After the announced withdrawal of US troops, the ruling party in Germany called for renewed negotiations with Russia. This would allow Europe to "regain a role that involved deterrence and wise diplomacy," noted the SPD representative.
Rolf Mützenich, the former chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) faction in the Bundestag, continues to bet on diplomacy in relations with Russia. In light of the planned reduction of the US military presence in Europe, he called for disarmament negotiations with Moscow. It is extremely important now to strive for "the removal of Russian medium-range missiles with nuclear warheads from Belarus and the Kaliningrad region," Mützenich stated in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung published on Sunday, May 3. Further steps, in his opinion, could be "integrated into a comprehensive arms control policy process."
Rolf Mützenich also pointed to the US decision not to deploy Tomahawk medium-range missiles in Germany, which was announced the day before. According to the SPD representative, through his supported disarmament initiative, Europe could "regain a role that in the past involved deterrence and wise diplomacy."
The SPD is part of the ruling coalition in Germany as the junior partner of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc. Mützenich has previously spoken out in favor of dialogue with Moscow. In June 2025, he signed a manifesto from a faction of social democrats calling for a reassessment of relations with Russia.
Reuters and FT: The US Will Not Deploy a Battalion with Tomahawk Missiles in Germany The day before, Reuters and the Financial Times reported that the US would not deploy a battalion equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of up to 2500 kilometers in Germany. Berlin had previously insisted on implementing this step as a powerful means of deterring Russia.
The battalion was supposed to be deployed by the end of the year. The measure was planned for the period while Europe develops such missiles independently. The decision was agreed upon in 2024 under then-President Joe Biden and then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated at the time that this step was intended to eliminate a "capability gap."
Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed on the ARD channel on May 3 that the US would not be deploying Tomahawk cruise missiles in Germany for now. "The Americans currently lack them themselves. Objectively, there is practically no way for the US to transfer military systems of this kind," he stated, noting, however, that "the train has not left yet."
Commenting on the withdrawal of some US troops from Germany, Merz noted that "there is nothing new in this." According to him, it concerns a contingent that Biden had stationed in Germany on a temporary basis, and whose withdrawal had been discussed for a long time. He also rejected any connection between the actions of the US administration and his indirect discussion with Trump regarding the war in Iran. He assured that there would be no consequences for the US nuclear umbrella in NATO countries.
