Berlin, July 30, 2024, The Europe Today: Germany on Monday dismissed comments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin over the weekend, in which he threatened to adjust Russia’s military stance if the United States deploys more medium-range nuclear-capable cruise missiles in Germany in the coming years.
“We will not allow ourselves to be intimidated by such comments,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer stated at a Berlin press conference.
Deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann also responded, noting that while the government had “taken note” of Putin’s remarks, the proposed changes in military deployment are intended solely as a deterrent. “This necessity arises from recent Russian actions, which have altered the strategic balance in Europe and posed threats to both Europe and Germany with cruise missiles,” Hoffmann explained. “We must establish a deterrent.”
Putin’s Statements
During a naval parade in St. Petersburg on Sunday, Putin warned that if the US proceeded with its plans to station additional weaponry in Europe that could theoretically target Russia, Moscow would consider “mirror measures.” He recalled the early 1980s arms race and the deployment of Pershing missiles in then-West Germany as a significant Soviet grievance. Putin alleged that the US was risking a similar scenario.
“If the US implements such plans, we will consider ourselves free from the previously imposed unilateral moratorium on the deployment of intermediate and shorter-range strike weapons, including increasing the capability of the coastal forces of our navy,” Putin said, referring to the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987, from which both the US and Russia withdrew in 2019. Both sides have accused each other of violating the treaty’s terms. Putin claimed that Russia had adhered to the treaty’s terms even after leaving it, a claim likely disputed by the US and Germany, and cautioned that this adherence might end if more US weaponry is stationed in Germany.
Planned Military Changes
By 2026, the US plans to station weaponry, including SM-6 missiles, improved Tomahawk cruise missiles, and some developmental hypersonic weapons, in Germany. This move, according to a joint statement from Washington and Berlin, is a response to Russia stationing comparable Iskander missiles in its Kaliningrad exclave bordering Poland and Lithuania.
“What we are now planning is a response to deter these weapons from being used against Germany or other targets,” Fischer stated on Monday.
The US maintains several military bases in Germany, a legacy of World War II and the Cold War. Various US missiles with shorter ranges are already formally positioned in the country. Additionally, it is an open secret, though never formally acknowledged by either government, that the US continues to station nuclear weapons at one of its bases in Germany, albeit in reduced numbers compared to the Cold War era.
As tensions between Russia and the West have escalated, particularly since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, both sides have hardened their stances and increased the urgency of their military preparations.
