March 25, 2003	Tuesday	Muharram 21, 1424

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WASHINGTON, March 24: President George W. Bush called his Russian counterpart on Monday and urged him to stop a Russian firm from supplying electronic jamming devices and other weapons to Iraq, the White House said.

“President (Vladimir) Putin assured President Bush that he would look into it,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters in Washington. “President Bush said he would look forward to the results,” he added.

Mr Fleischer said that the United States has “credible evidence” that a Russian company has been supplying “GPS jamming technology” to Iraqi authorities.

The GPS or global positioning system allows US aircraft to locate targets on the ground with the help of a satellite. It is similar to the facility used by drivers in the United States for locating a particular address.

The jamming technology prevents the GPS device from locating a particular position on the ground. US officials say that in the ongoing war in Iraq, Iraqi forces have used this technology to prevent their aircraft from locating their targets.

He did not name the Russian supplier but said the same firm has also sold night vision devices and other weapons to the Iraqis.

“We are very concerned about these reports and those concerns have been expressed at the highest level,” Mr Fleischer said.

The White House spokesman said the Russian firm has been supplying weapons to Iraq for sometime and “over the past year, senior US officials have repeatedly raised this issue with Russian officials.”

“President Bush finds these actions disturbing,”he said, adding that the GPS jamming technology was not provided for civilian use.