MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov deplored recent remarks by UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon who stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin poses as great a threat to Europe as the Islamic State jihadist group.
“We are sorry about the statements like you have mentioned. Definitely they do not contribute to cooperation, they do not contribute to security <…> they do not contribute to our secure and predictable future. They do not reflect the reality,” Peskov said Wednesday in a phone interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
The Islamic State is a jihadist group that in 2014 seized vast territories in Syria and Iraq proclaiming caliphate on the territories that have fallen under its control. A US-led international coalition is trying to stop the advance of Islamic State by shelling its targets in both countries.
Russia's relations with the West deteriorated in 2014, as the United States and its allies accused Moscow of taking part in the Ukrainian conflict and aiding the independence supporters of Donbas — a claim that Russia has repeatedly denied.
However, Western politicians drew parallels between Russia and the Islamic State. In September, for example, US President Barack Obama placed Russia second on a list of key global threats, with the first place given to the spread of Ebola, and the third place – to the threat from IS.
Mid-October Deputy Secretary General of NATO Alexander Vershbow compared the actions of the Islamic State militant group with Russia's politics while speaking at the Security Jam conference.
Senior Russian politicians, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Russia is interested in de-escalating conflicts only by means of political dialogue.
