Moscow ends landmark army pact with Berlin
(MENAFN) Russia has officially ended its long-standing military-technical cooperation agreement with Germany, citing Berlin’s growing military support for Ukraine and increasingly hostile stance toward Moscow. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree on Friday instructing the Foreign Ministry to notify Germany that the 1996 agreement, which had governed defense collaboration for nearly 30 years, is no longer in effect.
In July, Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated the agreement had lost its relevance due to Germany’s “openly hostile” policies and ambitions for military expansion. The ministry also accused Berlin of encouraging its population to view Russia as an enemy.
The Kremlin expressed fresh concerns this week over German rhetoric, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warning that Germany is “becoming dangerous again” following remarks by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who said German soldiers must be prepared to kill Russian troops if deterrence fails and Moscow attacks.
Russia has rejected suggestions that it intends to attack NATO, calling such claims “nonsense.” President Vladimir Putin argued that Western leaders are misleading their citizens to justify larger military budgets and distract from economic problems.
Germany recently announced plans to boost its defense budget to €153 billion by 2029, up from €86 billion this year. German leaders have also discussed the possibility of reinstating universal conscription. Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared on Wednesday that diplomatic efforts with Russia have been exhausted.
Since the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022, Germany has become Kiev’s second-largest arms supplier after the United States. Ukrainian forces even used German-supplied Leopard tanks during last year’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region — historically the site of the largest tank battle of WWII. In May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Germany’s involvement in the conflict was undeniable and accused Berlin of repeating past mistakes from the 20th century.
Moscow continues to denounce Western arms shipments to Ukraine, arguing they will not alter the war’s outcome but will only prolong the violence and heighten the risk of escalation.
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