The Egyptian Foreign Minister, Amr Moussa, has defended his country's stance on the Iraqi crisis in response to what he called surprising and contemptuous Iraqi criticism.

He said Egypt would continue to support international law and the interests of the Iraqi people.

In the latest exchange in a war of words between the two countries, the Babel newspaper, owned by President Saddam Hussein's son, Uday, accused President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt of opportunism and hypocrisy.

Cartoons in Iraqi newspapers have also depicted Mr Mubarak serving the leaders of America, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Earlier, Mr Mubarak said it was time the Iraqi government took responsibility for the suffering of its people.

The Babel newspaper says it has now declared a cease-fire, saying it believes Mr Mubarak has got the message.

It says the move was also designed to prevent the campaign from being exploited by what it called Iraq's American and Zionist enemies.