WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th July, 2020) US forces would be welcomed by Latvia if the Trump administration follows through on plans to pull thousands of American troops out of Germany, Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabrinks told a forum sponsored by the Brookings Institution in Washington.
"This is an official announcement," Pabrinks said on Thursday. "We are ready to receive also a certain amount of American troops on the Latvian soil. We are ready to invest in this."
The US administration proposes cutting American troop strength in Germany of nearly 35,000 to about 25,000 in a dispute over Berlin's inability or unwillingness to meet a NATO commitment for each nation to spend 2 percent of annual gross domestic product on defense.
Pabrinks said Latvia does not want to compete with Germany for US forces and continues to press Berlin to boost defense spending. But he also said it was unlikely the nation would ever meet the 2 percent, given its current leadership and lack of public support for the military.
