Russia's Foreign Ministry suggested on Thursday, May 8, that NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen was "blind" after he wrote he had seen no signs Russia was withdrawing troops from Ukraine's border, Reuters reported.

Rasmussen's statement, posted on his Twitter microblog, directly contradicted the words of President Vladimir Putin who called on Wednesday on rebels in eastern Ukraine to delay a secession vote and said that Moscow had withdrawn troops.

"For those with a blind eye we suggest to follow President Putin's statement of May 7," the ministry tweeted in English in response to the Rasmussen post.

NATO, the Pentagon and the White House have all said they have seen no evidence of Russian troops being withdrawn from the border with Ukraine.

Relations between Russia and the West are at their lowest ebb since the Cold War over Ukraine. Putin had previously proclaimed the right to send troops into the east of the country to defend Russian speakers there.