BERLIN (Reuters) – German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Friday welcomed an announcement from U.S. President Joe Biden that U.S. troops stationed in Germany will stay.
“We clearly understand this confirmation of America’s commitment to European security, a strong NATO, and a strategically unified West,” she told Reuters, responding to Biden’s speech at the virtual Munich Security Conference on Friday.
“This signal will be noticed and well understood,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said. “It is now up to us to take the hand that Washington has reached out with.”
Kramp-Karrenbauer said standing up for European and Atlantic security was a joint effort and a mutual obligation.
“We need to respond by showing our own commitment to this cause – in our defence spending, in our joint military deployments abroad, the strengthening of NATO, and the capabilities of our armed forces”, she added.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Editing by Paul Carrel)
