"The assessment of respect for human rights in the United States itself and in other countries is full of the same old cliches and double standards," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Unfortunately we have found nothing new or remarkable in the State Department's report."

The US human rights report for 2002, published on March 31, accuses the Russian authorities of not respecting press freedom and of abuses in Chechnya, where Russia troops have been fighting separatist rebels for the best part of a decade.

On Tuesday, the Russian information ministry responded by saying the US authorities were manipulating the media "to trick the American people and the international community" about the situation in Iraq.

Opposition Democrat lawmakers in the United States, who oppose the US-led invasion of oil-rich Iraq, recently accused the White House of quashing criticism of the conflict.

On March 31 -- the day the US rights report was issued -- award-winning news correspondent Peter Arnett was sacked by US television network NBC and magazine National Geographic after suggesting on Iraqi TV that the US war plan had failed.

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