Germany’s foreign minister sees no NATO deterrence gap as US plans troop reduction

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Monday expressed confidence ⁠that there ⁠would not be any shortfall in NATO‘s conventional deterrence ⁠capability in Europe, after Washington announced that it would be drawing down troops in Germany.

“We must understand this as a renewed ⁠call ⁠to develop and deploy our own capabilities more quickly. There is absolutely no way around it,” said Wadephul at ⁠a press conference in Athens.

He added that Germany also needs to seek close dialogue with the ⁠United ‌States ‌on which decisions ⁠have ‌definitely been taken, and which options ⁠Berlin has ⁠to influence those ⁠decisions.