The Hindu : Report on spying baseless: Russia

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 14, 2003

International

International

Report on spying baseless: Russia

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW APRIL 13. The Russian spy agency dismissed as `baseless' a British media report that Russia had provided Baghdad with critical intelligence in the run-up to the U.S.-led war against Iraq.

"We do not comment on proof-less and baseless allegations published in the tabloid press," the spokesman for the Foreign Intelligence Service, Boris Labusov, told the Interfax news agency on Sunday.

Earlier, Russia denied reports that the Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, was hiding in the Russian Embassy in Baghdad; that Russian diplomats had spirited out of Iraq the secret files of the Iraqi security services; and that Russia had clandestinely provided Iraq with weapons and banned military hardware.

Russia today counterattacked by demanding that the U.S.-British forces take action to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Iraq and to stop the plunder of historical artifacts from Iraqi museums.

A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian and security situation in Iraq. "Under international law occupation forces bear full responsibility for meeting the needs of the Iraqi people in the humanitarian field," the spokesman, Alexander Yakovenko, said.

"The occupation forces are also responsible for protecting cultural, historic and religious monuments in Iraq which belong to all humanity as priceless treasures of ancient civilisations.

"Mr. Yakovenko also said Russia would not demand the replacement of the Iraqi diplomats in Moscow.

"It is up to the Iraqis to decide on the composition of their embassy in Russia," the Russian spokesman said.

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