U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that he plans to make good on his promise to reduce the number of U.S. troops serving on bases in Germany, to a chorus of criticism from German ministers.
Trump claimed last week that there were 52,000 American troops in Germany, although the real figure, according to the Pentagon, is closer to 35,000.
"We're protecting Germany, and they're delinquent," Trump said a few days ago, adding that Germany owes money to NATO. Whether that is strictly true or not is a matter of debate - in fact, Germany does not currently meet its NATO spending target - but then again, neither do 22 other countries of the 29 that belong to NATO.
"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, Germany's Foreign Minister, said during a state visit to Poland yesterday, as quoted by The Guardian.
More than half of the American troops deployed in Europe are based in Germany.