the President of The United States, Donald Trump has confirmed that he wants to reduce the number of American soldiers in Germany to 25,000. Trump said on Monday at an event at the White house on the grounds that Germany would refuse, the defence expenditure so as to increase the self-imposed, Nato-objective to be met. Currently over 34,500 American soldiers are stationed in Germany. Trump spoke of 52,000 soldiers. In this figure, approximately 17,000 American civilians are likely to be in the service of the armed forces included.
The President also criticised: “Why Germany pays Russia billions of dollars for energy, then we have to protect Germany from Russia? How is that going to work? It doesn’t work.“ Trump played, among other things, on the Baltic sea Pipeline Nord Stream 2, which aims to bring Gas from Russia to Germany, bypassing Ukraine and Poland. The United States wants to prevent Nord Stream 2 and have imposed at the end of last year sanctions.
Trump accused Germany on Monday in addition to the disadvantage of the United States in trade. The negotiations with the EU on a trade agreement were not yet to his satisfaction. With a view to the Nato Trump added that Germany was one of the few member States that have not agreed to the self-imposed Nato target for defence spending. “Germany has for years been in default and the Nato owes billions of dollars, and you have to pay for it.”
