The German government has spent over $ 1 billion over the past decade to cover costs related to the stationing of US troops in German, AP reported referring to the finance ministry in Berlin.

The ministry provided data in response to a request from an opposition Left Party lawmaker Brigitte Freihold.

According to the ministry, the German government paid a total of 982.4 million euros ($1.1 billion) between 2010 and 2019 - of that, 648.5 million euros went into construction work.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that he is ordering a large reduction in troop strength in Germany, from nearly 34,500 personnel down to 25,000.

According to NATO, Germany spends nearly 1.38% of GDP on its defense budget. Berlin seeks to reach 1.5% by 2024 and insists that this level of spending allows it to meet NATO’s defense planning goals.