Berlin (dpa) – German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressed his relief on Friday at a move to block President Donald Trump’s plan to withdraw 12,000 US troops from Germany.
“Of course we are pleased that there appears to be agreement between Republicans and Democrats in Washington to put all this up for debate again,” Maas said in Berlin.
Germany’s top diplomat assured the future US government that US soldiers are welcome in his country.
“Their presence not only contributes to German security, it strengthens the security of all of Europe and beyond,” Maas said.
Democrat president-elect Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated on January 20 after defeating Trump in the November election.
US lawmakers announced a final version of a mammoth annual defence spending bill on Thursday which would halt the outgoing Republican leader’s planned troop withdrawal.
The legislation, which still needs to be passed by Congress, would forbid a withdrawal of any of the approximately 34,500 US troops in Germany until 120 days after the defence secretary submits to Congress an analysis of the impact of the withdrawal.
The bill, which also seeks to restrict or complicate troop withdrawals from Afghanistan or South Korea, amounts to a rare bipartisan rebuke of Trump’s foreign policy.
Be the first to comment on "German foreign minister welcomes move to block US troop withdrawal"