(29 Jul 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Berlin – 29 July 2024
1. Wide of news briefing
2. German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sebastian Fischer and German Government spokesperson Christian Hoffmann at briefing
3. Various of journalists
4. SOUNDITE (German) Sebastian Fischer, German Foreign Ministry spokesperson:
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is only describing what he can already do. So I mean, his regime has been arming itself with nuclear weapons for years, has broken the INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty) and is waging a war of aggression in Europe. And we have to react to this for the security of all of us in Europe. And to be clear, we will not be intimidated by such statements. Our threat analysis was that these types of missiles, which are banned under their treaty, had long since been developed and deployed. In this respect, Russia has broken the treaty. And what we’re planning now is the response to this as a deterrent so that these weapons are not used against Germany or other targets.”
5. Wide of briefing
STORYLINE:
A spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Germany will not be intimidated by recent comments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the US’ deployment of missiles in Germany,
On Sunday, Putin said Russia may deploy new strike weapons in response to US plans to station longer-range and hypersonic missiles in Germany.
Speaking at a naval parade in St Petersburg, Putin vowed “mirror measures” after the US earlier this month announced that it will start deploying the weapons in 2026, to affirm its commitment to NATO and European defence following Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
"We will not be intimidated by such statements. Our threat analysis was that these types of missiles, which are banned under their treaty, had long since been developed and deployed. In this respect, Russia has broken the treaty,” said German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sebastian Fischer at a briefing in Berlin.
Both the US and Russia this month signalled their readiness to deploy intermediate-range ground-based weapons that were banned for decades under a Cold War-era treaty.
The US pulled out of the agreement in 2019, accusing Moscow of conducting missile tests that violated it.
Washington and Berlin said in a joint statement this month that the US weapons to be placed in Germany would ultimately include SM-6 missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and “developmental hypersonic weapons,” including those with a significantly longer range than the ones currently deployed across Europe.
Most of Russia’s missile systems are capable of carrying either conventional or nuclear warheads.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said last week that the Kremlin did not rule out new deployments of nuclear missiles in response to the US move.
Putin has for years cast US deployment of missile infrastructure in Europe as an aggressive move aimed at hamstringing Moscow’s capabilities.
The news about the planned stationing of new weapons in Germany came at a NATO summit in Washington earlier this month.
At the same event, allies announced that a new US base in Poland, Ukraine’s western neighbour, is ready to enter operation and will be capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.
AP video shot by Fanny Brodersen
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