MOSCOW, Sept 20: Russian President Vladimir Putin, preparing for a summit with his US counterpart, was quoted as saying on Saturday that Russian troops would not serve in any international force in Iraq.

“In a practical sense, there is no question of sending troops to Iraq, and we are not even considering this matter,” he was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

Russia opposed the US-led war in Iraq, but Moscow has softened its position recently and been open to US proposals for an international force in Iraq under American leadership.

However, it insists US political power should be diluted in favour of Iraqis and the United Nations.

Mr Putin meets US President George Bush at Camp David on Sept 26 and 27, and his opposition to Washington maintaining political control over Iraq is likely to be a major sticking point.

Mr Putin did not change his demand for a movement back towards Iraqi sovereignty.

“(It is necessary) to take a route not just of economic recovery, but of political rehabilitation for Iraq, “ he was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency as saying. “We have a good example in Afghanistan. Why can’t we agree like this?”

At talks in Berlin, France and Germany — which also opposed the war that began six months ago — disagreed with US ally Britain on how fast power should be handed back to Iraqis. US Secretary of State Colin Powell has ridiculed the notion that Washington could hand back power overnight.

Mr Putin also maintained his opposition to US requests to halt support for Iran’s nuclear programme, which Washington considers a front for trying to produce an atomic bomb, and repeated Russian accusations that Western states have failed to stop their companies working in the Islamic Republic.

Iran has come under pressure in recent weeks to show that its nuclear programme is peaceful and US officials have been lobbying Russia to stop working with Tehran.

“Many western firms are working with Iran in the atomic technology sector, including dual-use technology,” Interfax news agency quoted Mr Putin as saying, referring to atomic technology that can have peaceful or military applications.—Reuters