Russia protests NATO’s new naval command center in Germany, warns of retaliation

MOSCOW / BERLIN — The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a strong protest to the German ambassador over the establishment of a new NATO naval command center in Rostock, on the Baltic Sea. Moscow warned that this action would not go unanswered.

The ministry’s statement emphasized that Washington, Brussels, and Berlin should understand that NATO’s military expansion into former East Germany would have serious negative consequences. It further argued that the new center violates the 1990 German reunification treaty, which prohibited the deployment of foreign armed forces in the region.

On Monday, Germany inaugurated the new command center, aimed at bolstering defense readiness in the Baltic Sea region amid the ongoing Russian offensive against Ukraine. The center, commanded by a German admiral, includes personnel from 11 NATO countries.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius explained that the center’s mission is to coordinate naval operations in the Baltic Sea and provide NATO with comprehensive maritime situational awareness.

German Ambassador to Russia Alexander Graf Lambsdorff confirmed he had been summed by Moscow over the issue. However, Germany’s Federal Foreign Office dismissed Russia’s assertions, stating that Lambsdorff “unequivocally denied any violation of the [Two-Plus-Four] treaty.”

Lambsdorff explained to his Russian counterparts that “the conversion of the German maritime command into the ‘Commander Task Force Baltic’ complies with the Two-Plus-Four Treaty,” adding that “the integration of German armed forces into NATO structures is also allowed under the treaty.”