Two Plus Four Treaty signed in Moscow, Germany regains full sovereignty after 45 years of Allied authority

The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany is signed in Moscow on September 12, 1990 by the four WWII Allied powers and both Germanys. The treaty ends U.S., British, French, and Soviet rights over Germany and grants unified Germany full sovereignty. It permits Germany to remain in NATO but bars NATO forces from stationing on former East German territory pending Soviet troop withdrawal. The U.S. agrees to reduce its German presence from roughly 245,000 to 75,000 troops within four years, transforming the legal basis of American troops there from occupation authority to NATO alliance partnership.