Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday that Western international locations supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine and permitting their use to assault inside Russia is a “harmful step” that might lead Moscow to reply with identical coin towards Western targets.
“If somebody thinks that it’s doable to ship such weapons to a conflict zone to hit our territory and create issues for us,” Putin mentioned at a information convention, “then why do not we’ve got the appropriate to ship our weapons of the identical class to “These areas of the world the place assaults might be carried out towards delicate amenities of the international locations that do that towards Russia?”
Putin singled out Germany, saying its provide of tanks to Ukraine had been an preliminary blow to Russian-German relations, however its permission to make use of missiles in Russia was even worse.
“Now, once they say that some missiles will seem that may assault targets on Russian territory, this, after all, is finally destroying Russian-German relations,” he mentioned.
Putin addressed senior editors from at the very least 15 information companies around the globe invited to satisfy him on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg Worldwide Financial Discussion board. Putin had skipped that custom since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, however this yr the invitation was prolonged to Western media similar to The Related Press, Reuters and several other European companies, together with France Media Company, DPA from Germany, ANSA from Italy and EFE from Spain.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, instructed reporters that representatives from “hostile international locations” had been included as a result of “it is extremely vital that they know Putin and perceive Russia firsthand,” based on Russia’s official Tass information company.
Western executives largely prevented the discussion board, whereas China had a major presence, together with the revealing of an armored limousine that retails for greater than $560,000 in China, Tass reported.
Putin answered questions on a variety of subjects, however most of the questions targeted on the conflict in Ukraine. Though Russia invaded Ukraine after it started destabilizing jap areas in 2014 by supporting separatists, Putin once more portrayed the conflict because the fault of Ukraine and its Western allies.
International locations that provide weapons to Ukraine threat being drawn right into a conflict with Russia, he mentioned.
It was unclear the place Putin deliberate to put Russian weapons in different areas. Troopers and weapons, probably together with nuclear missiles, have been deployed to Belarus through the conflict. Belarus borders Europe extra carefully than Russia, as does the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea. Russia additionally has forces in Syria close to bases the place the USA operates.
As for relations with Washington, Putin mentioned he didn’t consider the upcoming presidential election would change a lot so long as the USA continued to pursue “greatness.”
Requested concerning the current condemnation of former President Donald Trump, Putin affirmed that the USA is burning from the within. “It’s apparent around the globe that the prosecution of Trump, particularly in courtroom on prices that had been fashioned primarily based on occasions that occurred years in the past, with out direct proof, is solely utilizing the judicial system in a political inside wrestle,” he mentioned. .
As for Evan Gershkovich, the American journalist from The Wall Road Journal who has been imprisoned in Russia for greater than a yr on prices of espionage, Putin mentioned the USA was taking “robust measures” for his launch. Each Gershkovich and The Journal and the US authorities have denied the allegations.
These points “ought to solely be resolved on the idea of reciprocity,” Putin added. “The related companies of the US and Russia are involved on this subject.”
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