The US military today denied a British media report that Saddam Hussein had offered money and information on weapons of mass destruction in return for safe passage to the ex-Soviet republic of Belarus.
The Sunday Mirror newspaper said an aide of the fugitive ex-president had approached US forces in Tikrit and led them to a house in the suburbs. There, they were given a letter, purportedly handwritten by Saddam, proposing talks.
It said negotiations had been going on for nine days covering weaponry and bank accounts containing tens of millions of dollars.
Lieutenant Colonel William MacDonald, spokesman for the US Army's 4th Infantry Division which controls Tikrit north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, said the story was wrong.
"The 4th Infantry Division has not had any contact with any former regime members regarding Saddam Hussein's disposition," he told reporters.
US commanders in Tikrit say they believe Saddam, on the run since he was ousted by US-led forces in April, could well be in hiding in his home-town area where he still enjoys strong support and has close tribal and family ties.
The newspaper suggested Saddam had chosen Belarus as a country with a leadership still rooted in a Soviet past that might show sympathy to an erstwhile ally. The United States, which invaded Iraq in March citing a danger from weapons of mass destruction, has said it would not negotiate with Saddam. It has so far failed to find any evidence of nuclear, chemical or biological arms.