BERLIN
Germany has warned Russia Wednesday that its plans to stock up its missile arsenal constituted an unnecessary escalation reminiscent of the Cold War.
"I find Russia's plans to increase the number of its strategic ballistic missiles completely unnecessary," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a press briefing Wednesday following a meeting with his Italian counterpart, Paolo Gentiloni in Berlin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles would be added to the country's nuclear arsenal.
Steinmeier warned against acting on such "old Cold War reflexes" that only "escalate tension".
"We must be careful not to destroy the peaceful environment built in Europe after the fall of the [Berlin] wall," he added.
Putin said the Russian army’s weapons were being renewed in a scheduled program and that, by 2020, at least 70 percent of the army would be using new generation weapons.
He added that a new radar system controlling "the western strategic area" would be tested in the upcoming months and a similar system would be established for operations in the east.
