Germany requires a public discussion on US missiles, says defense chief
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius emphasizes the necessity for a public discussion regarding the imminent deployment of US cruise missiles. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Washington and Berlin recently announced plans to deploy American intermediate-range rockets in Germany, set to commence in 2026.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has emphasized the need for a public debate regarding the introduction of US cruise missiles in Germany, marking the first such deployment since the Cold War ended. Russia has indicated it will respond with countermeasures to this initiative.
During a NATO summit in July, it was revealed that the US Multi-Domain Task Force would begin deploying long-range missiles to Germany. The intended missiles include SM-6 anti-air missiles with a range of up to 460 km (290 miles), Tomahawk cruise missiles capable of hitting targets over 2,500 km away, and newly developed hypersonic rockets.
This deployment would have previously violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, which the US exited in 2019 under the Trump administration, citing Russia's non-compliance with the agreement. Moscow refuted these claims and adhered to the treaty until recently.
In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Pistorius stated that public discourse about the US missile deployment was "important so that after weighing up all the arguments, we as a society find a stance which we can all live well with."
He further noted, “We need this public debate to make the seriousness of the situation clear: On the one hand we are experiencing a new threat in Europe because of Russia’s aggressive demeanor, on the other hand, we have a capability gap that we can only close in the short term with the help of the US allies until we have developed these weapons ourselves.” Pistorius also acknowledged that the missile deployment has faced "sharp opposition" from some members of his own Social Democratic Party.
In response to the proposed deployment, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned during an address at a Navy Day parade in St. Petersburg that “if the US implements such plans, we will consider ourselves free from the previously adopted moratorium on the deployment of medium- and short-range strike weapons… [and] take mirror measures.” He added that the US missile deployment would place several key Russian state and military facilities within striking distance, with an estimated flight time of about ten minutes.
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has emphasized the need for a public debate regarding the introduction of US cruise missiles in Germany, marking the first such deployment since the Cold War ended. Russia has indicated it will respond with countermeasures to this initiative.
During a NATO summit in July, it was revealed that the US Multi-Domain Task Force would begin deploying long-range missiles to Germany. The intended missiles include SM-6 anti-air missiles with a range of up to 460 km (290 miles), Tomahawk cruise missiles capable of hitting targets over 2,500 km away, and newly developed hypersonic rockets.
This deployment would have previously violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, which the US exited in 2019 under the Trump administration, citing Russia's non-compliance with the agreement. Moscow refuted these claims and adhered to the treaty until recently.
In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Pistorius stated that public discourse about the US missile deployment was "important so that after weighing up all the arguments, we as a society find a stance which we can all live well with."
He further noted, “We need this public debate to make the seriousness of the situation clear: On the one hand we are experiencing a new threat in Europe because of Russia’s aggressive demeanor, on the other hand, we have a capability gap that we can only close in the short term with the help of the US allies until we have developed these weapons ourselves.” Pistorius also acknowledged that the missile deployment has faced "sharp opposition" from some members of his own Social Democratic Party.
In response to the proposed deployment, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned during an address at a Navy Day parade in St. Petersburg that “if the US implements such plans, we will consider ourselves free from the previously adopted moratorium on the deployment of medium- and short-range strike weapons… [and] take mirror measures.” He added that the US missile deployment would place several key Russian state and military facilities within striking distance, with an estimated flight time of about ten minutes.
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
