A US Air Force B61-12 nuclear bomb (Photo by the USAF)
In an interview with German news agency dpa, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that US nuclear missiles must not be stationed in Germany, or anywhere in Europe.
“The deployment of new medium-range missiles would meet with widespread resistance in Germany,” Maas said commenting on the US plans to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia.
“By no means should Europe become the scene of a debate on weapons build-up,” Maas said. “Nuclear armament is certainly the wrong answer.”
“The policy of the 80s does not help to answer the questions of today.”
Both Russia, the US accuse each other of violating the INF Treaty, which bans deployment of nuclear and conventional missiles with ranges of 500-5,500km. According to the US, Russia is developing missiles prohibited by the INF treaty. Moscow says US missile defense systems already stationed in Europe can easily be converted into offensive ballistic missile launchers.
Earlier, Russia warned it would have to respond if US missiles are stationed in Europe, making any such sites potential targets.
