German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called for "new thinking" on disarmament policy on Saturday, announcing a German initiative aimed at improving control over increasingly technologically sophisticated weaponry.

In an interview with the daily Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, Maas said, "Our rules need to keep pace with the technological developments of new types of arms.

"I am also thinking of fully automated weapons systems that can kill entirely independent of human control," he said. Space-based weapons and missiles that can travel many times faster than the speed of sound may sound like science fiction today, but will soon become "deadly reality," he added.

Concrete details about the German initiative remain unknown.

China slips through the 'holes'

Maas' announcement came six weeks after US President Donald Trump announced he would be taking the US out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia. Signed in 1987 with the then Soviet Union, the arms control treaty outlined the elimination of land-based mid-range missiles and launchers.

German reactions to Trump's threat to ditch nuclear treaty with Russia Merkel's government 'regrets' Trump's decision German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government voiced immediate concern over US President Donald Trump's threats to pull out of the INF nuclear arms treaty with Russia. Berlin said it "regrets" Washington's decision, adding that it urged Russia to "dispel the serious doubts about its adherence to the treaty that had arisen as a result of a new type of Russian missile."

German reactions to Trump's threat to ditch nuclear treaty with Russia Foreign Ministry: US move puts Europe at risk German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that Trump's move poses "difficult questions for us and for Europe" since the INF treaty is "an important pillar of our European security architecture."

German reactions to Trump's threat to ditch nuclear treaty with Russia Defense minister urges NATO involvement Maintaining the level of security in Europe was the primary concern of German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen. "Regardless of whether the treaty has to be saved or renegotiated, it is important that all NATO states be included in the discussion," she told reporters during a trip to China.

German reactions to Trump's threat to ditch nuclear treaty with Russia Nobel-winners urge action from Germany The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which won a Nobel Peace Prize last year, called on Berlin to intervene in the tug-of-war between the US and Russia. The potential threat to people living in Europe is massive, warned Johannes Mikeska, the head of ICAN's Germany branch. "That's why it is urgent for the German government to now mediate between the US and Russia," he said.

German reactions to Trump's threat to ditch nuclear treaty with Russia Greens: Ban all US nukes from Germany The Greens described Trump's move as "absolutely fatal." Annalena Baerbock, the co-leader of the Greens, urged Merkel's government to take a stand against Washington by getting rid of the US nuclear weapons still stationed in Germany. "If the German government is serious about its appeals to the US government, it must now say: 'We are ending Germany's nuclear participation,'" she said.

German reactions to Trump's threat to ditch nuclear treaty with Russia FDP leader backs Trump's argument Christian Lindner, the leader of the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), said although he thinks Trump's decision is "dangerous," Washington's reasoning was sound. "What's correct is that Putin isn't adhering to the INF!" Lindner wrote on Twitter. The FDP chief also slammed the Greens' proposal to remove US weapons from Germany, saying it would leave Germany "defenseless."

German reactions to Trump's threat to ditch nuclear treaty with Russia Germany, Europe 'extremely worried' The deputy leader of the FDP, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, told DW that he was deeply concerned about the type of cruise missiles that were prohibited by the treaty. He noted that it "concerns a category of weapons that would reach Europe — not the continental United States." He added that he believes the treaty can be saved "if all sides share the intention of avoiding a really ruinous arms race." Author: Rebecca Staudenmaier



In his announcement, Trump complained that Russia had been violating the treaty.

China is not a signatory to the INF treaty, and analysts believed that US desire to counter Chinese missile build-up played a role in Trump's decision.

Maas also pointed out China's absence from existing disarmament initiatives.

"There are holes in some of the current rules," he said, adding that these let China build up its arms without oversight.

Read more: INF Treaty: Would US dropout begin an arms race with China?

Maas also announced that NATO foreign ministers would discuss the status of the INF treaty at an upcoming meeting in Brussels on December 4, with the aim of winning support from European partners for new global arms control measures.

cmb/sms (dpa, AFP)

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