The US did not legally end its occupation of Germany after World War II, and legally there are still US occupation troops on the territory of Germany, in fact - there are a lot of them there, said Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with students of Moscow State University, RIA Novosti reported.

"As for Austria, for example, the Soviet troops were in Austria, but they left there voluntarily. And the Soviet Union, Russia, as the successor of the Soviet Union, acted as guarantor of the constitution of the Republic of Austria and guarantor of the neutral status of the Republic of Austria. And in general, very many ordinary citizens of Austria know this and are grateful to Russia for this position," the president said. "Let's say the largest country in Europe, the economic giant - the Federal Republic of Germany ... and the Soviet Union formalized the termination of the occupation, legally. After World War II, Germany was, as you know, divided into four sectors - American, English, French and Soviet. So the Soviet Union formalized the cessation of this occupation status, but the United States did not. And strictly speaking, formally and legally there are American occupation troops on the territory of the Federal Republic. But in fact they are - there are a lot of them," he said.

Putin added that German politicians themselves talk about the country's lack of sovereignty. "And German politicians themselves say that since World War II, Germany has never been a sovereign state in the full sense of the word," Putin said.