By Guy Faulconbridge
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia warned Britain on Monday that if British weapons were used by Ukraine to strike Russian territory, Moscow could retaliate against British military installations and equipment in Ukraine and elsewhere.
British Ambassador Nigel Casey was summoned to the Foreign Office for a formal protest after Foreign Secretary David Cameron said last week that Ukraine had the right to use British weapons to strike Russia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Cameron’s remarks acknowledged that Britain was now a de facto part of the conflict and contradicted an earlier assurance that long-range weapons given to Ukraine would not be used against Russia .
“Casey has been warned that in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory with British weapons, all British military installations and equipment on Ukrainian territory and abroad” could be targeted, the Foreign Office said.
The ministry said it considered Cameron’s remarks a serious escalation.
“The ambassador was asked to think about the inevitable catastrophic consequences of such hostile measures by London and to immediately refute the bellicose and provocative statements of the head of the Foreign Ministry in the most decisive and unambiguous manner.”
Cameron, during a visit to kyiv last week, told Reuters that Ukraine had the right to use weapons supplied by Britain to strike targets in Russia, and that it was up to kyiv to do it or not.
Reuters could not immediately reach British officials for comment on Monday.
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