Merz Confirms Deal to Buy US Tomahawk Missiles

Germany has reached an agreement with the United States to purchase Tomahawk cruise missiles, which will be deployed on German territory. Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced the deal during a speech in the Bundestag on Thursday.

Merz said the agreement was reached at the NATO summit in Ankara, where he held talks with US officials. He added that the outcome of the summit exceeded his expectations.

"In doing so, we are closing a critical strategic gap in our defence, while simultaneously working to develop our own European systems and station them in Europe", Merz said.

The future of the Tomahawk deployment had been uncertain after President Donald Trump announced in May that the US would reduce its military presence in Germany. The decision raised questions about whether plans by the previous US administration to station a battalion equipped with long-range Tomahawk missiles in the country would go ahead.

Berlin has long argued that acquiring the missiles would strengthen deterrence against Russia until European countries develop comparable long-range systems of their own.

(Reuters, bak)