MOSCOW, June 16./TASS/. Moscow is not going to assess US plans to cut the numerical strength of its military contingent in Germany, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told an online news conference on Tuesday.
"As for relations between the United States and Germany, we don’t want to give our own assessments whatsoever. We are monitoring discussions in this regard, including the issue of a partial withdrawal of American military from the federal republic, German officials make statements, discussion is underway in the German parliament. This is the issue that I would not want to comment on," Lavrov said.
"I will say only one thing, we are in favor of restart of a normal dialogue on military issues with all countries that are members of the North Atlantic Alliance in order to consider in package, as a whole all issues of ensuring military-political security on the European continent, in the Euro-Atlantic space in a broader context, on the basis of an objective analysis, on the basis of an objective assessment of the risks and threats existing there," Lavrov said.
He emphasized that Russia’s proposals on decreasing tensions along the Russia-NATO line of contact were well known. "They were handed to the US and to NATO as the organization, but we have received no concrete answers to them as of yet. They remain on the table, and when NATO will be up to it, we will be ready for concrete moves towards de-escalation," the foreign minister said.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump announced that the US was planning to cut the strength of its military contingent in Germany to 25,000 people unless Germany pays more to NATO. As many as 52,000 US military are stationed in Germany on a permanent basis presently.