Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday that the United States had been taking aggressive steps that threatened Russia's national security, the RIA news agency reported.

"We have witnessed a fundamental change of circumstances when it comes to the aggressive Russophobia that now lies at the heart of U.S. policy towards Russia," it quoted Lavrov as saying.

"It's not just a rhetorical Russophobia, but aggressive steps that really hurt our national interests and pose a threat to our security."

By Reuters.