WASHINGTON, November 18. /TASS/. US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller has refused to comment on reports that Washington could have influenced London and Paris concerning Ukraine using Western long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia.

"I'm certainly not going to speak to involvement on behalf of other countries," he said at regular briefing.

Earlier, he confirmed that the United States has authorized the use of US-made ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles to strike deep inside Russia.

The New York Times reported on November 17 that US President Joe Biden had allowed to use US-supplied ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles for strikes inside Russia. Later, France’s Le Figaro reported that France and the United Kingdom had followed suit and allowed Ukraine to use their SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles for these purposes. However, the newspaper later removed this story from its website, giving no explanations. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that Paris had not altered its position on strikes inside Russia, i.e. that such an option was being looked at. The German government said that the United States had notified Berlin about Biden’s decision.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell confirmed that the US had lifted restrictions for US-supplied missiles to be used for strikes up to 300 kilometers inside Russia. The EU Foreign Affairs Council discussed the issue, he said, adding that the council failed to adopt a common stance on this matter, with each country making a decision independently.

Meanwhile, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov recalled that Moscow’s position on potential strikes inside Russia with American missiles was clearly and unequivocally expressed by President Vladimir Putin in September. This decision, in his words, means a "qualitatively new spiral" of escalation.