German FM reaffirms call for withdrawal of US nukes
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Berlin, Apr 24, IRNA -- German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier here Friday reiterated the need for the withdrawal of all US nuclear weapons from his country's soil.
"If we wish Europe to be made into a nuclear-free zone, that would also apply to the atomic weapons still left in Germany," Steinmeier said during a parliamentary debate on global nuclear disarmament.
The German minister voiced again support for a call by American President Barack Obama to rid the world of nuclear arms, but cautioned that doing so would "not be easy" and would need lots of patience.
Steinmeier is at odds with Chancellor Angela Merkel who opposes the removal of US nuclear arms in Germany.
While there are no officially confirmed numbers on how many US nuclear weapons are stockpiled at military bases on German territory, but experts have estimated the total at 20.
At least 20 US atomic warheads are reportedly deployed underground at the German air base in the southwestern town of Buechel where they can be mounted on German Tornado fighter planes.
Around 350 American nuclear warheads remain still in Europe, according to various press reports.
Up to 130 warheads had been initially stored at the US Ramstein air force base in southwestern Germany but the weekly Der Spiegel news magazine reported earlier that the arsenal was cleared during renovation work in 2005, and it was likely they were never returned to Germany.
During the Cold War the number of US warheads based in Europe was in the thousands as the highest estimated number topped about 7,000 in 1971.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
