KYIV. March 3 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukraine is offering the United Nations use of a radioactive, chemical and biological defense battalion, which may be deployed in Bahrain, the Ukrainian parliament chairman said on Monday.
President Leonid Kuchma earlier said that Ukraine is prepared to put such a battalion at the UN's disposal. On February 20, the National Security and Defense Council decided to send the battalion to the Persian Gulf to protect the local population.
Defense Minister Volodymyr Shkidchenko said the battalion was 500 strong and equipped with more than 150 pieces of arms.
The battalion is currently stationed in Sambor in Ukraine's Lviv region.
Parliament chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn told a news conference on Monday that Bahrain was a likely destination for the battalion. He also said that the parliament has not yet been formally notified of the Security and Defense Council's decision to send the unit to the Persian Gulf.
"There is an explanation for this: the country of deployment has not yet been chosen," Lytvyn said.
He said Ukrainian officials are currently debating what country to send the battalion to and that "it may be Bahrain."
He said that after receiving an invitation from a country, Ukraine would need to sign an agreement and that only afterwards would the matter be put before the Ukrainian legislature.
He predicted an "extremely heated" parliamentary debate.