Russia's Foreign Ministry suggested NATO's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen was "blind" after he wrote he had seen no signs Russia is withdrawing troops from Ukraine's border, Itar-Tass reported on Thursday.

Rasmussen's statement, posted on his Twitter microblog, directly contradicted a statement by President Vladimir Putin made earlier in the day.

"We suggest that the blind familiarise themselves with the May 7 statement of the President," Itar-Tass reported the Foreign Ministry as saying.