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Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov denied Russia had supplied Iraq with any military equipment in breach of UN sanctions.

In the telephone call, “The two discussed US concerns involving prohibited hardware that has been transferred from Russian companies to Iraq,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

Asked if Washington had evidence the items were being used by Iraq, he said: “They were not provided for the purpose of sitting on shelves.”

US officials believe the alleged sales have been carried out by private Russian firms and they want greater oversight by Russian authorities to stop them. Analysts and officials in Moscow said Iraq could have acquired the equipment via a third country, like Syria or Ukraine.