NATO chief says Putin Crimea visit 'inappropriate'

TALLINN (Reuters) - NATO's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that President Vladimir Putin's visit to Crimea on Friday, for the first time since Russia annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in March, was inappropriate. "I think his visit to Crimea is inappropriate " Rasmussen told reporters on a visit to Estonia's capital Tallinn. Rasmussen also said he had no visible confirmation of the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine's border. Russia's Foreign Ministry had suggested that Rasmussen was "blind" after stating he had seen no signs Russia was withdrawing troops from Ukraine's border. (Reporting by David Mardiste; editing by Alistair Scrutton)