MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Ukrainian leadership was to blame for the "deplorable state" of economic relations between Russia and Ukraine.

"Of course, we are witnessing such a deplorable state [of bilateral economic cooperation - TASS] because of the Ukrainian leadership, which actually rejects any relations and chooses a very unfriendly, and often even hostile, path," the Kremlin spokesman told reporters on Friday.

He emphasized that the current volumes of trade between the two countries "are utterly miniscule as far as the potential for mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Ukraine is concerned."

When asked why Moscow does not use the counter-sanctions mechanism against Kiev, Peskov stressed that Russia does and will do what best meets its interests.