New Arms Race With Russia? German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel Expresses Concerns Over Weapons Race In Europe

Germany’s Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel expressed concern Thursday over the possibility of a new arms race with Russia in Europe. His comments came amid the backdrop of his meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

"We have a concern that a new spiral of the arms race may emerge in Europe," Gabriel said, according to Tass news agency. "It is too early to say now how and in what direction we could advance to prevent this. This concerns both complex solutions and the decisions, on which we have similar stances again. The German-Russian relations are very important for us."

Gabriel’s concerns come as tensions between NATO and Russia flared up in recent months. The 28-bloc nation’s military buildup has concentrated on Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. All these countries have expressed concerns over Russia's growing political and military assertion in the region. However, Moscow dismissed the allegations and accused the U.S. of increasing its geopolitical power along Russia's borders.

In January, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said his country could replace its nuclear weapons arms with high-precision bombs in a bid to reduce tensions with other countries. He also said that Russia does not want to become a part of a possible new arms race.

"By 2021, we plan to go beyond quadrupling the combat capabilities of Russian strategic non-nuclear forces, which will then give us the opportunity to solve the issue of non-nuclear deterrence," Shoigu said at the time. "The Kremlin plans to maintain the country’s current level of national security, developing its 'general-purpose' forces to operate in peacetime and in armed conflicts, including missions against international terrorists."

Also, in January, NATO sent additional troops to the Baltic states and Poland to fortify its southeastern border around the Black Sea. The alliance is seeking to improve intelligence gathering to tackle Russia’s alleged growing assertion in the region.