Russia rejects US claim of violating weapons embargo

Moscow has denied that Russian companies have been selling deadly military equipment to Iraq.

The dispute was provoked on Monday when the White House raised concerns over the alleged sale of equipment, including jamming devices, night-vision goggles and anti-tank guided missiles.

President George Bush telephoned Russia's President, Vladimir Putin, to complain that the Russian firms had violated embargoes and were endangering American lives.

Last night, the Kremlin gave its version of the conversation between the leaders, in which Mr Putin insisted no such sales had taken place. "The President of Russia also notes that the discussion concerns unproved, public declarations that can damage the relations between the two countries," the Kremlin spokesman said.

US military officials saidair raids had disabled jamming equipment allegedly supplied by the Russians and used against American satellite positioning equipment. "We've been able to identify the location of each those jammers and I'm happy to report that we have destroyed all six," said Major-General Victor Renuart.

One of the Russian firms singled out as selling equipment to Iraq, Aviaconversia, also issued denials. "We have never delivered any such equipment to Iraq," said Oleg Antonov, the head of the Moscow-based company, thought by America to have supplied jamming devices. The White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said America had "credible evidence" of Russian sales of jammers.

Another Russian manufacturer, KBP Tula, accused of providing anti-tank missiles, denied striking any such deals and accused the US of trying to cover up its own difficulties. "These attempts ... are aimed at explaining away the failures of the US armed forces in the first phase of operations in Iraq," Arkady Shipunov, the KBP chief, said.

The spat comes at a difficult time. Russia's opposition to the war has strained ties between Washington and Moscow. There have also been disagreements over Nato expansion and US missile defence.

Symptomatic of the tensions have been delays in the Russian parliament in ratifying the missiles treaty signed by Mr Bush and Mr Putin last summer. But leaders of the upper house asked the lower house yesterday to put consideration of the treaty back on the agenda, raising hopes that the last hurdles to ratification might be cleared.

Valery Goreglyad, the deputy speaker, said: "This treaty meets our national interests in full measure, and it was Russia that initiated the conclusion of this treaty."