US assures Putin "no harm intended" by attack on Russian convoy

MOSCOW (AFP) Apr 07, 2003
US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice assured President Vladimir Putin Monday that if US troops had indeed shot at a convoy of Russian diplomats fleeing Iraq, then no harm had been intended, a senior US official said.

"We assured the Russians that no harm was intended," the official told journalists, speaking on condition of anonymity.

But the official stressed this did not mean Washington accepted that it was US forces that fired Sunday at the convoy of Russian diplomats, of whom five were wounded in the attack.

"No, we do not take the responsbility," he said.

There have been conflicting reports as to whether US or Iraqi forces were responsible for the incident.

SPACE.WIRE