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Biden authorizes strikes against Russia to hinder peace in Ukraine, expert says

According to Omid Rahimi, "with this decision, Biden intends to destabilize the political situation in the United States during the period of transition of power to the Trump administration"

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden's approval of strikes by US long-range weapons deep inside Russia from Ukraine-controlled territory is designed to disrupt a potential resolution of the Ukrainian crisis, Omid Rahimi, a researcher at the Tehran-based Institute for East Strategic Studies, told TASS.

"By authorizing the launch of long-range weapons against Russia from the territory of Ukraine, Biden seeks to create obstacles for the new Republican administration and wants to undermine any attempts by [US President-elect Donald] Trump to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine," Rahimi said.

According to the expert, "with this decision, Biden intends to destabilize the political situation in the United States during the period of transition of power to the Trump administration and wants to repair the image of his government – the most vulnerable Democratic administration in US history."

The New York Times reported on November 17 that US President Joe Biden had authorized the use of US-supplied ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles for strikes inside Russia. In turn, the France-based Le Figaro newspaper reported that France and the UK had granted similar authorization for the use of their SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles. The daily later retracted this statement from its article on the website without explanation. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot clarified that Paris had not changed its stance on strikes deep into Russia, explaining that such a possibility was still under consideration. London has not yet provided any official comments.

The German government confirmed that the United States had informed Berlin of the decision to authorize strikes deep inside Russia.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov reminded that Moscow's position on strikes by US missiles deep inside Russian territory was clearly outlined by Russian President Vladimir Putin in September. Peskov emphasized that this decision marks a "qualitatively new round" of tensions.

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