Moscow withdraws landmark army pact with Berlin

(MENAFN) Russia has officially ended its long-running military-technical cooperation agreement with Germany, citing Berlin’s increasing military support for Ukraine and what Moscow describes as openly hostile behavior.

According to a resolution signed on Friday, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has directed the Foreign Ministry to notify Germany that the 1996 agreement, which governed bilateral defense cooperation for nearly 30 years, is no longer in effect.

In July, the Russian Foreign Ministry argued the deal had become obsolete due to Germany's “aggressive” military stance and what it called systematic efforts to condition the public to see Russia as a primary threat. The situation escalated further this week after German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius declared that German soldiers are prepared to fight Russian troops “if deterrence fails and Russia attacks.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded by warning that Germany is “becoming dangerous again.”

Russia has repeatedly denied Western claims of planning to attack NATO, with President Vladimir Putin accusing Western governments of using such narratives to justify rising defense expenditures and to distract from domestic economic issues.

Germany recently announced a plan to boost its defense budget to €153 billion by 2029, up from €86 billion in 2024. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has suggested reinstating compulsory military service, while Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared that diplomatic options with Moscow have been exhausted.

Since the start of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Germany has become Ukraine’s second-largest arms supplier after the United States. German Leopard tanks were notably used by Ukrainian forces during a 2024 raid into Russia’s Kursk Region—the historic site of WWII’s largest tank battle. In May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Germany of overt involvement in the war and warned that Berlin is “repeating historical mistakes.”

Moscow continues to condemn Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, arguing they will not alter the conflict’s outcome but will only prolong the war and increase the risk of escalation.

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