Ukraine parliament demands withdrawal of troops from Iraq

The lawmakers voted by 257 out of 397 present in the 450-member chamber to ask outgoing President Leonid Kuchma to pull out the Ukrainian contingent serving in the US-led coalition force in Iraq.

Both of the rival candidates to replace Kuchma, pro-Western opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko and pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, have said the troops should return but the opposition is pushing for a faster withdrawal timetable.

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KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - The Ukrainian parliament appealed Friday to President Leonid Kuchma to withdraw the nation's 1,600 soldiers from the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, a largely symbolic move intended to pressure Kuchma in the midst of the country's spiraling political crisis.

The chamber voted 257-0 in support of the proposal to withdraw Ukrainian soldiers, who serve in a Polish-led contingent in eastern Iraq and make up the fourth-largest contribution to the U.S.-led war effort. Forty deputies who were present did not take part in the vote.

``Due to the sharp deterioration of the situation in Iraq, the parliament addresses the president with the proposal on withdrawal of (Ukrainian) troops from Iraq,'' said the nonbinding resolution, which Kuchma was expected to ignore.

The move followed a no-confidence motion in the Cabinet earlier this week, which Kuchma ignored.

Poland's defense minister said Friday a Ukrainian pullout would be a major setback for the Polish-led multinational force there.

An immediate pullout would have ``enormous consequences for the functioning of the force,'' Jerzy Szmajdzinski told the Polish news agency PAP. ``This important province bordering Iran can't be left without military supervision.''

But Szmajdzinski stressed the Ukrainian parliament's decision was not binding.

``At this stage I treat this as a purely political act,'' Szmajdzinski said.

Andriy Lysenko, head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry press service, said the military ``answers fully to the president of Ukraine, and in the event he signs the document, the armed forces will execute his order.''

``So far, we do not have such an order,'' Lysenko said.

The move was a ``micro event'' that will hardly influence Kuchma, in the midst of a heated political battle over the results of the Nov. 21 presidential vote, said Oleksandr Lytvynenko of the Kiev-based Razumkov think tank.

``The president can simply ignore it,'' he said.

But Friday's vote was another indication Kuchma's hold on parliament is slipping away as he reaches the end of his term. He ordered the troops to Iraq, and their mandate there is open-ended. The legislature had turned down a proposal on withdrawal earlier in the year.

Andriy Shkil, an opposition lawmaker, called the vote a ``purely symbolic move'' to show Kuchma ``he is still the president and still has some responsibilities.''

``We realize perfectly well that nobody will withdraw from anywhere,'' Shkil said.

Most Ukrainians want the troops brought home, and the deployment has been a rare topic of agreement between the two rivals vying for the presidency. Both opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych support a pullout.

Defense Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk and other top defense officials had announced earlier that Ukraine would gradually pull out its troops from Iraq, but not without coordinating the move with other coalition members.

In October, Kuzmuk said Ukraine and its coalition partners must first secure the January elections in Iraq.

Top Iraqi officials have repeatedly urged Kuchma not to withdraw Ukrainian troops and said they would like Ukrainian troops to stay in Iraq through the elections.

Ukraine cut the size of the contingent in Iraq by some 200 troops in October.

Nine Ukrainian soldiers have died in Iraq, including three in combat, and more than 20 have been wounded.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4651920,00.html