U.S. President Donald Trump told West Point's graduating class on Saturday that their job will be to defend "America's vital interests" and not fight "endless wars" in faraway lands, stressing that U.S. troops are not the "policemen of the world." 

"We are ending the era of endless wars," Trump said before more than 1,000 cadets of the U.S. Military Academy, also known as West Point. 

It is not the job of American forces "to solve ancient conflicts in faraway lands that many people have not even heard of," he said. "We are not the policemen of the world." 

In his commencement address to the academy, Trump said American soldiers' job is not to rebuild foreign nations but "defend, and defend strongly, our nation from foreign enemies." 

Trump's speech came at a moment when his administration is drawing up plans to pull out troops from various places around the globe. As president, he has pulled troops from Syria and pushed U.S. allies worldwide to pay more for the commitment of American forces to defend them.

A joint statement issued by Washington and Baghdad on Thursday said that the U.S. would continue reducing its military presence in Iraq over the coming months. 

Trump reportedly directed the Pentagon to reduce nearly 9,500 U.S. troops from the 34,500 troops permanently assigned in Germany, which led to opposition from Republican lawmakers. 

Last week 22 Republican members of Congress wrote to Trump, warning him a significant force drawdown in Europe would serve Russia's interests at the expense of U.S. national security. 

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There are also reports saying that the Trump administration is looking at a range of options to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan at an early date, with one possible option targeting this November. 
  
The peace agreement signed late February between the United States and the Afghan Taliban called for the full withdrawal of the U.S. military from the war-torn country by May 2021 if the Taliban no longer supports terrorist groups. 
  
"If conditions will allow, we're prepared to go to zero," Commander of U.S. Central Command Kenneth McKenzie said in a think tank event on Wednesday, but adding "those conditions have not been fully met."

Trump came to West Point at a time of tension with U.S. military leaders over whether the military should be used to quell nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd, an African American, by police on May 25. 

U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley said on Thursday he should not have joined Trump as he walked from the White House to a nearby church for a photo opportunity after authorities cleared the way of protesters using tear gas and rubber bullets. 

Defense Secretary Mark Esper also split with Trump over whether active duty troops should be deployed to gain control of cities convulsed by protests.  

Trump has since expressed confidence in Esper and brushed off Milley's comments. 

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In his remarks on Saturday, Trump only touched obliquely on the debate over racial injustice in the United States, saying the cadets were examples of America's diversity. 

"You have come from the farms and the cities, from states big and small, and from every race, religion, color, and creed. But when you entered these grounds, you became part of one team and one family, proudly serving one American nation," he said. 

(With input from Xinhua, Reuters)