Merkel: Europe must think about its place in a world not led by the US

SANAA, June 27 (YPA) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe should think carefully about its place in the new reality in which the United States will not seek to play the role of world leader.

“We grew up with the knowledge that the United States wants to be a global power,” Merkel told some European media published Saturday night.

“If the United States now wants to stop playing this role of its own will, we must think deeply about this,” Merkel said.

Commenting on the issue of US President Donald Trump’s reduction in the number of his country’s troops in Germany, Merkel argued that the US military presence in Central Europe responds to Washington’s interests

“US forces on German soil contribute not only to the protection of Germany and the European part of NATO, but also to the interests of the United States itself,” she said.

“We in Germany know that we have to spend more on defense, we have made significant increases (of these amounts) in recent years, and we will continue to follow this path to strengthen our military capabilities.”

The German government is facing increasing criticism from the United States over Berlin’s “low” defense spending as part of its NATO commitment, particularly during the Trump presidency, which recently announced its intention to withdraw 9,500 US troops from Germany.

E.M