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Russian envoy says he received calls from US ex-officials following Putin’s statements

Earlier Russian president warned that a potential decision to allow Ukraine to deliver long-range strikes inside Russia may have consequences

MOSCOW, September 13. /TASS/. Former US officials called Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov in the wake of statements from Russian President Vladimir Putin who warned that a potential decision to allow Ukraine to deliver long-range strikes inside Russia may have consequences.

"Yesterday’s statements from Vladimir Putin were weighed very carefully here. Several ex-officials called me asking to explain what actually stands behind those statements. I simply replied: `Don't play with fire'," the diplomat told Rossiya-24 television.

The Daily Telegraph reported earlier that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden during a meeting in Washington on Friday might touch upon the issue of granting Ukraine permission to use British long-range Storm Shadow missiles. The Guardian reported on September 11 that Starmer did not intend to speak publicly about granting Ukraine such a permit following his meeting with Biden. According to The Daily Telegraph, if the parties allow Ukraine to fire long-range missiles deep into Russian territory, they will probably announce this at the UN General Assembly in late September.

Earlier, Putin told the media that Ukraine is unable to strike deep into Russian territory without Western help because it needs intelligence from satellites and flight tasks to do so. The Russian leader noted that NATO countries were now not just debating about Kiev’s possible use of Western long-range weapons. They are essentially deciding whether or not to get directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict. Putin pointed out that Moscow would make decisions based on the threats that would be posed to Russia.