BBC: Germany’s defence minister has said the US decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from his country was “foreseeable”, as the Nato military alliance says it is seeking clarification from Washington.
Speaking to the DPA news agency, Boris Pistorius also stressed “the presence of American soldiers in Europe, and particularly in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the US”.
Meanwhile Nato spokeswoman Allison Hart said the alliance was “working with the US to understand the details of their decision”.
Washington’s move comes after President Donald Trump criticised German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for saying the US had been “humiliated” by Iranian negotiators in the ongoing war.
The US military deployment in Germany – currently at more than 36,000 active duty troops – is by far its biggest in Europe, compared with about 12,000 in Italy and 10,000 in the UK.
Asked about the cuts to troops in Germany on Saturday night, Trump said: “We’re going to cut way down, and we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000.” He did not provide more details.
Trump has also suggested pulling US troops from Italy and Spain.
Last year, Washington decided to reduce its troop presence in Romania, as part of Trump’s plan to shift the focus of US military commitment from Europe to the Indo-Pacific region.
There are now growing concerns within the 32-member Nato alliance that the US latest decision could weaken the organisation.
“The greatest threat to the transatlantic community are not its external enemies, but the ongoing disintegration of our alliance,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Saturday.
“We must all do what it takes to reverse this disastrous trend,” he added.
And two senior US lawmakers from Trump’s Republican party said that they were “very concerned by the decision to withdraw a US brigade from Germany”.
“Rather than withdrawing forces from the continent altogether, it is in the US interest to maintain a strong deterrent in Europe,” said Senator Roger Wicker and Representative Mike Rogers, who chair the Senate and House armed services committees respectively.
