A trade delegation from the Czech Republic says Iraq has rejected an offer by the Czech government to resume trade because of a continuing row over broadcasts by an American radio station.

Iraq broke off trade ties two years ago when Radio Free Europe began its broadcasts to Iraq from Czech territory.

A delegation, led by the Czech Deputy Foreign Minister, Hynek Kmonicek, lobbied senior Iraqi officials in Baghdad earlier this week.

But businessmen who were part of the delegation said Iraq made clear there would be no deals until the station closed. Former communist Czechoslovakia was one of Iraq's biggest trading partners in the early 1980s

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service