Any talk of using long-range missiles to strike Russian territory is very dangerous, Moscow’s Foreign Minister has warned
Ukraine’s demands for Western permission to strike deep into Russia with long-range Storm Shadow missiles are blackmail, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a press conference on Tuesday.
Lavrov was asked to comment on recent media reports that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has stepped up appeals to his backers to lift all restrictions on the use of Western weapons against targets on Russian territory.
“This is blackmail, it is an attempt to create an impression that the West wants to avoid excessive escalation, but in fact this is a ruse,” Lavrov said, stressing “The West does not want to avoid escalation. The West is asking for trouble, to put it bluntly. I reckon that this is already obvious to everyone.”
Lavrov further warned that the West would be embarking on a dangerous course if it expanded authorization for the use of its weapons.
“For a long time, we have been hearing these speculations about allowing the use of not only Storm Shadow, but also US long-range missiles…”
“We will repeat that playing with fire – and they are like children playing with matches – is a very dangerous thing to do for grown-ups who are entrusted with nuclear weapons in one or another Western country,” Lavrov stated.
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