The 'U.S. government has agreed to allow Germany to acquire 'Tomahawk?cruise missiles?and station them on German territory, Chancellor Friedrich Merz told lawmakers in Berlin on Thursday. The German government will acquire Tomahawk cruise missiles and station them in Germany, Friedrich Merz informed lawmakers on Thursday.

Merz stated that he met with Washington on the sidelines the NATO summit at 'Ankara in order to seal the deal. He added that the summit had exceeded his expectations.

He said: "By doing this, we are closing a crucial strategic 'gap' in our defense, while simultaneously working to develop and station our own European systems in Europe."

It was unclear what would happen to the Tomahawks after President Donald Trump announced, in May, that he planned to reduce the U.S. military presence in Germany. This had been perceived as a cancellation of an earlier plan by the previous administration which was to 'deploy' a U.S. Battalion equipped with long-range Tomahawk missiles in Germany.

Berlin has called for this'move' as a "powerful deterrent" against Russia, while Europeans are developing such weapons. (Reporting and editing by Andreas Rinke, Miranda Murray)

(source: Reuters)