
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, September 7, 1993                   TAG: 9309070041
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: KIEV, UKRAINE                                LENGTH: Short

UKRAINIAN LEADER DENIES DEAL GIVING SHIPS TO RUSSIA

Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk denied on Monday that he had given the country's nuclear warheads and share of the Black Sea fleet to Russia, stressing the deal still needs parliamentary approval.

Kravchuk's position clashed sharply with that of Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who told his country over the weekend that the agreement is a done deal.

The two leaders agreed at a meeting Friday to exchange the ships and warheads for financial compensation. Kravchuk was bitterly attacked in Ukraine for making the deal.

But on Monday, he said the agreement is not yet finalized.

"Nowhere will you find such documents," said Kravchuk, referring to the agreements reached by the two presidents. "We only requested a commission review Russia's proposals," he said.

Kravchuk told reporters that the Russian and the Ukrainian parliaments must still ratify the agreement.

by CNB