Egypt has severed ties with the Louvre museum in a dispute over antiquities in the Paris museum's collection it says were stolen.

"We made the decision to end any co-operation with the Louvre until they return" the works, antiquities chief Zahi Hawass announced Wednesday.

The decorative fragments from a tomb in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor were stolen in the 1980s and sold on the black market, Egypt says.

Hawass told Agence France Presse he believes Louvre curators knew the works were stolen.

"The purchase of stolen steles is a sign that some museums are prepared to encourage the destruction and theft of Egyptian antiquities," he said.

Egypt's decision to cut ties with the Louvre will affect upcoming conferences and stop work on an archeological dig by the Louvre on the necropolis of Saqqara, south of the capital Cairo.

Hawass said the Louvre had ignored repeated Egyptian requests for the return of four steles, which are currently on display in Paris.

But the Louvre said it is open to the idea of returning the antiquities, but needs national approval before it makes a decision.

"The decision is not for the museum to take because in order to return the works, we would need the agreement of the National Scientific Commission for the Museum Collections of France," a member of the museum's executive told Agence France Presse.

With files from The Associated Press