VLADIVOSTOK, September 2. /TASS/. Washington and Kiev have teamed up to "be friends against Russia" and this course is quite unfortunate, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) on Thursday.
"The subject of Russia topped the agenda of the US-Ukrainian talks. Regrettably, this was largely in a negative light. To put it simply, what we are talking about is a Ukrainian-American friendship against Russia. So, they are being friends not for the sake of themselves but against Russia. This can only evoke regret," the Kremlin official lamented.
According to him, the anti-Russian rhetoric "on Crimea and other instances" also causes "regret and nothing more."
Ukraine and NATO
Putin’s press secretary noted that the Kremlin "had drawn attention to Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations," to Kiev’s ambition to join NATO and the "potential readiness on the part of the Americans to welcome this desire."
In relation to this, Russia "doesn’t like whatsoever" NATO’s military infrastructure potentially getting close to the country’s borders, the spokesman added. "Russian President [Vladimir Putin] repeatedly stated our very candid, understandable and consistent stance with regards to NATO’s military infrastructure continuing to get closer to our borders. This is what we don’t like at all," he explained.
According to the Kremlin official, Moscow also pointed to the Biden administration’s intentions of providing military aid to Ukraine. This subject, among others, was discussed during Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s visit to Washington. "We think that this potentially can be the cause of unpredictable actions by the Ukrainian side in terms of attempts to settle the internal Ukrainian conflict in the southeast [of the country] by force. This is very dangerous," he cautioned.
The Kremlin also pointed out that the US had not said a word to Kiev on any recommendations regarding the implementation of the Minsk Accords. "We did not see nor hear any recommendations on the part of Washington, voiced to Mr. Zelensky, in terms of fulfilling the Minsk Accords. We haven’t seen a single word about that in reports," the spokesman noted.