Agencies

London, Jun 19: The man who gave the world the AK 47 assault rifle now wants curbs on gun trade, as hardly a passes without him seeing his lethal invention being brandished somewhere in the world.

Mikhail Kalashnikov, who is still proud to see the 'Avtomat Kalashnikova 47' in the hands of professonal soldiers and national liberation movements, laments that it has become the weapon of choice for terrorists, criminals and child soldiers.

"I dont worry when my guns are used for national liberation or defence. But when I see how peaceful people are killed and wounded by these weapons, I get very distressed and upset," the 86-year-old former Soviet general was quoted as saying in the Times daily.

"I calm down by telling myself that I invented this gun 60 years ago to protect the interests of my country," he said in comments published days ahead of a United Nations conference on small arms trade in New York.

An International Arms Trade Treaty would be discussed during the June 26-July 7 conference.

"It is imperative to make a decision about introducing strict sanctions on those who violate the terms of such an international agreement," Kalashnikov told The Times.

The AK 47 went into service in the Soviet army in 1947 and can kill from 1,500 metres.