Ukraine Again Delays Vote on Nuclear Treaties : Europe: Lawmakers put off debate until later this month. Move is a rebuff to U.S. wishes as Aspin heads to Kiev for meetings.

Despite growing pressure from the United States to disarm, Ukrainian lawmakers Friday again postponed a vote on ratification of both the START I nuclear arms reduction treaty and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The Ukrainian government has consistently pledged to ratify both accords promptly. But in a parliamentary mutiny, lawmakers indicated that they want Ukraine to join the nuclear weapons club, at least temporarily.

After two days of heated debate, much of it behind closed doors, the Parliament tabled the treaties for further study, putting off debate until later this month.

The rebuff to U.S. wishes comes as Secretary of Defense Les Aspin heads for meetings this weekend with Russian and Ukrainian leaders in Germany and Kiev. A senior Pentagon official said Aspin will try to persuade Ukraine to live up to a commitment it made in the summer of 1990 and repeated in Lisbon last year, and give up the 176 intercontinental nuclear weapons it inherited from the Soviet Union.

“Even if they feel a strong threat from Russia, nuclear weapons are not the way to go,” Aspin told journalists Thursday.

The senior Pentagon official said Aspin would seek to reassure Ukrainian Defense Minister Konstantin Morozov “that the United States recognizes Ukrainian security concerns and takes them seriously.”

For Ukraine, the country’s nuclear status has become a radioactive topic in a political meltdown that has paralyzed the country. On one side are President Leonid Kravchuk and Foreign Minister Anatoly Zlenko, who want to give up the missiles. On the other are Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma and a block of parliamentarians who see no benefit in surrendering Ukraine’s nuclear clout without monetary compensation and hard security guarantees.

Policy-makers here now believe that Ukraine will eventually ratify the START I treaty. Signed with much fanfare by President George Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev in July, 1991, it required the Soviet Union to reduce its nuclear arsenal by one-third.

But lawmakers say they will probably refuse to ratify the non-proliferation pact, at least for the time being, and will keep 46 Ukrainian-built SS-24 intercontinental missiles as a nuclear insurance policy.

“Ukraine must rely on its own strength for its defense,” said nationalist lawmaker Stepan Khmara.

In theory, Ukrainian forces cannot launch the missiles without a set of codes from Moscow. But American officials acknowledged that the Ukrainian military appears determined not only to hold on to the missiles but to wrest control of their launching systems.

“We have heard about Ukrainian efforts to seek operational control” over the weapons, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Thursday. “Obviously this is a subject of great importance to us. It’s one that we follow closely.”

However, Boucher’s remarks were treated with skepticism by Western diplomats here, who suggested that the United States is upping the nuclear ante because of Aspin’s impending visit.

Nevertheless, by its nuclear dithering, Ukraine could upset the international arms control apple cart. Before the United States and Russia can begin dismantling their nuclear arsenals under the START I and START II treaties, Ukraine must ratify START I.

Of the four states that inherited the Soviet nuclear arsenal, Ukraine is the only one that has not ratified START I. Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan all have done so.

The longer the debate inside Ukraine goes on, the broader the support for keeping the weapons. Previously, only a handful of nationalist deputies wanted a nuclear Ukraine. Now, the pro-nuclear lobby numbers at least 162 deputies out of a total of 450.

Its ranks include former Communists reared on the principle that “the bigger the bang the better,” as well as nationalists who believe that Ukraine needs the warheads to defend itself against a possible revival of Russian imperialism.

On Thursday, the pro-nuclear stance was endorsed by Prime Minister Kuchma. According to deputies who attended the closed session, he said that “Ukraine must confirm itself temporarily as a nuclear state,” a statement that was greeted by applause.

Kuchma suggested jettisoning Ukraine’s aging stock of 130 SS-19 missiles but keeping the 46 Ukrainian-built SS-24s as a hedge against Russia. Kuchma is the former director of Yushmash, the factory where the SS-24 missiles were built.

The question of security guarantees is seen as essential if Ukraine is to disarm. The United States, Britain and Russia have promised not to attack Ukraine with nuclear or conventional forces and to respect her borders. But Ukrainians are not prepared to take Moscow at its word.

The senior Pentagon official said Aspin hopes to develop close military-to-military ties with Kiev as well as with Russia. Exchanges of military medical personnel and other specialists are already in the works, and Aspin will propose further steps during the Kiev meeting.

Kiev has been slow to spell out exactly what kind of security guarantees would be acceptable. And the question of monetary compensation remains.

“Look at Belarus,” said lawmaker Volodimir Yavorivsky. “Its Parliament signed the START treaty and the country didn’t get a kopeck.”

Special reporter Mary Mycio, in Kiev, contributed to this report. Special reporter Seely reported from Kiev and Times staff writer Healy from Washington.