Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov on Tuesday denounced Western reports that Russia had passed secret U.S. invasion plans to the then Iraqi authorities at the start of the 2003 Iraq war, branding the allegations "total nonsense."

"What those media have been saying is sheer nonsense. We have never passed on any information on that score to anyone," Ivanov told a press conference in Moscow.

The minister also implied that the releasers of the report had ulterior motives in making the accusation, saying "the war in Iraq has been on for three years. Everything there is far from calm and bright for them.Somebody must have felt the urge to put one's problems on others."

The U.S. Department of Defense claimed in a report that Russia's ambassador to Iraq had informed then Iraqi authorities of the details of the forthcoming military operation by the United States in March 2003.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday rejected this accusation, and said the Pentagon report suggested that it "has hidden political motives", and this move might be connected with the situation in Iraq.

Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service also voiced disapproval of the Pentagon's charge at the weekend.

Just one day before the Russian foreign minister made his comments, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the U.S. government would talk with the Russian authorities about the report.

"Definitely we will raise it with the Russian government," she said, adding that she hoped they would take it seriously.

According to U.S. State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack, Rice might raise the issue with her Russian counterpart at a meeting of foreign ministers in Berlin on Thursday.

Source: Xinhua