Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that his country and the United States are very close to engaging in “direct military conflict,” days ahead of the next week’s US presidential election.  

“Under the current president (Joe Biden), who has taken the downward spiral of Russophobia in the US to its logical conclusion, our countries are on the brink of direct military conflict,” Lavrov said in an interview with the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet which was published on Friday, without elaborating.

Asked about the US presidential race where former Republican president Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris are competing, Lavrov said the election outcome would make little difference to Moscow.

“We have no preference. When the Trump administration was in power, it adopted the highest number of anti-Russian sanctions compared to its predecessors,” he said.

“No matter who wins the elections, we don’t think the United States’ anti-Russian bent can change.”

His remarks came as the US accused Russia of attempting to interfere in the upcoming US presidential elections. Moscow categorically dismissed the claims.

Some media reports claim that Russia may prefer to see Trump win the election because the Republican candidate has expressed his desire to end the Ukraine conflict.

Putin last week stressed that Russia’s ties with the US would depend on what attitude Washington adopts after the election.

Russia launched what it called a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, partly to prevent NATO’s eastward expansion after warning that the US-led military alliance was following an “aggressive line” against Moscow.

The Western countries have been fueling the flames of the war with their unchecked delivery of weapons to Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly warned that such a flow of weapons to Kiev will only prolong the conflict.

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