German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius cautioned against rushing to conclusions after President Donald Trump announced plans to reduce US troop levels in Germany, saying the move was not unexpected.
“This needs to be put into perspective; it is not really surprising, perhaps only the timing is,” he said during a visit to Bundeswehr troops in Munster on Monday.
Even if around 5,000 troops were ultimately withdrawn as promised by Trump, “that’s just how it would be,” Pistorius said, adding that such a move would not weaken NATO capabilities.
The announcement came after Trump sharply criticized Chancellor Friedrich Merz over remarks suggesting Iran had the upper hand in negotiations with the US administration.
Separately, media reports said the US Department of Defense had dropped plans to station a unit in Germany responsible for operating and maintaining intermediate-range missile systems.
At a NATO summit two years ago, Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden pledged to deploy conventionally armed intermediate-range missiles in Germany for the first time since the Cold War, as a deterrent capable of reaching Russia.
Pistorius called for faster production of weapons systems already ordered and paid for under the Bundeswehr’s €100 billion ($117 billion) special fund, which was created in 2022 and is now almost fully committed.