Ukrainian officials have denied reports that Kiev has sold a radar system to Iraq, despite the international embargo on weapons sales to Baghdad.

The head of the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Agency, Yevhen Marchuk, denied than any weapons had been sold to Iraq.

The denials follow the release in the United States of an audio recording said to show President Leonid Kuchma discussing the sale of a Kolchuga radar system to Iraq through a Jordanian intermediary.

The president was apparently discussing the sale with Valery Malev, head of the Ukrainian arms export agency, who has since died in a car crash.

President Kuchma's former bodyguard, Mykola Melnychenko, who is now in the United States, says he made this and other recordings secretly while employed in the presidential office.

Correspondents say that, while there is no proof that such a sale ever took place, the accusations will add to President Kuchma's reputation for corruption and dirty dealing.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service