United States to station more soldiers in Germany

BERLIN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The United States would increase its forces in Germany by 500 soldiers, United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said here on Tuesday.

The soldiers are expected to be stationed in the area of the German city Wiesbaden as early as this fall, Austin told a press conference after a meeting with Germany's Minister of Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

Austin said the new forces would "strengthen deterrence and defense in Europe," adding that the deployment of the additional soldiers was also a U.S. commitment to Germany as an ally.

Last summer, then U.S. President Donald Trump had announced the withdrawal of 12,000 of the around 35,000 U.S. troops in Germany. His successor Joe Biden had already halted the troop withdrawal.

The United States and Germany were "connected by a long, intensive, trusting and friendly cooperation," said Kramp-Karrenbauer during the press conference.

The fact that the United States had refrained from withdrawing the troops and, on the contrary, were even reinforcing the troops in Germany was a "very strong sign also of solidarity," Kramp-Karrenbauer said.