Russia vows strategic response to US missile deployment in Germany

Deputy FM Sergey Ryabkov criticises US actions, emphasises calm and professional military countermeasures

MOSCOW:

The recent announcement from the White House about deploying long-range missiles in Germany has sparked a strong response from Russia and a senior Russian diplomat said on Thursday that Russia will respond to the US decision.

"These actions are primarily aimed at harming the security of our country," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters on the sidelines of a parliamentary forum in St. Petersburg.

Describing the US actions as "one link in a chain of escalation," he said Russia will analyse the situation and respond in "a calm, professional manner."

He described the deployment as a part of a broader escalation strategy and assured that Russia would respond thoughtfully and strategically without yielding to emotions.

"Without nerves, without emotions, we will work out, first of all, a military response to this new threat," he stressed.

Ryabkov voiced doubt that the missile deployment would contribute to initiating talks on strategic stability. He dismissed the possibility of repeating a Cold War scenario where a NATO decision to deploy missiles eventually led to negotiations on their elimination.

"It is difficult for me to judge what the US and the Federal Republic of Germany are counting on in this case as two parties to this agreement, which are directly going to implement it. I think it is unlikely that they consider it possible to repeat exactly that experience. The situation has changed dramatically," he said.

The White House announced on Wednesday that the US "will begin episodic deployments of the long-range fires capabilities of its Multi-Domain Task Force in Germany in 2026, as part of planning for enduring stationing of these capabilities in the future."