Ayhan Şimşek
04 May 2026•Update: 04 May 2026
Germany’s foreign minister sought Monday to downplay reports that the US has suspended plans to deploy long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles in Germany, insisting the move would not weaken NATO’s deterrence in Europe.
“I have absolutely no doubt that there will be any reduction in NATO’s conventional deterrence capability in Europe,” Johann Wadephul told reporters at a news conference in Athens, the Greek capital. “That will be offset one way or another in any case," he said.
Wadephul was responding to a question about President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw 5,000 US troops from Germany and reports that the administration has shelved a plan to station long-range missiles in the country as a deterrent against Russia.
“We must not overestimate individual measures,” the minister said, arguing that the troop reduction was widely expected as part of a US global defense posture review.
Wadephul also said that the planned deployment of US long-range missiles was intended only as a “temporary measure” until Europe develops similar capabilities.
“We will now first seek close dialogue with the United States of America to determine what decision has now been definitively made and what options we have to consider,” he said. “And second, we must view this as a new call to develop and make our own capabilities available more quickly. There is simply no way around this.”
Tensions between the German government and the Trump administration escalated last week after Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized the United States for lacking an “exit strategy” in the Iran war and said Americans were being “humiliated” by the Iranian regime during talks.
Merz also cast doubt on a quick end to the conflict, saying: “The Iranians are obviously stronger than expected, and the Americans clearly don’t have a truly convincing strategy in the negotiations either.”
Trump responded on social media, saying Merz “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” The Pentagon later announced it would withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, and Trump said an even bigger reduction was coming.
US media also reported that the Trump administration plans to scrap a decision announced by then-President Joe Biden in 2024 to deploy a battalion with long-range Tomahawk weapons to Germany as a deterrent against Russia.
