MOSCOW. Jan 13 (Interfax-AVN) - The Tula Instrument Design Bureau has not delivered either arms or materiel to Iraq for seven years, design bureau officials say.
"Since 1996, i.e. from the moment the Tula Instrument Design Bureau was granted the right to conduct independent commercial activities abroad, the enterprise has not signed a single contract on arms and materiel deliveries with Iraq, and thus, has not delivered anything to the country," Valery Vozbranny, the design bureau's press-secretary, said in an interview with the Ekho Moskvy broadcasting company on Tuesday.
Vozbranny commented on certain report in a number of British and U.S. media outlets, quoting anonymous U.S. State Department officials, who had recently accused Russia of delivering Kornet-3 ATGMs to Iraq, allegedly used there to kill U.S. state-of-the-art main battle tanks.
"In the past year the U.S. has twice accused the Tula Instrument Design Bureau of delivering the Kornet ATGM to Iraq," Vozbranny noted.
In addition to that, in compliance with the Russian law, such states, which imported Russian arms and materiel, under corresponding contracts, presented ultimate user certificates, i.e. they undertook a commitment not to sell or transfer Russian weapon systems to third parties. "We do not have facts, proving that these commitments have been breached," he emphasized.