"The US administration has authorized the use of its missiles to strike up to 300 kilometers inside Russian territory. This is not very far, but it is a decision of the US administration. Why they made this decision now and not earlier, before the election, I don't know," TASS reported, citing Borrell's remarks at a news conference following a meeting of foreign ministers from EU member states.
The Americans said "no" for a long time, but they said "yes" now, Borrell said. According to the diplomat, EU foreign ministers discussed the issue at their meeting.
Borrell stated this as a fact that he himself has knowledge about, and wasn’t referring to any news media reports. There is a strict rule in EU institutions that leaks to the media don’t merit comments.
The New York Times reported on November 17, citing sources, that US President Joe Biden had authorized the use of US-supplied ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles for strikes deep inside Russia.
France’s Le Figaro reported that France and the UK had granted similar permission for the use of their SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles, respectively. The newspaper later removed this statement from its article on the website without explanation.
London has not yet provided any official comment. The German government confirmed that the United States had informed Berlin of the decision to authorize strikes deep inside Russia.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow’s position on strikes by US missiles deep inside Russian territory was clearly outlined by Russian President Vladimir Putin in September. According to Peskov, this decision marks a "qualitatively new round" of tensions.
AMK/PR
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