German chancellor announces plan to purchase US Tomahawk missiles

• Hailing Ankara summit, German leader says: 'NATO is united, strong, and self-assured'
  

Germany and the US have sealed a deal to buy American Tomahawk missiles, Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Thursday.

“We also agreed with the US government on the sidelines of the NATO meeting in Ankara that we would purchase US Tomahawk missiles and station them in Germany. This will help us close an important strategic gap in our defense,” Merz said in a speech to parliament on the state of current affairs following this week's NATO summit in the Turkish capital.

“And at the same time, we will work to develop our own European systems and station them in Europe,” he added.

The Pentagon had initially planned to cancel the sale of Tomahawk missiles to Germany partly because officials were concerned Russia would view it as an escalation.

Merz further said that while “NATO is and will remain a transatlantic alliance,” Europeans “cannot simply outsource our security.”

The German leader also hailed the outcome of the recent NATO summit in Ankara.

“The result exceeds all my expectations. NATO is united, strong, and self-assured,” he said.

Speaking to reporters earlier in Ankara at the conclusion of the two-day summit, he said: “We have taken an important step forward on the path to the new NATO.”

“As of today, NATO is more European than ever. And yet, it remains firmly anchored in the transatlantic partnership,” he added.