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Westerwelle presses for removal of US nukes from German soil

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Berlin, Mar 2, IRNA -- German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Tuesday reaffirmed the need for the withdrawal of American nuclear weapons from his country.

Westerwelle hailed alleged US plans to reduce its nuclear arsenal by thousands of weapons.

"It encourages me to continue pushing for disarmament in NATO, and in particular to work towards the withdrawal of the last remaining nuclear weapons stationed in Germany," he said in Berlin.

Westerwelle stressed disarmament was an crucial element of preserving a peaceful world without nuclear proliferation.

His remarks came as US President Barack Obama was to discuss a new nuclear strategy at the White House on Monday.

According to the New York Times, the US administration has been exploring with European allies the withdrawal of US tactical nuclear weapons from Europe.

At least 20 American atomic warheads are reportedly deployed underground at a German air base in the southwestern town of Buechel where they can be mounted on German-made Tornado fighter jets.

Berlin has been at odds with Washington over the need to maintain nuclear deterrence, sparking new tensions in transatlantic relations.

Westerwelle openly defied calls by his American colleague Hillary Clinton not to question the continued importance of having a nuclear deterrence by urging NATO to discuss the nuclear disarmament issue at its next meeting in the Estonian capital Tallin in April.

Westerwelle who has been outspoken in his demands for the withdrawal of US atomic weapons from German territory, has reportedly drafted a letter to NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in which he and his counterparts from the Benelux countries and Norway calling on the western military alliance to discuss NATO's future nuclear strategy.

The letter was scheduled to be sent to the NATO headquarters in the Belgian capital Brussels over the next few days, the Hamburg-based weekly news magazine Der Spiegel reported earlier.

Westerwelle said earlier American nuclear weapons were "no longer serving Germany's security interests."

OT**1412

End News / IRNA / News Code 990734