MILITARY DISMISS VERSION OF A MISSILE HITTING KURSK SUB








MOSCOW, MARCH 5. /RIA NOVOSTI'S CORRESPONDENT ALEXANDER KONOVALOV/ -- The Northern fleet command flatly rejects the information on a stray cruise missile fired from the Russian cruiser Petr Veliki hitting the Kursk nuclear submarine. 


	The version of the Kursk death from a cruise missile was put forward by a Russian admiral, who preferred to be unnamed, in an interview with The Sunday Times daily. 


	RIA Novosti was told by Vice-Admiral Vladimir Dobroskochenko, deputy commander of the Northern fleet, that "such statements by unnamed military leaders is utter rubbish and invention. It was not and cannot be the case". Dobroskochenko said that such words "are evidence of complete incompetence of people who say so. Judging from these statements, these people know nothing of how fleet exercises with practice firing are organised and held". 


	In turn Igor Dygalo, Captain 1st rank, aide to the commander-in-chief of the Russian navy, told RIA Novosti that the information carried by The Sunday Times is "pure provocation aimed at touching off a new wave of unverified rumour, false hypotheses and suggestions regarding the death of the Kursk nuclear submarine". 


	In his view, the navy command "has not and will never comment on statements by unnamed military chiefs, including naval, anonymous sources and experts". (nov/kaf)