BUENOS AIRES, November 19. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden has authorized the use of US-made long-range weapons to strike deep inside Russia, US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols confirmed in an interview with Brazilian newspaper O Globo.

This decision by Washington will provide Ukraine with "greater capacity to defend itself" and will encourage Russia to enter negotiations, the US diplomat stated, adding that the prolongation of the conflict in Ukraine depends solely on Russia.

Earlier, US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller declined to comment on reports that Washington had authorized the use of US-made ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles for strikes inside Russia.

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 acknowledged that the United States had informed Berlin of the decision to authorize strikes deep inside Russia. Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell confirmed that the US administration had lifted restrictions on US-supplied missiles, allowing them to be used for strikes up to 300 kilometers inside Russia. He noted that the issue had been discussed at an EU foreign ministers’ meeting, but the parties had failed to reach a common decision to lift the restrictions, with each member state free to decide for itself.

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