Moscow: Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov today (Oct 22, 2004) termed as "untrue" reports that India would lease for 10 years a nuclear submarine from Russia.

"I can assure you that the information about the submarine is not true," Ivanov was quoted as saying by the ITAR-TASS news agency which yesterday reported about the deal.

Ivanov, who has been appointed new co-chairman of the Indo-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Military-Technical Co-operation, said that during his New Delhi visit in January, no negotiations were held on submarines.

"We really had discussed very serious contracts in military-technical co-operation; in particular, a major contract for the supply of 'Admiral Gorshkov' aircraft carrier was signed. But there were no talks about submarines or their leasing," he said.

ITAR-TASS and private Interfax news agencies, quoting 'Defence industry sources', yesterday reported about signing of the submarine deal earlier this year with India under which Russia was to lease Akula-II class multi-role nuclear submarine 'Nerpa', currently under construction at a shipyard in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Far East.