President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia will consider sending weapons to adversaries of Western countries that supply weapons to Ukrainerepeating a warning made days before.
He did not specify where those weapons could be sent, saying only that they could be “states or even other legal entities that face some pressure, including military (pressure), from those countries that send weapons to Ukraine and they urge her to use them against us, against Russian territory.”
He also stressed that Moscow is not currently doing so.
“If they supply (weapons) to the combat zone and ask for the use of these weapons against our territory, why don’t we have the right to do the same?”said Putin in it St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. “But I’m not ready to say we’ll do it tomorrow either.”
Previously, Putin said The Russian economy is growing despite strong international sanctions and that the country has expanded its economic ties with countries of Africa, Middle East and Asiaas he sought to court investors at the forum. Russia has used the event for decades as a showcase to promote the country’s development, although Western officials and investors have stayed away from the session since sanctions cut off much of the trade in Russia with Western Europe, the United States and its allies.
Addressing the presidents of Bolivia and Zimbabwe already business leaders, Putin said Russia “remains one of the key participants in global trade”even though the country is under extensive sanctions for sending troops to Ukraine.
The main engine of economic growth Russia are the fighting in Ukraine, now as important economically as politically for the Kremlin. Russians are finding some imported staples and most global brands have disappeared or been reincarnated into Russian equivalents. But not much else has changed economically for most people: huge state spending on military equipment and large payments to volunteer soldiers have given the economy a strong boost.
Putin has tightly controlled his media appearances since sending his forces to Ukraine.but on Wednesday he answered questions from international journalists, including some from Western countries he has criticized, on the sidelines of the forum.
At that meeting, Putin warned that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to attack Western targets in response to the allies of the NATO would allow Ukraine use their weapons to attack Russian territory. He also reaffirmed the willingness of Moscow to use nuclear weapons if it sees a threat to its sovereignty.
Last yearjournalists from countries that Russia considered hostile (including United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union) were not invited to the forum.
(With information from AP)
