Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday criticized the United States for allegedly seeking to form a military alliance with South Korea and Japan, calling the move "counterproductive."

Putin issued the criticism during a year-end press conference when asked about Russia's military and technical cooperation with China.

Putin said that Moscow has no military alliance with Beijing and doesn’t plan on forming one. He added, however, that Russia will continue to help China develop its own missile early warning system, saying that the system is a purely defensive one. 

He claimed that it is not Moscow and Beijing that seek to form a military bloc in East Asia but the U.S. and its allies, Japan and South Korea, criticizing such a move as a "counterproductive" one that will not bring about any good results.