Volume 1 - Iraq Watch

• Belarus acquired hard currency and a market forits post-Soviet defense industry, according to adetainee.• The intelligence services of both countries helpedto facilitate this trade, according to a cooperativesource with good access. A detainee debrief affirmsthat Belarusian aid in radars, laser technology,metallurgy, and electronic warfare systems were thekey areas of cooperation.In 2001 and 2002, two MIC delegations visitedBelarus to discuss Belarusian assistance in upgradingIraqi defense capabilities, particularly air defense andelectronic warfare systems. Former MIC Director,Huwaysh, led the Iraqi delegations. The Iraqi delegationsalso included the former Director of Al-KindiDr Sa’ad Da’ud Shamma’, the former Director of theAl-Milad air defense company, Brigadier GeneralHusayn, and several high-ranking Iraqi air defenseofficials. Huwaysh, however, was the overall managerof the relationship between Iraq (especially MIC) andBelarus according to a detainee debrief.A former high-ranking Iraqi government officialsays that diplomatic relations between Belarus andIraq were so strong that an Iraqi-Belarusian JointCommittee was formed to promote illicit trade. Thecommittee was cochaired by the Iraqi Minister ofFinance, Hikmat Mizban Ibrahim al-Azzawi, andVladimir Zamitalin of the Belarusian PresidentialOffice. Indeed, the President of Belarus, AleksandrLukashenko, consistently supported the politicalpositions and defense needs of Iraq. In a September2002 meeting, President Lukashenko met MIC andMFA officials to discuss military cooperation. Duringthe meeting, President Lukashenko expressed hiswillingness to support Iraq and to send air defenseexperts to help Iraq fight the United States.Key Belarusian Individuals Linked to Illicit TradeWith IraqThe following Belarusian individuals were instrumentalin driving forward the illicit trade with Iraq:• Vladimir Zamitalin. Ex-deputy to the head of thePresidential Bureau and former head of the Belarusianside of the combined Iraqi-Belarusian Committeefor Commercial and Economic Cooperation.He was in charge of the special military cooperationwith Iraq and functioned as a secret envoy betweenPresident Lukashenko and Saddam.• Leonid Kozek. Ex-deputy to the head of the PresidentialBureau and member of the Iraqi-Belarusiancooperation committee.• Nikolai Ivanenko. Current deputy to the head ofthe Presidential Bureau and last head of the Belarusianside of the combined Iraqi-Belarusian committeefor economic cooperation. He had a role in thespecial military cooperation with Iraq, and is a relativeof President Lukashenko. He visited Iraq twiceand met with Saddam, carrying a written letter toSaddam from President Lukashenko.• Vitali Kharlap. Belarusian Minister of Industry.• Professor Kandrinko. Director of the communicationsdepartment at a Belarusian concern calledAGAT. He played a successful role in negotiationswith Salah Al-Din state company and concludedmany contracts concerning the manufacture of communicationsets.• Professor Kloshko. A scientist who led the departmentof telemetric systems for surface-to-surfacemissiles and had many contracts with the MIC.• General Petr Rokoshevskiy. Deputy for armingand training in the Belarusian MoD. Rokoshevskiyhad a role in activating military cooperation withIraq. This involved working with the Iraqi MoD,SRG, and the MIC for supplying rocket propelledgrenades (RPG-7), munitions, and laser-directedKonkurs antitank rounds. He played a major rolein signing a contract with the Iraqi MoD and theMIC for training 20 officer engineers of the SRG inusing the S-300 PMU-1 (SA-20) air defense systemat the Belarusian military academy. Rokoshevskiywas also involved in signing contracts for supplyingengines for T-72 and T-55 tanks, MiG-29 fighterjets, and BMP-1 mechanized infantry fightingvehicles.126