UKRAINIAN ARMS SALES INCREASE. Ukraine exported nearly 2 billion hryvna ($1 million) worth of weapons in 1997, Reuters reported on 29 January. Andriy Kukin, the head of the state arms exporter Ukrspetsexport, said the company signed 170 contracts last year. Ukraine is now the 20th largest arms exporter in the world, having moved up from 30th place in 1996. The newspaper "Den" said a huge tank purchase by Pakistan has helped boost sales. PB

KYIV PROTESTS PLANE DETENTION IN GREECE. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry sent a formal protest to Greece on 29 January over the detention of a private airliner, Reuters reported. Greek authorities say they impounded the Boeing 737 in order to compensate relatives of some of the Greeks who died in December when a Ukrainian-owned plane crashed on the Greek isle of Salonika, killing 69 people. The Ukrainian protest said the detention of the plane is not in line with international norms. An investigation into the cause of the crash has not yet been completed. PB