AP Wire | 04/08/2003 | U.S.: Russians Altered Route From Baghdad The business daily Kommersant reported Tuesday that the Russian diplomats had departed from Baghdad only after Secretary of State Colin Powell "repeatedly and persistently" demanded their evacuation.
Kommersant quoted an unidentified Russian Defense Ministry official who said Washington had demanded they leave the embassy because it suspected a global positioning system jamming device was located on the Russian grounds and was deflecting U.S. precision weapons.
Moscow denied the existence of such a device, the newspaper said. The Defense and Foreign Ministries declined to comment on the report.