Nuclear Checks For Kiev

KIEV -- Ukraine agreed Wednesday to allow "unprecedented" international inspection of its nuclear facilities in the heat of a presidential election campaign marked by a dispute over disarmament between the two finalists. Agreement on inspecting five nuclear power stations was announced in Vienna by the International Atomic Energy Agency as President Leonid Kravchuk and former prime minister Leonid Kuchma began plotting strategy for their July 10 run-off. Kravchuk finished on top of Sunday's first round, taking 38 percent of the vote to Kuchma's 31 percent, but faces a tough battle to keep his job. Kuchma complained Wednesday that he had been denied equal access to the media and his campaign team said the president's supporters had stuffed ballot boxes. Officials said agreement to inspections was a key step towards joining the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) -- a move which Kravchuk says must be undertaken rapidly by parliament. Kuchma says that if elected he will not press for membership until Washington and Moscow start providing promised compensation. "This is an unprecedented step ... by Ukraine and the IAEA," said Volodymyr Belashov, a top Foreign Ministry official. "Ukraine is stressing its intention to become a non-nuclear state and is showing its goodwill despite the fact parliament has not yet agreed to join NPT. These inspections in theory can only take place after membership is settled."Inspection would be confined to Ukraine's five nuclear power plants and intended to ensure that they were being used solely for peaceful purposes.