The Russian military says medical checks on Russian servicemen currently serving as peace-keepers in Kosovo and Bosnia-Hercegovina have revealed no cases of leukaemia.

The checks were carried out after concerns were raised in the West about the possible impact on peace-keeping troops of the use of depleted uranium munitions by Nato.

The chief of staff of the Russian Airborne Forces Lieutenant-General Nikolay Staskov said only soldiers currently in the Balkans had been tested: checks on paratroopers who had returned home had not been completed. Russia has called for an international investigation of the issue and two weeks ago agreed to take part with France in an independent study into the effects of exposure to depleted uranium.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service