The Kremlin said on Thursday that U.S. military assistance to Ukraine could make Kyiv behave unpredictably and dangerously in the conflict in its east, and expressed regret at a U.S.-Ukrainian friendship it said was motivated by opposition to Russia.
This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in an interview with Izvestia, which was published on Thursday, September 2.
Ukrainian troops have battled Russian-backed forces in its eastern Donbas region since 2014, a conflict Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people.
"We believe this could potentially cause unpredictable actions by the Ukrainian side in terms of attempting to resolve the ... Ukrainian conflict ... by force. This is very dangerous," Peskov said.
".... to put it simply, we're talking about a Ukrainian-American friendship against Russia. That is to say, they're friends not for themselves, but against Russia. This ... can only be a cause for regret," he said.
I addition, he voiced Moscow's long-standing opposition to Kyiv's desire to join the NATO military alliance, noting comments made during Zelensky's trip.
When asked whether Russia sees any potential threats imposed by the agreements between the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and the U.S. President Joe Biden, the Kremlin representative replied that the statement made regarding the possibility of Ukraine's membership in NATO is indeed considered a serious threat to the national security of the Russian Federation.
Zelensky has said Ukraine had done everything necessary to earn a NATO membership plan, which Kyiv sees as a vital deterrent against Russia.NATO believes Ukraine needs to adopt more political reforms before gaining membership.
According to Moscow, Washington reacted positively to Ukraine's desire to join the North Atlantic Alliance. Ukraine's NATO membership would pose a potential threat to Russia, since NATO would get closer to Russian borders, the Kremlin spokesman explained.
"This will entail the need to implement some countermeasures in order to re-balance the situation and ensure 100% security of our borders," Peskov said.