Russia to exit 1996 Military-Technical pact with Germany amid “Open Hostility”

Moscow calls Berlin’s policies “aggressive and militaristic,” vows to revoke the cooperation deal and launch countermeasures against German journalists in Russia

Moscow: Russia on Thursday announced it will withdraw from the 1996 military-technical cooperation agreement with Germany, calling the pact “meaningless” under current strained bilateral relations.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the agreement “has lost its meaning and practical significance” amid what it described as the Federal Republic of Germany’s “openly hostile policy” and “increasingly aggressive militaristic aspirations.”

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Moscow accused German authorities of “deliberately ideologically processing” Germany’s population in an anti-Russian vein and of openly provoking an escalation of the military-political situation. “The government of the FRG is bursting with exorbitant foreign policy ambitions that directly affect vital Russian interests in the field of security. The results of Germany’s military adventures are well known,” the statement added.

In addition to ending the 1996 accord, Russia is preparing retaliatory measures after what it terms the “persecution” of Russian journalists in Berlin. At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, spokesperson Maria Zakharova said candidates are being selected among German journalists working in Moscow “to take appropriate countermeasures against them.”

The move follows reports of German police targeting a Russian journalist and his family in Berlin and earlier allegations by the Russian Foreign Ministry that Germany is employing various methods to oust Russia’s media presence from its information space.