Kevin Rudd says he's surprised the former US defence secretary can remember anything from the night he dozed off during a long speech by the former Australian prime minister.
Robert Gates revealed in his memoir that during a 2008 visit to Australia he fell asleep at a dinner held in his honour, as Mr Rudd "began a long soliloquy on the history of Australia".
Mr Gates, who was taking medication for a broken shoulder, "should have taken up Mr Rudd's suggestion... to forget dinner and just go home to bed," Mr Rudd's spokeswoman said in a statement.
"Given the number of pain-killing drugs he was on when he arrived at the Lodge, Mr Rudd thought it was surprising Mr Gates could remember anything from the evening at all," she said.
In the memoir, Mr Gates wrote: "I had made it just past World War I when the combined effect of a painkiller, jet lag, and a glass of wine caused me to fall asleep.
"This led to not-so-subtle attempts by my American colleagues at the table to rouse me."
Mr Rudd's spokeswoman added that Mr Rudd had himself fallen asleep while foreign minister when the "body clock kicked in at the wrong time".
Mr Gates' book has also made headlines around the world for its criticisms of US President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden.
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