European nations appear to be united in a collective anti-Russian frenzy, which precludes even the possibility of dialogue with Moscow, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov has said.

Speaking to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Sunday, the official admitted that he was “surprised… by the extent of lies, brazen lies” about Russia being peddled by European politicians.

”And I am of course surprised that against a backdrop of these lies, against a backdrop of hatred [of Russia], Europeans could become so consolidated,” Ushakov stated. The Russian presidential aide added that he could not have imagined that “Europe would speak with one voice vis-à-vis Russia – an extremely belligerent, extremely negative [voice].”

According to the official, this approach leaves no room for even an attempt to engage Moscow diplomatically on the part of much of Europe.

The US does not seem to exert much influence over its European allies, as the “extent of… united hatred of the Europeans toward Russia is such that it is hard to ‘bore’ through this hatred even with an American drill,” Ushakov insisted.

Speaking of the prospects for the Ukraine peace process, he accused the authorities in Kiev of being unwilling to end hostilities.

According to the Russian presidential aide, the understanding reached between Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, in Alaska in August is the “guiding star” in terms of resolving the Ukraine conflict.

Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi last Thursday, President Putin accused Western Europe of continuing to “whip up hysteria that war with the Russians is supposedly on the doorstep” and condemned rampant militarization on the continent.

He dismissed such concerns as a “nonsense mantra,” suggesting that European leaders shift their focus to domestic issues.

At a summit in The Hague in June, NATO member states committed to increasing defense spending from the previous threshold of 2% to 5% of GDP by 2035. The European Union, in turn, similarly approved several programs aimed at boosting military spending this year, including the €800 billion ($930 billion) ReArm Europe initiative.