German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Minister President of Hesse Boris Rhein and Minister President of Lower Saxony Stephan Weil gave a statement regarding the Germany pact on the day of a meeting of the country’s 16 state premiers on current issues in Berlin
On Thursday, advocates argued deploying U.S. long-range missiles in Germany would make Europe safer, but detractors feared it might antagonize Russia and start a new weapons race.
The deal, announced at a NATO conference in Washington, calls for SM-6, Tomahawk, and developing hypersonic missiles with a greater range than European ones by 2026.
The issue may strain Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government and fuel the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party’s campaign ahead of the September municipal elections in east Germany, where it is anticipated to do well.
Germany is one of many NATO nations that host U.S. nuclear weapons, and public resistance dates back to the Cold War.
Moscow threatened a reaction to the reported ad, calling it an escalatory step.
“We have long been grappling with the question of how we can ensure a deterrent that secures our own alliance territory, but also Germany, with conventional options,” Scholz said to reporters.
“This decision has been a long time in the making and comes as no real surprise to anyone involved in security and peace policy,” he said.
The opposition conservatives, who, given the unpopularity of Scholz’s centre-left coalition, could be in power by the time the missiles are deployed, also endorsed the move.
However, Scholz’s Greens coalition partner complained that it had not been properly kept informed about the decision and that it contradicted a budget deal only agreed upon after long and difficult negotiations.
The AfD, which opposes German weapons deliveries to Ukraine as it battles Russia’s invasion and is seen by critics as overly friendly with Moscow, said the U.S. missile decision made “Germany a target.”.
“Chancellor Olaf Scholz is not acting in Germany’s interest,” said AfD leader Tino Chrupalla. “He is allowing Germany’s relationship with Russia to be permanently damaged and we are falling back into the pattern of the East-West conflict.”
The leftist Die Linke party called the decision “highly problematic” and could launch a new arms race under the guise of deterrence. Sahra Wagenknecht, who leads a new leftist party that also opposes sending weapons to Ukraine, called it “highly dangerous.”.
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