Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Germany that the use of its weapons by Ukraine to strike inside Russia would mark a "dangerous step," and he said Moscow could, in turn, provide long-range arms to others to strike Western targets.
Such action by the West would further undermine international security and could lead to "very serious problems," he said on Wednesday (Thursday AEST), speaking to senior news leaders of international news agencies, including The Associated Press.
"That would mark their direct involvement in the war against the Russian Federation, and we reserve the right to act the same way," Putin added.
Because using such Western weapons involves military personnel of those countries controlling the missiles and selecting targets, Putin said Moscow could take "asymmetrical" steps elsewhere in the world.
"If they consider it possible to deliver such weapons to the combat zone to launch strikes on our territory and create problems for us, why don't we have the right to supply weapons of the same type to some regions of the world where they can be used to launch strikes on sensitive facilities of the countries that do it to Russia?" he said.
"We will think about it," he told the journalists on the sidelines of the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Germany joined the United States recently in authorising Ukraine to hit some targets on Russian soil with the long-range weapons they are supplying to Kyiv. The deliveries of German tanks to Ukraine came as a shock to many in Russia, he said.
"Now if they use missiles to strike facilities on the Russian territory, it will completely ruin Russian-German relations," he said.
On Wednesday, a Western official and a US senator said Ukraine had used American weapons to strike inside Russia under newly approved guidance from President Joe Biden. It allows American arms to be used for the limited purpose of defending Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. The official was not authorised to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Putin also said Trump's felony conviction at his hush money trial last week was the result of "the use of the court system as part of the internal political struggle".
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He said nothing would change in terms of Russia-US relations regardless of whether Biden or Donald Trump won the American presidential election in November.
"We will work with any president the American people elect," Putin said.
The Russian leader faced questions from senior news leaders of international news agencies, including The Associated Press.
Putin has used the annual forum as a showcase for touting Russia's development and seeking investors.
While meetings with journalists were part of previous sessions, he has not taken questions from Western journalists at the St Petersburg event since sending troops to Ukraine.
Last year, journalists from countries that Russia regards as unfriendly — including the US, the UK and the European Union — were not invited, and Western officials and investors also steered clear of the session after wide-ranging sanctions were imposed on Moscow over Ukraine.
