Ivanov met Rumsfeld immediately upon his arrival in Brussels on Thursday, ahead of Friday's meeting of the year-old Russia-NATO Council that was built to ease Moscow's concerns about its former Soviet-era foe's expansion towards Russia's borders.

Russian media reports said that Ivanov told Rumsfeld that the two sides had no serious disagreements about world affairs despite Moscow's earlier misgivings about the US-led war in Iraq.

He added that Russia planned to staged major naval exercises in the Pacific Ocean in August, and in clear sign that Moscow wanted to smooth over its post-Iraq ties with Washington, Ivanov offered the US navy a chance to take part in the war games.

"I also informed Mr. Rumsfeld about our plans to stage military exercises in the Pacific Ocean at the end of August," Ivanov said in remarks carried by Russia's Channel One television Friday.

"We will soon official inform the Pentagon (about the maneuvers), and I have suggested the US armed forces take the most active part in these exercises -- not only as observers, but also as participants," Ivanov said.

The Channel One report did not specify how Rumsfeld responded to Ivanov's offer.

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