STOCKHOLM — During a trip to Stockholm today German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the American withdrawal of troops from Germany does not yet pose a risk to the country’s strategic bases.
“It is a major [step] that the USA is drawing troops from Europe. You know, it’s not yet so far that strategic bases are in danger,” Steinmeier said following a visit to Muskö Naval Base outside Stockholm. “We still have around about 30,000 [to] 37,000 American soldiers, American troops in Germany.”
Steinmeier did not mention any specific strategic bases in his comments. Germany hosts several US military bases, including Ramstein Air Base — the largest US military community outside the United States and home to US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). It is responsible for the only USAFE airlift, airdrop, and evacuation missions. The base also serves as a hub for the American extended nuclear deterrence and nuclear-sharing program with its European partners.
Steinmeier’s comments come just days after a Pentagon spokesman confirmed to Breaking Defense Friday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the withdrawal of roughly 5,000 US troops from Germany over the next year. In a follow up comment, President Donald Trump said it could be “a lot further than 5,000.”
During his comments in Stockholm, Steinmeier stressed: “The only signal we can give, and we should give: The less [the] USA is present in Europe with troops, the more should be done by Europe.”
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson during the visit echoed those sentiments, pointing to the deteriorating security situation on NATO’s northern flank..
The Baltic Sea has “probably not been so challenged in modern times as it is today … [with] sudden damage to underwater cables and things like that. But on the other hand, the Baltic Sea has not been so well protected either in modern times — not least because of all the NATO members now surrounding it in recent years.”
He said that depending on how the war in Ukraine ends “will define the security environment for us for a generation to come.”
