Long-range US missiles will be periodically deployed in Germany from 2026 for the first time since the Cold War, according to a decision announced at NATO's 75th anniversary summit.
Tomahawk Cruise, SM-6 and Hypersonic The range of the missiles is much higher than the existing missilesThe US and Germany said in a joint statement.
Such missiles would have been banned under a 1988 treaty between the United States and the former Soviet Union, but that pact collapsed five years ago.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow would respond “militarily to the new threat.”
He argued that “this is just one link in a chain of escalating tensions”, and accused NATO and the United States of attempting to intimidate Russia.
The joint U.S.-Germany statement clarified that the “sudden” deployment of the missiles was initially intended to be temporary but would later become permanent as part of the U.S. commitment to NATO and Europe's “integrated deterrence.”
Speaking at the NATO summit in Washington, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the idea behind the US plan was to encourage Germany and other European countries to make their own investments in the development and purchase of long-range missiles.
He added that the temporary deployment of US weapons would give NATO allies time to prepare: “We are talking about an increasingly serious capability shortfall here in Europe.”
Such missiles were banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF), which was signed at the end of the Cold War and included ground-launched missiles that could travel up to 500–5,500 km (310–3,400 mi).
Russia's Vladimir Putin thought it was too restrictive and in 2014 the US accused him of violating the agreement with a new type of nuclear-capable cruise missile.
Ultimately in 2019, America withdrew from this treaty and Russia also followed the same path.
Germany's Greens politicians had criticised Chancellor Olaf Scholz's agreement to allow US missiles on German soil.
The Greens are part of Mr. Scholz’s ruling coalition, and his spokeswoman on security matters, Sara Nanni, expressed disappointment that he had not commented on the decision.
“This could further increase fear and create scope for misinformation and provocation,” he told the Rheinische Post newspaper.
