SAINT PETERSBURG, August 5. /TASS/. The Kiev regime, by striking economic infrastructure facilities in Russia, is attempting to drive escalation upward, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told TASS on the sidelines of the III Russian-Kazakh Media Forum.

"In fact, by subjecting peaceful economic infrastructure facilities to bombing, the Kiev regime is trying to drive escalation upward, to sow discord between us and our allies, in this case [through strikes on tankers - TASS] with Kazakhstan, and to sow discord between us and our other partners in economic cooperation. Including by creating such an artificial atmosphere of escalation and increasing tension, it is apparently trying to 'beg' more weapons from its Western sponsors," the deputy minister noted.

The first Russia-Kazakhstan media forum took place at the TASS headquarters in Moscow in November 2024 -- the year of the agency's 120th anniversary. The second meeting in this format was held last year in Almaty.