Germany rejects Russian criticism of new naval headquarters

German Ambassador to Russia Alexander Graf Lambsdorff on Tuesday confirmed that he had been summoned by the Russian Foreign Ministry over the opening of a new Baltic Sea naval headquarters in the German port city of Rostock.

Moscow claims that the establishment of the site, which will also host NATO allies, is a "blatant breach" of the terms of the Two-Plus-Four Agreement — signed around the time of German reunification in 1990 — prohibiting the stationing of NATO troops on former East German territory.

"Washington, Brussels and Berlin must be aware that the expansion of NATO's military infrastructure into the territory of the former East Germany will have extremely negative consequences and will not go without a corresponding response from the Russian side," said a Russian Foreign Ministry statement.

The Rostock headquarters, inaugurated by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Monday, is designed to beef up NATO defenses on the Baltic in the face of Russian aggression.

Germany vehemently denies naval base violates treaty

Pistorius rejected the idea that the Command Task Force Baltic (CTF) in any way violates the terms of the Two-Plus-Four Agreement, saying the new headquarters would serve to plan maritime operations and drills, as well as to lead naval forces assigned by NATO during times of peace, crisis and war.

Singling out Germany, the Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that the establishment of the Rostock headquarters was just the latest instance of "the creeping revision of the results of the Second World War and the militarization of the country."

Germany's Federal Foreign Office rejected Russia's claims, saying Lambsdorff "very clearly denied that the [Two-Plus-Four] treaty had been violated."

Lambsdorff said he told his Russian counterparts that "the transformation of the German maritime command into the 'Commander Task Force Baltic' is in accordance with the Two-Plus-Four Treaty," and added that "the assignment of German armed forces to the structures of NATO is also permitted under the Two-Plus-Four Treaty."

Lambsdorff said he also took the opportunity to voice harsh criticism of the reported deployment of North Korean troops to assist in Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine.

The strategic importance of the Baltic has been on display since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, as well as the Kremlin's repeated threats to Kyiv's Western allies. It is a key supply route for NATO forces and one which NATO claims is being exploited by Russia's navy for purposes of spying.

Russia's naval presence on the Baltic is based in the exclave of Kaliningrad as well as in the port of St. Petersburg.

js/wd (AFP, dpa)

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