The German Foreign Minister advocates the stationing of American long-range missiles on German territory
The German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, one of the leaders of the environmentalist party in the governing alliance, recently said that it is necessary to create a military system to deter Russia, which would protect not only Germany, but also Poland, the Baltic countries and Finland, reports DW.
Stationing US long-range missiles in Germany is needed as a "deterrent" measure to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The principle of hope will not protect us from Putin's Russia," Baerbock wrote in an op-ed for the Sunday edition of German tabloid Bild am Sonntag, Europe's largest-circulation newspaper.
At the NATO summit in Washington in July, the United States and Germany announced the stationing of long-range American missiles on German soil to deter Russia and protect NATO partners. These are SM-6 anti-aircraft missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles and experimental hypersonic weapons systems. Starting in 2026, Germany will host missiles "with a longer range than those currently available in Europe," the White House said at the time. Tomahawk missiles are capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 2,500 kilometers.
Immediately after the NATO summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the decision by the United States and Germany to deploy long-range US missiles in Germany from 2026 was "reminiscent of the Cold War" and could force Russia to take similar measures.
In the 1980s, the United States stationed more than 100 medium-range Pershing II missiles in Federal Germany, a move that ultimately led to the conclusion of the first major nuclear disarmament agreement between the US and the USSR in 1987. In 2018, then-President of the United States, Republican Donald Trump announced his country's withdrawal from the agreement.
