WASHINGTON, September 11. /TASS/. The United States take into consideration the factor of a potential escalation in Ukraine due to the ongoing discussion of strikes deep into Russian territory with Western weapons by the Ukrainian authorities, US Secretary of State said during the joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga in Kiev.

"You referenced escalation. Of course, that's one of the factors that we always consider. But it's certainly not the only factor, and it's not necessarily a dispositive factor," he said.

The US diplomat also noted that he discussed strikes at Russia during the meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and his British counterpart and plans to report on the outcome of his negotiations to US President Joe Biden.

"I'm going to take that discussion back to Washington to brief the President on what I heard, I know that David [Lammy] is doing the same, and both of our bosses, no doubt, will discuss this when they meet […] on Friday in Washington," he said.

Previously, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the West has apparently already authorized Kiev to carry out strikes at Russian territory with long-range missiles. According to the spokesman, this decision is being formalized in mass media.