NATO Secretary General Says Ukraine Has The Right To Attack Targets In Russian Territory

JAKARTA - Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday, Ukraine has the right under international law to attack legitimate military targets in Russia to defend itself.

"Ukraine has the right to defend itself," Stoltenberg said at a news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at a military base near Stockholm.

"The right to self-defense also includes the right to attack legitimate military targets on the territory of the attacking party, the aggressor, in this case Russia," he continued.

The Kremlin this week said Western countries supplying Ukraine with weapons to attack Russian territory should take Moscow into account, after President Vladimir Putin said he was considering arming Western enemies in retaliation.

"This is an attack war that Russia has started against a peaceful and democratic neighboring country, Ukraine, which has never been a threat to Russia at all," Stoltenberg said.

"There is no doubt that Ukraine has the right to attack targets in Russian territory," he said.

Earlier, while speaking with senior editors of the international news agency in St Petersburg on Wednesday, the Russian leader said Moscow was considering providing advanced long-range weapons, which are similar to those given by the West to Ukraine, to Western enemies around the world. It refers to long-range missiles supplied to Ukraine by the US and Britain.

"We think, if someone thinks it's possible to supply such weapons to the war zone to attack our territory and create problems for us, then why don't we have the right to supply our weapons of the same class to regions of the world, where there will be attacks on sensitive facilities of countries doing this to Russia?" President Putin said.

"So the response can be symmetric. We will think about it," he said.

It hinted the Kremlin could supply weapons to US enemies such as Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria that periodically launch rockets and drones to US troops. However, it is not clear who it will provide weapons in the UK case.

Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV he believed President Putin's warning had been heard in the West, where he said the warning had been studied.

"They need to take our place and our position. We will not sacrifice our interests," Peskov said.