Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Moscow has never intended to attack NATO countries.

Axar.az reports that speaking at a meeting with the Russian Defense Ministry Extended Board in Moscow, Putin said that the topic of the "Russian threat" is being promoted by the US to maintain its "status of master" on the European continent.

According to him, Washington was concerned about Russia's rapprochement with Europe and started promoting the topic of the "Russian threat," although Moscow has never had any such intentions.

Putin pointed out that on the contrary, NATO, in violation of the promises of its leaders, has been moving closer and closer to the Russian borders and now is "at its fence."

He stressed that Ukraine's membership in NATO is unacceptable for Russia at any period. "From the point of view of historical prospects and strategic interests of the Russian state, even after 10, even after 15 years, this is unacceptable."

Putin emphasized that Russia had been trying to build neighbourly relations with Ukraine for decades, but the West using nationalists "outplayed" Russia in 2014, and pushed "two brotherly nations" to war.

"In 2014, they carried out a coup d'etat, and that's it, and they went on and on with this lawlessness. Well, they just forced us to respond to this outrage," he said.