Earlier, US President Donald Trump was reported by the Wall Street Journal to have directed the Department of Defence to pull 9,500 US troops from Germany by September, with the total number of US troops stationed in Germany at any one time potentially slashed from 52,000 to 25,000.
News of US President Donald Trump's intention to pull 9,500 troops from Germany is starting to hit home, triggering a spate of responses.
Voicing his regret over the planned withdrawal, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in an interviewf or Bild am Sonntag that his country's relationship with the United States was “complicated”.
The minister acknowledged problems plaguing Germany's relationship with the United States, saying:
Senior lawmakers from German Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling conservative bloc were more critical of the move, which would slash US forces in Germany by slightly more than a quarter.
Tobias Lindner, a Green party lawmaker, was cited as recalling Donald Trump's appearances at NATO summits, where he in numerous instances called out US allies, including Berlin, for inadequate defence spending, slamming Germany as “a captive to Russia” for adhering to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.
Edgar Knobloch, mayor of the town of Grafenwoehr, located near the former East German border, was quoted by the outlet as voicing disappointment at the reported US move. The town has roughly 11,000 US troops based at NATO's biggest training area in Europe.
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