MOSCOW — Russia on Tuesday strongly denied that a cargo ship whose supposed seizure by pirates sparked an international mystery was carrying S-300 anti-aircraft missiles bound for Iran.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed outright a report in a British newspaper that the Arctic Sea was carrying a batch of the sophisticated Russian-made missiles when it was hijacked.
"Regarding the S-300s on board the Arctic Sea, this is absolutely untrue," Lavrov told reporters when asked about the report.
Separately, Russian investigators announced that they had inspected the ship and found only its official cargo of timber.
"The cargo aboard the ship, wood and sawn timber, is being thoroughly inspected by investigators, as well as the ship itself," a spokesman for the investigative committee of Russian prosecutors told AFP.
"Nothing besides the stated cargo has yet been found by investigators and forensic experts," he said, adding that the ship was still at sea and that the investigation would continue several more days.
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