Time to curb gun trade,says Kalashnikov

"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 said days before a UN conference on the small arms trade begins in New York.

"I calm down by telling myself that I invented this gun 60 years ago to protect the interests of my country," he added.

The UN will debate an International Arms Trade Treaty at its June 26-July 7 conference. The treaty, which has the backing of 50 countries, would prohibit the transfer of small arms to governments or armed groups responsible for grave human rights abuses.

"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 Avtomat Kalashnikova 47, named after its maker and the year it went into service in the Soviet army, can kill from 1,500 metres (almost a mile).

Kalashnikov, who is still chief designer at Izhmash the company that makes the AK47 at its factory in Izhevsk in the Ural mountains, attributes the guns popularity to its simplicity and reliability, especially compared with its Western counterparts.