MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/. Turkey’s independent course has raised alarm bells in the United States and NATO, so they have come out with harsh statements against Ankara, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a live broadcast of the Great Game program on Channel One TV Thursday.

"Turkey and Turkey’s commitment to its independent course of development, which is quite firm, are generally the subject for heightened attention and, perhaps, concern at NATO. And, of course, this is a subject of US concern and the way the United States is trying to raise its voice at Ankara over the story with the S-400s [Russia’s air defense systems] and Ankara’s other actions obviously indicate that Washington does not like how [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan is confidently leading Turkey forward and that they would prefer a more compliant Turkey," Peskov explained.

The Russian presidential spokesman also said he doubted that the desire to understand history was behind US President Joe Biden’s statements on recognizing the genocide of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire.

"I believe that to a larger extent Washington’s recognition of the genocide is most likely an integral part of this favorite ‘carrot and stick’ game. This is not the desire to show sympathy for the Armenian people and it is not the desire to deeply understand the history of the Ottoman Empire and the history of Armenia," Peskov pointed out.