MOSCOW, February 15. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin called US Secretary of State Antony Blinken "our man," but warned him about a possible "failure" if he continues to speculate on the issue of the so-called Jewish pogroms.

In an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin, published by the Kremlin’s official Telegram channel, the Russian leader said that the issue of Jewish pogroms had been raised by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken several times.

"He said it several times. He said that his relatives, his great-grandfather fled Russia due to Jewish pogroms. This issue is being raised all the time in various countries of the world - in Europe, in the [United] States - with the goal of demonizing Russia, showing that it is populated by barbarians, by thugs and rogues," the Russian leader said.

"But, in fact, if we treat the incumbent secretary of state’s words not as political slogans, but from the point of view of the nature of problems, it will get a lot clearer," he continued. "For example, we do have it all in our archives. Blinken’s great-grandfather did leave the Russian Empire. As far as I know, he was born somewhere in the Poltava region, but moved in Kiev and had fled from this city."

In his opinion, "a question arises: does Blinken really views Kiev and surrounding territories as the traditional territory of Russia?"

Putin believes that by making such remarks, Blinken "at least indicates that there was no Ukraine in 1904 - the year Blinken’s great-grandfather departed from Kiev to the United States - because he says that he fled Russia."

"From the look of it, Blinken is our man. But he should not make public statements of this kind. It may lead to [his] failure," Putin warned.