - Carroll.