U.S. diplomats have informed Yugoslav officials that Yugoslav defense companies have been working for two years on developing a cruise missile for Iraq, the Washington Post reported Sunday (see GSN, Oct. 25).

The U.S. allegations were contained in a formal diplomatic missive delivered with a strongly worded letter from the U.S. ambassador to Yugoslav officials this month, according to the Post.  The letter requested that Yugoslavia cease its breach of the U.N. arms embargo on Iraq, according to a senior Yugoslav official.

The U.S. document alleges that Yugoslav scientists have been developing for Iraq a turbojet engine for a medium- to long-range cruise missile called the CM 1500.  The U.S. document also says that Yugoslav scientists have traveled several times to Iraq since early last year to complete work on the project and that Yugoimport, the state defense company, arranged the contracts for the project, the Post reported.

In February 2000, Yugoimport entered into contract with the Iraqi company Al Fatah to develop the cruise missile, according to the U.S. document.  Yugoimport worked with five smaller private companies, all associated with or controlled by active or former Yugoslav defense officials, to fulfill the contract, the U.S. document says. 

Gen. Jovan Cekovic, head of Yugoimport, and Yugoslav Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Djokic have since been dismissed, the Post reported. 

Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica said last week that the contracts with Iraq were for “overhauling older-generation aircraft engines, rather than selling state-of-the art weapons” (Nicholas Wood, Washington Post, Oct. 27).

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