Germany wants U.S. nukes out

BERLIN, April 14 (UPI) -- German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier wants Washington to remove the U.S. nuclear warheads stationed in Germany.

"These weapons are militarily obsolete," Steinmeier said, according to German newsmagazine Der Spiegel, adding that for U.S. President Barack Obama's vision of a nuclear-free world to come true, America should start by ridding Germany of the American warheads stationed here. He urged the United States to include the scrapping of "weapons in this category" in talks at a disarmament conference planned by Washington.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has in the past argued that having nukes in Germany elevated the country's security profile within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but Steinmeier disagrees.

While their overall number has greatly decreased since the end of the Cold War, roughly 100 U.S. nuclear warheads are still stationed in several European countries, including Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Turkey.

Steinmeier and Merkel face off in parliamentary elections later this year, and they have begun to position themselves differently on several issues.