German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the announcement of the withdrawal of 5,000 US troops from Germany was predictable, citing shared interests with the United States.
“The presence of US troops in Europe, and especially in Germany, is in our interest as well as that of the United States,“ Pistorius told the DPA news agency. At the same time, he made it clear that the decision was not unexpected. The fact that the US will reduce its forces in Europe and Germany, according to the German Defense Minister, “was predictable“.
“We work closely with the Americans in Ramstein, Grafenwöhr, Frankfurt and elsewhere for peace and security in Europe, for Ukraine and for joint deterrence“, said Pistorius. He added that the US has also concentrated other military functions at its bases in Germany, related, for example, to its security policy interests in Africa and the Middle East.
At the same time, the German Defense Minister stressed that NATO must become more European in order to remain a transatlantic alliance. “We Europeans must take more responsibility for our security”, said Pistorius. He believes that Germany is on the right track: the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) is expanding, the supply of equipment is being accelerated and the necessary infrastructure is being created. The minister announced that he would coordinate further tasks with partners from the European military “Group of Five”, which in addition to Germany includes Britain, France, Poland and Italy.
Earlier, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Sean Parnell announced that Pentagon Secretary of State Pete Hegseth had ordered the withdrawal of 5,000 US troops from Germany. He said that the withdrawal of troops is expected to be completed within the next six to twelve months.