Germany described Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that Russia will station nuclear weapons in Belarus as “irresponsible“ and “escalatory."

German Foreign Office spokesperson Andrea Sasse said the announcement was a “further attempt at nuclear intimidation from Russia."

“We consider this rhetoric irresponsible and expressly reject it,“ Sasse said. “We will, of course, not be swayed in our course of supporting Ukraine in its self-defence.”At the same news conference, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said the announcement is “always also part of a propagandistic approach.”

“These are escalatory steps that are now being continued by the Russian side, at least rhetorically," he said. "The cause, the responsibility for this conflict lies solely in Moscow."

More background: Putin announced on Saturday Russia's plan to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The country neighbors Russia and is one of its closest allies, helping the country launch its initial invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Belarus has had no nuclear weapons on its territory since the early 1990s, when it agreed to transfer all Soviet-era weapons of mass destruction to Russia. Putin said on Saturday that Russia will maintain control over any tactical nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus.

The US State Department told CNN it would “continue to monitor the implications” of Russia’s plan but would not adjust its nuclear weapons strategy.

“We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture nor any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon,” the US State Department said in a statement to CNN on Saturday.