German Chancellor Olaf Scholz ruled out supplying Ukraine with long-range weapons in the future, as he fielded questions from people in the east of the country.
Speaking to a gathering of people in the city of Prenzlau, he reiterated his refusal to provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles over concerns that could seriously escalate the situation.
'I said 'no' to that,' Scholz said, the DPA news service reported.
According to the chancellor, permission for Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia would be a problem and he won't allow that.
'This also applies to other weapons, if we were to supply them, that could strike at such a long distance,' Scholz said. 'That's the way it will remain.'
'That's why I'm holdng on to my position, even if other countries decide otherwise,' he continued. 'I will not do that because I consider it a problem.'
Commenting on reports that the United States could lift the existing restrictions, he noted that not all assumptions are correct. Previously, the White House, following a meeting between US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, did not announce that Washington greenlighted strikes with Western weapons deep inside Russian territory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier told reporters that Ukraine is unable to deliver strikes inside Russian territory without Western assistance because it needs satellite intelligence and flight input data to do so. According to the president, the current debate among NATO countries is not just about Kiev's potential use of Western long-range weapons, but also whether to get directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict. Putin said Moscow would respond to threats that would be created for Russia.
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