Berlin says Washington benefits from US troops in Germany
Germany's top officials on Tuesday voiced concerns about the
possible withdrawal of US troops, for possible redeployment to Poland.
It was important for European and American security that US
soldiers remain in Germany, said Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
"We think that
the US presence in Germany is important for the security not just of Germany
but also for the security of the United States and especially for the security
of Europe," Heiko Maas said while visiting Poland.
US President Donald Trump announced on Monday he would cut
the number stationed in the country because Germany was "delinquent"
in contributions to NATO, also saying that it had treated the United States
"badly" on trade.
'NATO is not a trade organization'
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said:
"NATO is not a trade organization, and security is not a commodity,"
at an event in Berlin later on Tuesday.
"NATO is founded on solidarity, on trust. And it is
based on common values and common interests," Kramp-Karrenbauer said at
the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung think tank tied to her Christian Democrats.
Kramp-Karrenbauer admitted that it was currently "a bit
of an agitated time" for German-US ties, with the odd "more shrill
tone" dominating the discussion. Maintaining flexibility and tolerance in
relationships was also key to maintaining them, she added.
Back in Warsaw, Mass told reporters that he had not yet been
briefed on how and when any redeployment might take place.
"Neither the State Department nor the Pentagon has been
able to provide any information about this," he said, adding that any
changes to Europe's security architecture "definitely need to be talked
about."
Backup from Poland
At a joint press conference with Maas, Polish Foreign
Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said he did not see a link between the boosting of
US troops numbers in Poland and any withdrawal from Germany.
"I want to underline that these talks [with the US]
have no connection with the recent US declarations and US-German relations
concerning the presence of, or reduction of, US forces in Germany," he
said. "From our standpoint, US forces in Germany also serve our security.
We would want that presence in Germany to be continued."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also backed Maas on
Tuesday, the eve of two days of video meetings between the alliance's defense
ministers.
"What matters for me is that we maintain credible
deterrence and defense, and that we maintain the strong link between North
America and Europe."
Trump on Monday told reporters there were 52,000 US soldiers
stationed in Germany and that he would bring that down to 25,000.
However, the Pentagon says there are only between 34,000 and
35,000 US soldiers permanently stationed in Germany. The overall number can
only temporarily top 50,000 when deployments are being rotated.
Ironically, because of the coronavirus, there's a reasonable
chance that Germany might come far closer to NATO's spending target of 2% of
GDP for defense this year. That's because a considerable reduction in Germany's
GDP seems likely in 2020. Its defense budget as such has risen only slightly in
recent years, and equated to 1.22% of GDP in 2019.
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