Steinmeier: Troops in Germany are also in US’ interest

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expects the US to maintain a military presence in Germany, despite the announced withdrawal of several thousand troops. 

He said in Helsinki on Thursday that he believed the US understood that stationing troops in Germany at key locations such as Ramstein was also in their own strategic interest. "We trust and rely on that," he said.

At the joint press conference with Steinmeier, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb expressed his conviction that the US would continue to come to the aid of its European allies in the event of Russian aggression. "I believe that the US security guarantees apply and will continue to apply." 

The Russian nuclear weapons stationed 100 kilometres from the Finnish border are in reality not aimed at Helsinki, Stockholm or Oslo, but at Washington and New York, he added.

Steinmeier urged Europeans to stay calm in the face of a steady stream of new statements and announcements from US President Donald Trump. 

Stubb welcomed Germany’s emergence as a leading political and military force in Europe since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

"This is in the interests of the whole of Europe. A stronger Germany means a stronger Europe." What Germany is now doing for its defence is not only in Germany’s interests, but in the interests of European security as a whole, he added.