ANKARA: The United States and Russia are very close to engaging in “direct military conflict,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned in an interview published Friday in a Turkey daily, just days ahead of a 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,” he told the Hurriyet daily, without elaborating.

Asked about next week’s US election pitting former Republican president Donald Trump against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, Lavrov said the outcome would make little difference to Russia.

“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.”