Trump says he does not understand why US should defend Germany from Russia
US President Donald Trump said he does not understand why the US should defend Germany from Russia, according to TASS.
"Germany pays Russia billions of dollars a year for Energy, and we are supposed to protect Germany from Russia. What’s that all about?" he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday, commenting on Washington’s decision to pull part of the US contingent out of Germany.
He also reproached Berlin for not spending sufficient amount of funds to support NATO’s collective defense.
"Also, Germany is very delinquent in their 2% fee to NATO. We are therefore moving some troops out of Germany!" he tweeted.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced that the US would pull 11,900 troops out of Germany. He said that the US would bring about 6,400 forces home and relocate about 5,600 troops to Italy and Belgium. The US will keep no more than 25,000 servicemen in Germany.