Trump pledges more troops for Poland as Rubio cautions allies
Trump announcement is an apparent reversal of his moves to reduce the presence of US forces in Europe
US President Donald Trump surprised Nato allies by pledging to send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned alliance ministers that Washington’s frustration with some of them would still need to be discussed.
“The President’s views of, frankly, disappointment at some of our Nato allies and their response to our operations in the Middle East are well documented,” Rubio said on Friday at a gathering of Nato foreign ministers in the Swedish town of Helsingborg.
“That will have to be addressed. That won’t be solved or addressed today. That’s something for the leaders level to discuss,” Rubio told reporters, adding that any alliance “has to be good for everyone who’s involved”.
It was his first meeting with Nato allies since the war on Iran sparked deep divisions inside the bloc, with Trump saying he was considering withdrawing from the alliance and questioning whether Washington was bound to honour its mutual defence pact.
The Trump administration has said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and US officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer deploying to Poland.
Trump’s social media announcement raises more uncertainty for European allies that have been blindsided by the changes as the administration has complained about Nato members not shouldering enough of the burden of their own defence and failing to do more to support the Iran war.