Russia intends to respond with military means to the planned deployment of long-range American weapons in Germany, Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Ryabkov said today, quoted by DPA, BTA reported.
Ryabkov said Russia's security would be compromised by such weapons. In his words, they represent "a link in the chain of escalation" by NATO and the US against Russia. "We will develop a mostly military response to this without showing nerves or emotion," he added, without elaborating.
On the sidelines of a NATO summit, the White House and the German government announced that for the first time since the end of the Cold War, US weapons systems capable of reaching Russia will be deployed in Germany.
The deployment of Tomahawk cruise missiles is expected from 2026. (Tomahawk) with a range well over 2,000 kilometers, anti-aircraft missiles SM-6 and newly developed supersonic weapons to provide better protection for NATO allies in Europe, DPA points out.
However, the start of the planned deployment is more than a year after the US presidential election in November and could be canceled if Republican Donald Trump is re-elected. Ryabkov, who is in charge of strategic weapons issues, ruled out a repeat of the events after the so-called "double decision" of NATO during the Cold War.
In 1979, the alliance announced the deployment of nuclear intermediate-range missiles and cruise missiles in Western Europe. At the same time, pressure was exerted in negotiations with the Soviet Union, which eventually led to the major nuclear disarmament treaties of the 1980s.
Ryabkov said that he could not imagine what the goal of the US and Germany is now. "They can hardly count on this experience to be repeated. The situation is fundamentally different," he pointed out. The weapons will be deployed against the backdrop of Russia's war against Ukraine, which Moscow began more than two years ago, as well as in response to Russia's overall aggressive behavior towards NATO and EU countries, DPA said.