But Vladimir Kuroyedov was cautious not to pronounce a torpedo explosion as the sole, definitive cause of the undersea tragedy.

He said preliminary findings showed the fuel used for the torpedoes on the Kursk was too volatile.

The fuel somehow caught fire, causing the deadly series of ammunition explosions that sank Russia's most modern nuclear-powered submarine on August 12, 2000, he said.

"We no longer have secrets about what happened on board the Kursk," said Kuroyedov, who was in Murmansk to receive the official report on the disaster from navy investigators.

"The confidence of scientists, constructors and the navy leadership in the fuel which was used in the torpedoes was not justified," he told a joint news conference with Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov.

In a separate announcement, the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had stripped Ilya Klebanov, who led a chorus of officials arguing the Kursk sank after being hit by a NATO spy boat, from his post as deputy prime minister.

Analysts interpreted the moved as a sign that Putin was assigning Klebanov public blame for his handling of the disaster and the ensuing inquiry.

Certain independent investigators from the Russian parliament have long believed the Kursk sank because the navy was using a cheap fuel alternative that had been ruled as too dangerous by Western navies years earlier.

Russian workers at Kursk sub salvage site threaten strike Murmansk - Feb 20 (AFP) - Russian workers salvaging the remains of the Kursk nuclear submarine, which sank in 1999 in the Barents Sea with the loss of 118 lives, threatened on Wednesday to go on strike. The workers at the dry dock in the northern town of Rolyakovo have not been paid since November, Vladimir Jelesnov, a union official from nearby Murmansk told AFP. The Kursk was lifted from the sea last October and towed to Rolyakovo. So far 94 bodies have been recovered from the vessel, which sank after an apparent torpedo explosion on August 12, 1999. "The workers are not interested in big decisions by the state, what's important is that they first and foremost get a salary so they can feed their families," he said. The Russian military suffers from a chronic shortage of funds, and members of the military are regularly paid months late. The union has written to General Vladimir Kuroyedov, who heads the Russian Navy, calling on him to intervene and get the workers their 10.5 million rubles (39,000 euros, 34,000 dollars) in back pay. But Jelesnov said although such approaches had been successful in the past, "today it is difficult to know" whether there would be results. At a news conference Wednesday, the head of the Russian Northern Fleet, Counter Admiral Gennady Suchkov, said the salaries had not been paid because the salvage operation depended entirely on the Russian Navy.

However that explanation was wrought with political dangers since it would have assigned blame for the accident directly on the military command.

Kuroyedov revealed that the torpedoes on board the Kursk had been developed in 1957 and had been due for an imminent replacement when the disaster occurred during naval exercises in the Barents Sea.

"This type of torpedo was already decommissioned. We were planning to get rid of them and looking to get them replaced," he said.

Ustinov, for his part, confirmed that no Western vessels had been spotted near the Kursk when it sank, thus formally dismissing initial government suggestions that the Russian craft had crashed into a NATO spy submarine.

"There are no facts that can point to the presence near the Kursk of foreign ships or submarines," Ustinov said. "We have no information on the presence of foreign vessels in the zone of the disaster."

The Russian government has yet to report its definitive findings on the sinking, which highlighted the state of disrepair of the country's once mighty military force.

Putin last year sacked a dozen navy commanders for failing to secure the safety of the crew amid contradictory government statements over the catastrophe and accusations that state authorities were trying to cover it up.

Ustinov confirmed "serious violations" had been recorded both on the part of the Kursk commander as well as navy chiefs, which may have contributed to the sinking of the vessel. He did not give details.

The bodies of 94 sailors have been recovered from the sub so far in an arduous operation that began when the Kursk was raised from the sea floor in October and transfered to dry dock in Rolyakovo near Murmansk.

The unprecedented operation cost the Russian government an estimated 70 million dollars (80 million euros), fulfilling Putin's promise to grieving relatives that the lost crew would be given a burial on land.

Putin demotes Ilya Klebanov - head of Russia's military-industrial complex
Moscow (AFP) Feb 18, 2002 - President Vladimir Putin on Monday stripped Ilya Klebanov, who oversaw the inquiry into the Kursk nuclear submarine disaster, of his post as Russia's deputy prime minister for the defense industry.

The Kremlin announcement came on the same day navy investigators appeared to dismiss Klebanov's claims the Kursk sank after either crashing into a NATO spy vessel or hitting a World War II mine left over in the Barents Sea.

A Kremlin spokesman refused to explain the reasons behind Klebanov's demotion, saying only that he would keep his second post as minister of industry, science and technology.

The atomic energy ministry, as well as the transportation and communication ministries, had previously answered to Klebanov and will now report directly to Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, the Kremlin said.

Klebanov had overseen the investigation into the Kursk disaster, which killed all 118 sailors on board, and was one of the most visible public officials on television when the tragedy unfolded in August 2000.

A preliminary inquiry into the Kursk accident issued Monday said the vessel probably sank because a volatile fuel used in the submarine's outdated torpedoes had caught fire, sparking a series of fatal explosions.

The investigation blamed both the Kursk crew and military commanders for the disaster.

Analysts said the true cause of Klebanov's dismissal would probably become apparent in the coming days through press leaks.

They agreed that Klebanov had probably lost out in a long-running power struggle within Russia's secretive but profitable military industrial complex.

Some military analysts further pointed to a bitter battle for control of the atomic energy ministry -- which Klebanov lost out to the prime minister -- and its impending oversight over tens of billions of dollars in profits expected from Russia's plans to import and store nuclear waste from abroad.

"There was a bitter fight for the atomic energy ministry, and clearly Klebanov lost," said Andrei Piontkovsky, an analyst with the Moscow Center for Strategic Studies.

It remains unclear whether Klebanov's demotion also represented a bid by Putin to assign blame for the Kursk accident, but the timing appeared to be more than coincidental, said Piontkovsky.

"This is a signal to public opinion that Klebanov has been demoted as punishment for the Kursk," the analyst said.

All rights reserved. � 2002 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only