Germany says it is prepared for possible US troop cuts, stresses importance of transatlantic ties
US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz meet in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 3, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
United States President Donald Trump criticised German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday, saying he should focus on trying to end the Russia-Ukraine war and spend “less time on interfering” with the effort to tackle “the Iran nuclear threat”.
Trump has been sparring with Merz over the war in Iran in recent days. On Tuesday, he said Merz didn’t know what he was talking about after the German leader said the Iranians were humiliating the US in talks to end the two-month-old war.
Trump made his comments in a Truth Social post.
“The chancellor of Germany should spend more time on ending the war with Russia/Ukraine (Where he has been totally ineffective!), and fixing his broken country, especially immigration and energy, and less time on interfering with those that are getting rid of the Iran nuclear threat, thereby making the world, including Germany, a safer place!” Trump said.
Earlier today, Germany said it was “prepared” for a possible reduction in US troops threatened by Trump, while also stressing the importance of a “reliable transatlantic partnership”.
Trump had said on Wednesday that the US was considering redeploying some of the tens of thousands of US troops stationed in Germany amid a row with Merz over the war in Iran.
Speaking during a visit to Morocco, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said: “We are prepared for that, we are discussing it closely and in a spirit of trust in all NATO bodies, and we are expecting decisions from the Americans about this.”
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Any such decisions would “be discussed with us and with others, as is proper among allies”, he said.
Merz earlier said that Germany’s approach to the war in the Middle East “remains oriented toward a united NATO and a reliable transatlantic partnership”.
Berlin was “in close and trusting contact with our partners, including and especially in Washington”, he said, without directly mentioning the Trump threat.
“We are doing this in our shared transatlantic interest. We are doing it with mutual respect and a fair sharing of burdens,” he added.
“This transatlantic partnership is particularly close to our hearts — both to us as a whole and to me personally, as you know.”
Merz became a target of Trump’s ire after saying earlier this week that Iran was “humiliating” Washington at the negotiating table.
Trump said on Tuesday that Merz “thinks it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about!”
Then on Wednesday, in a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the US was considering reducing the number of its troops in Germany.
Wadephul said that the idea of US troop reduction was “to be honest, not at all a new message”, adding that the prospect had been raised by previous US presidents.
While saying he was “relaxed” about the idea of fewer US troops in Germany, Wadephul said that large American bases in Germany are “not up for discussion at all”.
He said, for example, that the Ramstein Air Base had “an irreplaceable function for the United States and for us alike”.
