Putin warned that Ukraine’s use of German weapons to attack Russia is a “dangerous step”

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Germany this Wednesday that Ukraine’s use of its weapons to hit targets in Russia represented a “dangerous step” and would destroy relations between Berlin and Moscow.

Answering questions from senior journalists from international news agencies, including the Associated Press (AP), Putin said the deployment of German tanks in Ukraine came as a shock to many people in Russia, but the use of Western weapons against Russian territory would have consequences. .even more serious.

“Now, if they use missiles to destroy infrastructure on Russian territory, it will completely ruin Russian-German relations,” he said.

Germany recently joined the United States in allowing Ukraine to strike several targets inside Russia with long-range weapons it supplies to Kyiv.

Responding to foreign journalists for the first time since his fifth presidential inauguration in May, Putin also believed that nothing would change in relations between the United States and Russia, regardless of the victory of Joe Biden or Donald Trump in the US presidential election in November.

“We will work with any president elected by the American people,” Putin said, speaking on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

“I solemnly declare: we do not believe that after the elections anything will change in the Russian approach to US policy,” he added. “We believe nothing serious will happen.”

Putin also considered that Trump’s recent conviction for misuse of funds was the result of “the use of the judicial system as part of the internal political struggle.”

Putin used his presence at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum to highlight Russia’s development and seek new investment. This was the first meeting with foreign journalists at this event since the start of Russia’s large-scale military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Last year, journalists from countries Russia considers hostile, including the United States, Britain and the European Union, were not invited, while officials and Western investors were also absent after a sweeping package of sanctions was imposed on Moscow over the conflict. in Ukraine.