GERMAN MINISTER ADMITS ‘COMPLICATED TIES’ WITH US

Germany’s relationship with the United States is “complicated”, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a newspaper interview, regretting the planned withdrawal of 9,500 US soldiers from Germany after German Chancellor Angela Merkel refused to attend the G7 meeting US President Donald Trump is hosting, Paul Carrel wrote for Reuters on June 7, 2020.

Despite US claims the snub had nothing to do with the withdrawal of US troops, a senior US official admitted that it was Trump who ordered the Pentagon to remove 9,500 troops from Germany. Trump’s grandfather was a German immigrant to the US. 

“Should it come to the withdrawal of part of the U.S. troops, we take note of this. We appreciate the cooperation with the US forces that has developed over decades. It is in the interests of both our countries,” Maas told Bild am Sonntag. Maas acknowledged problems in Germany’s relationship with the US, saying: “We are close partners in the transatlantic alliance. But: It is complicated.”

On Saturday, senior lawmakers from German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling conservative bloc criticized Trump’s decision to order the US military to remove 9,500 troops from Germany. A US official claimed it was General Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, who worked on the withdrawal plan.