Russia is not planning an attack on Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Greek TV channel ANT1 in an exclusive interview.
"No, the problem is very simple. Russia is moving its forces within its territory and we can move our forces in any direction we want and closer to the areas that could pose a threat [and currently] we see US warplanes landing in Ukraine and US military equipment approaching our borders," Peskov said, when asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin was planning to carry out an attack on Ukraine.
The Kremlin spokesperson also criticized Turkey for selling its drones, which are used by Kiev in Donbas, to Ukraine.
"We have criticized Turkey for this, because we believe it is a problem that pushes Kiev and the Ukrainian government to choose a violent solution to solve their internal issues in the southeast. If Ukraine starts attacking its own people again, it will be another disaster for Europe," Peskov noted.
Peskov was also asked whether the United States and Russia could ever become allies, however, the spokesman noted that considering the current situation "it would be hard to imagine such a thing."
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a secured telephone call with his US counterpart, Joe Biden, on Tuesday, discussing the alleged gathering of Russian troops near Ukraine's borders. Bilateral relations between Russia and the US as well as Ukraine have deteriorated amid media reports that Russia has built up around 100,000 troops nears its border with Ukraine and accusations of planning an attack.
Russia has repeatedly denied accusations of aggressive actions coming from the West and Ukraine.