German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sees no danger in his latest change of course in Ukraine policy to allow Kiev to use German-supplied weapons to hit Russian territory.
"We are certain that it will not contribute to an escalation, because - as the US president has also described - it is only about being able to defend a major city like Kharkiv, for example," Scholz said in an interview with Bavarian radio station Antenne Bayern on Monday. "And I think it makes sense to everyone that this must be possible."
The decision had been made "carefully" with Germany's "friends and allies."
The German chancellor emphasized that prudence was required. "And the citizens of Germany can rely on that. I will not allow any pressure to persuade me to make a decision that is not right and that is not timely."
What needs to be done politically is "not based on the next talk show appearance, but on what can reasonably be done," Scholz said.
On Friday, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit had announced the German chancellor's decision to allow Ukraine, which is under attack by Moscow, to fire weapons supplied by Germany against military targets in Russia.
The previous day, the US government had authorized Ukraine to use US weapons on a limited scale against targets on Russian territory.
Both Germany and the US justified the move with the recent Russian offensive against the north-eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv.
