Russia to Terminate Military-Technical Cooperation Pact With Germany
President Vladimir Putin. X/ @alexcmhwee
June 19, 2025 Hour: 7:44 am
The 1966 agreement has lost all meaning and practical value under current conditions, the Russian diplomacy said.
On Thursday, Russia announced it would terminate a 1996 military-technical cooperation agreement with Germany, citing Berlin’s potential supply of Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
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“The Russian side intends to denounce this agreement. The corresponding state-level procedures are being carried out,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said, adding that the formally active agreement, signed on June 14, 1996, had “lost all meaning and practical value under current conditions.”
“It no longer corresponds in any way to the current state of Russian-German relations due to the clearly hostile policies of German authorities and the increasingly aggressive militarist aspirations of the German government,” the Foreign Ministry explained.
Moscow accused Germany of “ideologically brainwashing its population in an anti-Russian tone and openly provoking an escalation in the military-political situation.”
“The German government is driven by excessive foreign policy ambitions that directly affect Russia’s vital security interests. We know all too well how German military adventures end,” the Foreign Ministry concluded.
Putin Warns of Further Deterioration in Ties
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that relations between Russia and Germany could worsen entirely if Berlin decides to supply Ukraine with German-operated Taurus missiles.
“It is well known that this will not change the situation on the battlefield, but it will certainly damage our relations,” Putin said during a briefing with major international news agencies.
“When we see German Leopard tanks on the battlefield, and now we hear discussions about supplying German Taurus missiles to attack Russian territory—not only with the involvement of the German military—it raises serious concerns,” Putin added.
The Russian president has no objections to talks with Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union and a proponent of sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine, should Merz express interest. However, Putin rejected the idea of Germany mediating between Moscow and Kiev, arguing that Berlin does not maintain a neutral stance in the conflict.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
