On Thursday the spokesman for the Russian president strongly criticized US hostile actions against Russia.

Iran PressEurope: Criticizing US hostile actions against Russia, Dmitry Peskov said that Washington's hostile steps would prevent the Russian and US presidents to meet.

Peskov also referred to recent remarks by US President Joe Biden about Washington's readiness to lead the world, calling them nothing more than words from the past decade and the era of a unipolar world.

A spokesman for the Russian president said that the policy of Washington and its allies over the past decade to contain Russia had taken the form of a conflict, adding that President Vladimir Putin would set red lines for Moscow's interests.

"The possibility of conflict around Russia has increased, and this is a matter of great concern," Peskov concluded.

Tensions between Russia and the United States have risen sharply in recent months over various issues, including the crisis in eastern Ukraine and recent US sanctions against Moscow.

The Russian government on Tuesday put the United States at the top of Russia's list of 'unfriendly' countries.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had previously said that countries on the list would be barred from hiring Russian citizens to serve on diplomatic missions.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, the list was formed on the basis of a recent decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zakharova stressed that the Russian president's order was retaliatory against the hostile steps of other countries.

Relations between the West and Moscow have been strained since 2014 over the issues of expanding NATO military influence, especially near Russia's border with Eastern Europe, the Ukraine crisis, the Baltic Sea and the situation in Syria.

The United States and the European Union have imposed a series of economic and financial sanctions against Russia since 2014, prompting a backlash from Moscow. 219