MOSCOW, September 23. /TASS/. Germany’s decision to place in its territory US nuclear weapons is exacerbating tensions in Europe, disrupting the strategic balance and will make Russia take national security measures, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.
"Certainly, it’s another, unfortunately, very serious step — towards exacerbating tensions on the European continent," the Kremlin official said. "Unfortunately, if this step is implemented — and we can say they are confidently advancing towards its implementation, it may disrupt the strategic balance in Europe and therefore will clearly make Russia take corresponding countermeasures to re-establish the balance," Peskov said. "It’s not a step towards strengthening stability, towards confidence building and enhancement of security in Europe," he said.
The Kremlin official did not specify Moscow’s possible response measures. "The steps taken will be needed for ensuring Russia’s national security and re-establishment of the strategic balance," he said.
As Germany’s television broadcaster ZDF said on its website, at Germany’s armed forces base near Buchel, Rheinland-Pfalz, preparations are getting underway for the deployment of new US nuclear bombs. The journalists arrived at the conclusion on the basis of analysis of the US government’s budget documents for this year. According to the papers, special funds will begin to be disbursed starting from the third quarter of 2015 to the US Air Force for arming Germany’s Tornado fighter-bombers with a new nuclear weapon system.
The ZDF channel recalls that back in March 2010 the German parliament voted for empowering the federal government to conduct negotiations with Washington on the transportation of US nuclear weapons from German territory. Apart from this plans for nuclear disarmament were drawn up when the coalition treaty was concluded in 2009.
"However, instead of disarmament there now follows the deployment of twenty new atom bombs, their total yield being 80 times greater than that of the atom bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima," the report says.
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According to experts’ estimates, the Buchel air base has kept ten to twenty US nuclear warheads since the end of the Cold War. Peace activists hold Easter marches and mass rallies near the base demanding the removal of nuclear warheads from Germany.
Russian presidential press-secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Germany’s consent to host US nuclear weapons in its territory was building up tensions in Europe, upsetting the strategic balance and requiring Russia should take measures to protect its national security.