German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius early Saturday wanted to reduce the effects of Washington’s decision to reduce the presence of its troops in the country, giving the measure as expected and using it to emphasize the need for Europe to take a greater responsibility for its security.
NATO said it was “working with the United States to understand the details” of The Pentagon’s decision to withdraw troops. The move “underlines Europe’s need to invest more in defence,” NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart said in a statement.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the withdrawal on “ground conditions” after reviewing the US troop build-up in Europe, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement on Friday. The cuts would still leave about 33,000 American troops in Germany.
Trump has also threatened to withdraw US troops from Spain and Italy. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Italian leader Giorgia Meloni, like Germany’s Merz, have been critical of the US-Israel war against Iran.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said he would “probably” withdraw troops from Italy and Spain. He said Italy “hasn’t been of any help to us,” and accused Spain of being “absolutely horrible.”
Victor Jack, Chris Lunday and Rory O’Neill contributed reporting.
