The publication coincides with the 60th anniversary of the Allies landing on the coast of Normandy (the opening of the second front).
"Today, it is already clear that the action did not accomplish its goals," the minister said in regard to the military operation and the process of postwar settlement in Iraq.
"There is no clear-cut answer to the question of whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction," the minister wrote. "No compelling proof has been supplied to support accusations that the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein was involved with international terrorism, and specifically with the September 11 attacks."
He recalled that immediately following the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein's regime, Iraq turned into a center for terrorism in the Middle East.
"The moves and mis-steps in Iraq have in turn overheated the precarious situation elsewhere in the region," he continued. "Above all, they have complicated international co-operation to fight terrorism. This clearly runs counter to our common interests.
"In the initial debates over Iraq and the question of WMD, it has to be said that Russia - in conjunction with other UN Security Council members - sought to encourage a political solution, in step with international law and in line with UN-endorsed resolutions. It was not alone in subsequently challenging the case for military action. It is widely known that a number of other countries - among them the North Atlantic allies - had a similar view.
"There are still certain disagreements among individual countries or political leaders over the handling of the Iraq situation. But we need also to consider many other, no less acute, issues that should be addressed through international co-operation. Among pressing matters are global stability, curbing WMD and their means of delivery, suppressing inter-ethnic instability and curbing religious extremism, drug trafficking and organised crime."
