Russia and British company deny selling arms to Iraq

A diplomatic row over the alleged Russian violation of UN sanctions on Iraq deepened last night as the United States accused Russian technicians of helping to train Iraqis to jam satellite signals that guide bombs and warplanes.

President George Bush telephoned the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to protest against the alleged sale to Iraq of night-vision goggles and anti-tank missiles by Russian companies.

The move came after British troops found Russian-made cruise missiles as well as British-made rocket-propelled grenades in bunkers outside the city of Basra.

The British firm whose name was on the weapons' boxes, Wallop Industries, of Middle Wallop in Hampshire, strongly denied that it had sold items to Iraq, which has been under sanctions since 1990.

The British company said the "weapons" – which it described as fuses for detonators – were probably smoke grenades stolen by Iraq in 1990 when they invaded Kuwait.

The Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, denied Russia had supplied Iraq with any military equipment in breach of the sanctions. President Putin assured Mr Bush that Moscow would study any evidence provided by the Americans.

The US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, told Sky News two Russian private companies were suspected of involvement in the illegal trade.

In Washington, an unnamed US official said that it was the discovery of Russian technicians in Baghdad "trying to make the jamming system work" which prompted the US decision to go public.