Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Russia has the “power” to defend itself after Ukraine fired six U.S.-made ballistic missiles into Russia’s western Bryansk region.
“Russia has the power and the measures to protect itself,” Erdogan told reporters on Nov. 19 at the G20 summit in Brazil, according to Turkey’s Anadolu news agency.
“Similarly, as a NATO country, we have to protect ourselves, and take steps to protect ourselves.”
Since Russia launched its invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2022, Turkey, a longstanding NATO member, has kept good relations with both Kyiv and Moscow.
Erdogan made the remarks only hours after Kyiv’s military fired six U.S.-made ballistic missiles into Russia’s Bryansk region, which shares a border with northeast Ukraine.
According to Russia’s defense ministry, five incoming missiles were shot down by air defenses while a sixth was destroyed.
Falling debris set a military facility on fire without causing casualties, the ministry said, claiming the attack had been carried out with U.S.-made army tactical missile systems, or ATACMSs.
The Epoch Times could not independently verify the ministry’s claims.
Speaking to reporters in Rio de Janeiro, Erdogan said the missiles used by Ukraine “show where this situation has reached and will reach.”
“These are not positive developments,” the Turkish president said.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh declined to comment when asked about the Ukrainian missile attack at a Nov. 19 press briefing.
She also declined to comment on recent media reports that the White House had lifted its longstanding ban on Kyiv’s use of U.S. missile systems to strike targets in Russia.
Purported Shift
Recent days have seen a spate of media reports suggesting that Washington has begun allowing Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range missile systems to hit targets deep inside Russian territory.Although the reported U.S. policy shift has yet to be officially confirmed, Moscow has warned that such a move would bring Kyiv’s Western backers—particularly the United States—into direct confrontation with Russia.
On Nov. 18, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said the U.S. policy shift—if true—would result in a “radical change” in the conflict’s “essence and nature.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the reported U.S. decision would usher in a “qualitatively new phase” of tension between the two nuclear-armed powers.
On Nov. 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin ratified Moscow’s revised nuclear warfare doctrine, which calls for a nuclear response if Kyiv uses long-range Western weapons to carry out strikes on Russian territory.
When asked about the move, Peskov said the revision was needed to align Russia’s updated nuclear-warfare doctrine with current “realities.”
“What is the most striking example of [these] realities?” he asked in broadcast remarks on Nov. 19, cited by Russia’s TASS news agency.
“Authority in the White House ... takes a decision to use their weapons, American-produced weapons, against the Russian Federation.
“We needed that update. We ensured this.”
Speaking in Brazil, Erdogan described Russia’s move as “first and foremost a precautionary measure against conventional weapons, against a behavior directed against itself.”
“We cannot proclaim that there is a positive aspect to a war in which nuclear weapons are utilized,” he said, calling on NATO leaders to “deliberate on this step taken by Russia.”
Erdogan also stressed his country’s willingness to mediate between Russia and Ukraine with the aim of securing a cease-fire agreement.
“Turkey ... remains prepared to assume any facilitating role between the parties,” he said. “We have the will and the capability to do so.”
In the spring of 2022, Istanbul hosted Russia–Ukraine talks during which negotiators from both sides drafted a cease-fire deal that was ultimately never signed.
On his way back from Brazil on Nov. 20, Erdogan told reporters that Washington’s reported policy shift on Ukraine would “escalate the conflict” and “lead to a greater response by Russia,” according to a readout supplied by his office.
West Reacts
Western responses to Moscow’s revised rules of engagement have been relatively muted.“We aren’t surprised by Russia’s update to its nuclear doctrine,” the Pentagon’s Singh told reporters.
“It’s something that we’re going to continue to monitor, but we don’t have any indications that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon within Ukraine.
“And we don’t see any changes that need to be made to our own nuclear posture as well.”
The UK reaffirmed its support for Kyiv.
“There’s irresponsible rhetoric coming from Russia, and that is not going to deter our support for Ukraine,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Nov. 19 at the G20 summit in Brazil.
Addressing Putin, the British leader added: “End the war. Get out of Ukraine.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot echoed these sentiments, saying in broadcast remarks the same day that Paris was “not intimidated” by the Russian move.
