Russia Calls US "An Enemy" For First Time

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred to the United States as an “enemy” while speaking to reporters on Tuesday, in an apparent hardening of rhetoric between the two countries.

It remains unclear if the use of the word signals an official policy change, as the spokesman had previously argued that only President Vladimir Putin can make such decisions.

Washington’s refusal to allow former US marine, UN weapons inspector and RT contributor Scott Ritter to travel to St. Petersburg was “the latest manifestation of the rabid campaign to prevent US citizens from interacting with the Russian Federation” – which would only be “understandable” if it was somehow related to his former intelligence status, Peskov told journalists on Tuesday.

“We are now an enemy country for them – much like they are for us,” Peskov said, while acknowledging that restrictions applying to former intelligence officers, especially on travel "to a hostile country,” are common across the world.

The Kremlin previously called the United States and other Western countries that have supported and armed Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Moscow as “unfriendly states” or “opponents.”