MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday that allegations made by British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, who accused Russia of spreading lies and attacking critical infrastructure with hackers, were “baseless” and a source of regret.

Fallon said on Thursday night that President Vladimir Putin had chosen to become a strategic competitor of the West since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

“We express regret for this hostile stance of the minister. We are sure that such allegations are baseless,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters.