Ukraine Agrees to Get Rid of Atomic Weapons : Accord: Kazakhstan and Belarus would do likewise under U.S.-brokered deal, which they have not accepted.

The United States and Ukraine agreed Wednesday to a deal that would bind Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus to get rid of all atomic weapons on their territory, leaving Russia the only nuclear-equipped state on the territory of the former Soviet Union.

But Kazakhstan and Belarus have not yet agreed, and President Bush--reflecting increased U.S. concern over the issue--said he may send Secretary of State James A. Baker III to the new republics “to hammer out some of the differences.”

After last-minute negotiations that ended shortly before his meeting with Bush on Wednesday morning, Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk affirmed his commitment to remove all nuclear weapons from his country, including 176 long-range missiles carrying more than 1,200 warheads.

Under the deal, the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus would sign a “protocol” attached to last year’s Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, committing all four former Soviet republics to the pact, U.S. officials said.

In addition, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus would formally promise to eliminate all nuclear weapons from their territory, including some that are not covered by START.

At the same time, the United States will declare that it wants to preserve the security of the new republics, the officials said, without providing formal military guarantees.

“We welcome President Kravchuk’s assurance that Ukraine will remove all nuclear weapons from its territory and join the Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapons state,” Bush said as the two leaders signed agreements on trade, investment and a Peace Corps program.

“The language (of the START protocol) has been worked out,” Bush added, and turned cautiously to Kravchuk. “I think the president would agree that we agreed on it. Correct?”

“ Da ,” the Ukrainian replied.

But Kravchuk said he still wants firmer assurances of security against his giant neighbor, Russia.

“Ukraine is a large European country with a population of 53 million and a powerful nuclear arsenal, and we volunteered to eliminate those weapons,” he said.

“We think that policy is correct in its concept; we would not change that policy. But some of our neighbors, especially the large neighbors like Russia, have political forces which would like to make territorial claims against Ukraine, and that certainly worries us.

“We would continue to put forward our request to the international community to find a way . . . to provide some guarantees for the national security of Ukraine in case there is a possible threat,” he said.

Kazakhstan’s president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has said he wants similar security assurances before eliminating remaining nuclear weapons.

Last year, when the republics proclaimed independence, Bush and Baker won promises from their leaders to eliminate nuclear arsenals. Initially, Ukraine and others agreed to ship the weapons into Russia.

But in the four months since, Ukraine and Kazakhstan realized that the nuclear issue gave them more leverage in international affairs, according to Paul Goble, a former State Department expert now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“We blew it,” he said.

“We sent them the message that we were interested in them mostly because they had nuclear weapons.

“The most important thing we can do for these countries doesn’t cost any money: We should publicly embrace their independence and give them the sense of security that they need,” Goble added.

Bush took a deliberate step in that direction Wednesday. “Ukraine’s future security is important for the United States and for stability in Europe,” he declared.

Kravchuk also reaffirmed his promise to move the last short-range nuclear weapons in Ukraine into Russia by July 1.

In Moscow, a senior military officer said withdrawal of short-range warheads was actually completed Wednesday, well ahead of schedule.

“As of today, tactical nuclear weapons are located only on the territory of Russia,” Air Force Lt. Gen. Sergei Zelentsov told a news conference in Moscow, looking pleased.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry confirmed Zelentsov’s account. But Kravchuk, in Washington, denied that all the weapons had been moved.

A U.S. official said the Administration believes that Kravchuk’s version is “more accurate” but said U.S. intelligence agencies were probably inquiring as to the weapons’ whereabouts.

Times staff writer John-Thor Dahlburg in Moscow contributed to this report.