The Pentagon has decided to withdraw 9.5 thousand military personnel from Germany to Italy and Belgium, where the headquarters of U.S. forces in Europe will be moved, the Wall Street Journal reported citing sources.
It is reported that the headquarters of the European Command of the U.S. Armed Forces will be moved from Germany to Belgium. Head of the Pentagon Mark Esper will inform about this decision on Wednesday.
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump promised to reduce the number of U.S. military personnel in Germany from 34.5 thousand to 25 thousand, as Berlin has overdue its payments to NATO. Poland stated that it was ready to finance the presence of American troops on its territory and offered the U.S. to host the American Armored Division on a permanent basis, assuming the costs – about 1.5-2 billion dollars. And this proposal was put forward outside NATO bilaterally. Polish President Andrzej Duda proposed to name the Fort Trump base.