German defence minister to meet US counterpart in Washington over Russia threat
Boris Pistorius was previously snubbed by Pete Hegseth amid tensions between the two countries over Ukraine and Iran
The German defence minister will meet with Pete Hegseth in Washington, in a surprising U-turn after being snubbed by the Pentagon chief earlier this year.
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Boris Pistorius will meet with the US defence secretary during his visit to the US, which will focus on rolling out the F-35 warplanes purchased by Germany, according to defence officials.
Tensions have been simmering between the two countries over the wars in Iran and Ukraine.
In May, President Trump ordered 5,000 troops to be withdrawn from Germany after German President Friedrich Merz criticised Washington’s approach to Iran.
It is estimated that the repositioning of the troops will take around a year to finalise.
The two men are expected to discuss Russia’s latest attempted Russian drone attack at an airport in Germany, as well as a Pentagon review of Washington’s military presence in Europe.
Read more: Top Russian diplomat summoned by UK after attack on German airport
Germany previously blamed Russia for the attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig airport in August.
On August 4, workers found a drone laden with explosives and a detonator at the airport, which is an important civilian freight and NATO logistics hub in eastern Germany that is also a base for several giant Ukrainian Antonov An-124 cargo planes.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Tuesday that the Leipzig airport attack followed the "well-established pattern of Russian hybrid operations in Europe", and the assumption was that Germany would be targeted again.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who was standing beside Dobrindt at a press conference in Berlin, said he would order the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn.
He also said the contract for the Russian House in Berlin will be terminated - which many observers have said has been used for espionage and to spread Russian propaganda.
Russia will respond to Germany's "anti-Russian actions", Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday, according to Interfax news agency.
Germany had previously stopped short of blaming Russia but called the incident part of a hybrid war being waged on Europe.
Relations between Russia and the West collapsed after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
European intelligence officials have long monitored what they describe as Russian sabotage incidents in Europe aimed at weakening NATO's unity and its member states' willingness to support Ukraine against Russian aggression.
The head of Nato, Mark Rutte, said the organisation "stands in full solidarity with Germany".
"The evidence is clear. And I welcome the measures announced by Germany in response," he wrote on X.
Andy Burnham has condemned Russia’s “egregious and reckless attack” on a German airport last month and backed the country’s retaliatory measures.
The Prime Minister said in a statement: “The United Kingdom stands in full solidarity with Germany following Russia’s egregious and reckless attack in Leipzig.
“Russian attempts to undermine our united resolve and our willingness to support Ukraine are futile and doomed to fail.
“As I made clear in Kyiv last week, our commitment to supporting Ukraine from Russia’s illegal invasion is ironclad.
“The strong measures taken by the German government show action against any attack of this nature will be met with a clear response.
“We will not waver in our resolve to deter attacks on our freedom and security.”