"Never, neither in the history of the Soviet Union or the Russian Federation, where there any real attempts to seize nuclear weapons," Sergei Ivanov was quoted as saying by Interfax during a visit to the Barents Sea port of Murmansk.

"We have never had terrorist attacks on any of our sites," he said in response to a reporter's question.

"But unfortunately, myths are spreading in various regions of the world that Russia's nuclear arsenal is of poor quality and unsafe."

His comments came amid Russian military exercises aimed at preventing nuclear accidents, which were observed by specialists from 17 NATO countries.

The West has expressed increasing concern about the state and safety of Russia's nuclear arsenal amid the troubles of its cash-starved military.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has placed his close ally Ivanov in charge of army reforms and has since promoted him to head the whole massive military infrastructure, demoting the status of the general chiefs of staff.

WAR.WIRE