PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY. Sept 6 (Interfax) - Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov has agreed that there are attempts to turn Ukraine into 'anti-Russia.'
Peskov was asked during an interview with Pavel Zarubin for the Moscow. Kremlin. Putin television show on Rossiya 1 (VGTRK) as to whether Moscow views the outcomes of the recent talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Joe Biden as a continuation of the project for turning Ukraine into 'anti-Russia.'
"Apparently, yes," Peskov said.
As an example, Peskov referred to Ukraine's NATO aspirations and the United States' readiness to accept it as an alliance member if the country meets a number of conditions.
"To Russia, this is a direct threat. This is potentially the future of NATO military infrastructure approaching our borders," he said.
"Zelensky says that Nord Stream 2 is a terrible threat to the security of Europe. This is nonsense. On the contrary, this is contribution to Europe's energy security," he said.
Peskov was also asked to explain Putin's statement in his article about Ukraine where Putin wrote that Russia would not tolerate any use of Russia's historical lands against itself.
"Well, [Russia] will at least make efforts to prevent that from happening," Peskov said.
"But we can see that unfortunately, those forces in Ukraine with a more well-balanced approach, those advocating for a discussion with Russia on the most acute problems, those forces are now under house arrest. [They are being treated] absolutely brutally, being bent across the knee, as they say, and the court simply okays extensions of this house arrest," he said.
Summing up, Peskov said that "such a Russophobic approach is still dominating in Kyiv through thick and thin."