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Decision to let Kiev hit with long-range weapons was made long ago — Lavrov

The Russian foreigh minister criticized Merz's comments as indicative of the "level of competence" among European leaders

MOSCOW, May 27. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the decision to permit Ukraine to use long-range weapons against targets in Russia was made some time ago and has remained undisclosed. He made this statement during a news conference while commenting on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's recent remarks about lifting restrictions on the range of weapons supplied to Kiev.

Lavrov criticized Merz's comments as indicative of the "level of competence" among European leaders. He noted that Merz had passionately declared that there would be no restrictions on strike ranges "henceforth and forever," only to be contradicted shortly thereafter by his vice-chancellor, who stated that no such changes were being discussed. Similar clarifications reportedly came from representatives of the Bundeswehr.

"Then Mr. Merz, apparently realizing what he had said, claimed that he was not referring to a new decision but to a previous one made by the prior Berlin administration," Lavrov explained. "This suggests that the decision to allow Ukraine to pursue strikes on Russian territory - at least within some limits - was made quite some time ago and simply kept under wraps."

On Monday, Merz announced that Germany had lifted all restrictions on the range of Ukrainian strikes using German-supplied weapons on Russian territory. He further stated that a similar decision had been made by Britain and France.

However, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that this decision could be dangerous and challenged ongoing diplomatic efforts toward settlement.

The statement has also sparked confusion within Merz's own coalition. German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) clarified to the media that no new agreements had been reached regarding the restrictions on Ukrainian strikes with German weapons on Russian territory. Additionally, Bundestag member Ralf Stegner, also from the SPD, criticized Merz, describing his remarks as "not useful."

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Foreign policy Ukraine Sergey Lavrov Germany

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