German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomes the plan, says it is \u2018something of deterrence and it\u2019s securing peace\u2019
\n Saint Petersburg
\nThe United States\u2019s decision to station long-range missiles in Germany could lead to a Cold War-style \u201cdirect confrontation\u201d, Russia has warned, as Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed the move.
\nThe White House announced the decision on Wednesday during a NATO summit in Washington, arguing the stationing of long-range weapons, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, in Europe acts as a deterrent.
\n\u201cWe are taking steady steps towards the Cold War,\u201d Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a Russian state TV reporter on Thursday.
\n\u201cAll the attributes of the Cold War with the direct confrontation are returning.\u201d
\nWashington\u2019s move has prompted criticism in Germany, even among members of Scholz\u2019s Social Democrats.
\nDefending the decision, Scholz told reporters at a NATO summit in Washington it is \u201csomething of deterrence and it\u2019s securing peace, and it is a necessary and important decision at the right time.\u201d
\nThe US on Wednesday said the \u201cepisodic deployments\u201d of long-range missiles to Germany will begin in 2026.
\nThe White House said it would eventually look to permanently station them in Germany, and the missiles would \u201chave significantly longer range\u201d than current US systems in Europe.
\n\u201cExercising these advanced capabilities will demonstrate the United States\u2019 commitment to NATO and its contributions to European integrated deterrence,\u201d it said in a joint statement with the German government.
\nRussia\u2019s ambassador to Germany warned the German government of a further deterioration in relations between Moscow and Berlin if the deployment goes ahead.
\n\u201cIt is to be hoped that the German political elites will reconsider whether such a destructive and dangerous step, which contributes neither to the security of the Federal Republic of Germany nor the European continent as a whole, is advisable,\u201d Sergei Nechayev said.
\n\u201cNot to mention the irreparable damage to German-Russian relations.\u201d
\nGerman Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that the deployment decision addressed a \u201cvery serious gap\u201d in the country\u2019s capabilities.
\nThe German army does not have long-range missiles that launch from the ground, only cruise missiles that can be fired by aircraft.
\nThe announcement led to an outcry in Germany, where the deployment of US missiles brings back painful memories of the Cold War.
\nRalf Stegner, a member of parliament for Scholz\u2019s Social Democrats, told the Funke media group that the missile decision could signal the start of a new \u201carms race\u201d.
\n\u201cThis will not make the world safer. On the contrary, we are entering a spiral in which the world is becoming increasingly dangerous,\u201d warned Stegner.
\nSahra Wagenknecht, a prominent far-left figure in Germany, told the Spiegel weekly that US missile deployment \u201cincreases the danger that Germany itself will become a theatre of war\u201d.
\nThe 1980s deployment of US Pershing II ballistic missiles in West Germany at the height of the Cold War prompted widespread demonstrations, with hundreds of thousands coming out in pacifist protest.
\nUS missiles continued to be stationed through the reunification of Germany and into the 1990s.
\nBut following the end of the Cold War, the US significantly reduced the number of missiles stationed in Europe as the threat from Moscow receded.
\nNATO countries \u2013 spearheaded by the US \u2013 are rushing to bolster their defences on the continent in the wake of Russia\u2019s 2022 invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomes the plan, says it is \u2018something of deterrence and it\u2019s securing peace\u2019 Saint Petersburg The United States\u2019s decision to station long-range missiles in Germany could lead to a Cold War-style \u201cdirect confrontation\u201d, Russia has warned, as Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed the move. The White House announced the decision on Wednesday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":418082,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-418063","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n