Germany has high cultural, ecological and financial values to lose. It is densely populated and carries high responsibility for Germans, migrants and guests alike. The protection by the USA, France or great Britain is necessary because Germany has vowed never to start a war again. As a diet after WWII we will not produce nuclear or aggressive long range weapons. This time, most Germans welcome the American missiles. We have learned not to trust Russia and we feel in love with our million of Ukrainian migrants. Naturally, this doesn’t count for Eastern Germany.
But giving Ukraine Taurus will be huge escalation 🤷🏻‍♂️
P.S. I am just pointing out that the “escalation talk” does not make any sense.
This must drive putin mad. All he has is threats and posing, but nobody is scared anymore. Meanwhile his puppet is failing in American election campaign. Putins fantasies are falling apart while Russia is falling apart economically
W Germany
Meh
good news: germany has a spine
bad news: 82 million people have to share the one spine
More nuclear missiles in Europe is hardly a good thing, anyway you turn it. But to be honest, since Merkel left Germany doesn’t appear to have any sovereign position on any foreign policy or security matter. It’s just follow the master.
“We will not allow ourselves to be intimidated by such comments,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told a Berlin press conference.Â
The government’s deputy spokeswoman, Christiane Hoffmann, was also asked to respond.
She said “we have taken note” of the comments from Putin, but also said that the proposed changes would serve “solely” as a deterrent, and one that had been made necessary by recent Russian actions.Â
“Namely, because Russia has changed the strategic balance in Europe and is threatening Europe and Germany with cruise missiles — and we have to establish a deterrent,” she said.Â
# What had Putin said?Â
Putin said at a naval parade in St. Petersburg on Sunday that if the US went ahead with plans to station additional weaponry in Europe that could in theory target Russia, then Moscow would consider “mirror measures.”Â
Likely not by accident, Putin brought up an era where even German soldiers took part in protests against the US and NATO plans, which faced major resistance in Germany despite being approvedImage: Heinz Wieseler/picture alliance
“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.
Both sides blamed the other for violating the terms of the treaty.
But Putin also claimed that Russia had been keeping to its terms anyway since leaving the deal — an assessment the US and Germany would likely dispute — and warned that this might stop if more US weaponry was stationed in Germany.
These disputes were already taking shape prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but the tone and urgency from both sides has probably hardened since then.
9 comments
Germany has high cultural, ecological and financial values to lose. It is densely populated and carries high responsibility for Germans, migrants and guests alike. The protection by the USA, France or great Britain is necessary because Germany has vowed never to start a war again. As a diet after WWII we will not produce nuclear or aggressive long range weapons. This time, most Germans welcome the American missiles. We have learned not to trust Russia and we feel in love with our million of Ukrainian migrants. Naturally, this doesn’t count for Eastern Germany.
But giving Ukraine Taurus will be huge escalation 🤷🏻‍♂️
P.S. I am just pointing out that the “escalation talk” does not make any sense.
russia and USA signed out from a [medium-long range missile treaty](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermediate-Range_Nuclear_Forces_Treaty)
Let’s start cold war escalation.
This must drive putin mad. All he has is threats and posing, but nobody is scared anymore. Meanwhile his puppet is failing in American election campaign. Putins fantasies are falling apart while Russia is falling apart economically
W Germany
Meh
good news: germany has a spine
bad news: 82 million people have to share the one spine
More nuclear missiles in Europe is hardly a good thing, anyway you turn it. But to be honest, since Merkel left Germany doesn’t appear to have any sovereign position on any foreign policy or security matter. It’s just follow the master.
Germany’s government on Monday downplayed [comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin over the weekend](https://www.dw.com/en/putin-threatens-response-if-us-deploys-missiles-in-germany/a-69791561), threatening to change Russia’s military posture if the [US installs](https://www.dw.com/en/germany-split-on-us-stationing-long-range-cruise-missiles/a-69638145) Germany’s government on Monday downplayed [comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin over the weekend](https://www.dw.com/en/putin-threatens-response-if-us-deploys-missiles-in-germany/a-69791561), threatening to change Russia’s military posture if the [US installs](https://www.dw.com/en/germany-split-on-us-stationing-long-range-cruise-missiles/a-69638145) more medium-range nuclear-capable cruise missiles on German soil in the coming years as planned.
“We will not allow ourselves to be intimidated by such comments,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told a Berlin press conference.Â
The government’s deputy spokeswoman, Christiane Hoffmann, was also asked to respond.
She said “we have taken note” of the comments from Putin, but also said that the proposed changes would serve “solely” as a deterrent, and one that had been made necessary by recent Russian actions.Â
“Namely, because Russia has changed the strategic balance in Europe and is threatening Europe and Germany with cruise missiles — and we have to establish a deterrent,” she said.Â
# What had Putin said?Â
Putin said at a naval parade in St. Petersburg on Sunday that if the US went ahead with plans to station additional weaponry in Europe that could in theory target Russia, then Moscow would consider “mirror measures.”Â
He evoked the arms race of the early 1980s, late in the Cold War, when a core Soviet grievance had been [the deployment of Pershing missiles in then-West Germany](https://www.dw.com/en/germany-and-nuclear-weapons-a-difficult-history/a-68279838). Putin alleged the US was risking a similar repeat phenomenon.Â
Likely not by accident, Putin brought up an era where even German soldiers took part in protests against the US and NATO plans, which faced major resistance in Germany despite being approvedImage: Heinz Wieseler/picture alliance
“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.
Here, Putin was referring to the terms of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987 — [which the US and then Russia withdrew from in 2019](https://www.dw.com/en/russia-and-the-us-nuke-32-year-old-inf-treaty/a-49863508).Â
Both sides blamed the other for violating the terms of the treaty.
But Putin also claimed that Russia had been keeping to its terms anyway since leaving the deal — an assessment the US and Germany would likely dispute — and warned that this might stop if more US weaponry was stationed in Germany.
These disputes were already taking shape prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but the tone and urgency from both sides has probably hardened since then.