#5 - RW 10-29-04 - RW Home
THE WHITE HOUSE DOES NOT HAVE EVIDENCE OF INVOLVEMENT OF RUSSIAN MILITARY PERSONNEL IN DISAPPEARANCE OF EXPLOSIVES IN IRAQ

WASHINGTON, October 29 (RIA Novosti's Arkadi Orlov) - The White House does not possess any information pointing out at the involvement of Russian military personnel in the disappearance of explosives in Iraq, announced the White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan on Thursday.

"I don't have any information pointing in that direction," said Mr. McClellan, who is accompanying George Bush on an election campaign trip around the United States.

The White House press secretary also announced that, to his knowledge, neither US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, nor anyone else in the Administration had requested specific information from Russian authorities in that respect.

John Shaw, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (AT&L) International Technology Security, earlier had stated that the "missing" several tons of powerful explosives could have been taken out of Iraq by Russian military personnel acting in cooperation with the Iraqi intelligence even before the arrival of American troops on Iraqi soil.

In an interview with the Washington Times, Mr. Shaw claimed that he was "almost positive" that the explosives had been whisked away from Al-Qaqaa base by the Russian military personnel to Syria several weeks prior to the start of the US military operation in March 2003.

"The reports in foreign mass media about Russia's involvement in the disappearance of explosives from the Iraqi territory are false and absurd. It couldn't have happened at all because the Russian military personnel had left Iraq way before the start of the coalition campaign," stated in an interview with RIA Novosti head of RF Defense Ministry's Press Service Colonel Vyacheslav Sedov.

Iraqi officials reported that the explosives had been stolen by local criminals, not by some "mythical" Russian special forces.

"Iraqi authorities claim that it was a simple robbery case because the security at the base was inefficient," stated IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming.