Washington– Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on his latest mission to calm nervous US allies in Europe over the Trump administration’s intentions with NATO, or at least put a friendlier face on the sudden changes and uncertainty over… Reduction of US forces.
Rubio will attend a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Sweden on Friday, the same day that senior Pentagon officials are expected to brief the 32-nation alliance on plans for the US military’s commitment to European defense at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
The diplomats’ meeting, which precedes a NATO leaders’ summit in Turkey in July, comes amid major doubts about how the war in Iran will develop and whether stalled US efforts to mediate an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict will resume. Discontent continues to simmer on the continent over President Donald Trump’s criticism of allies And to him Interest in seizing GreenlandIt is the territory of Denmark, a NATO ally.
Rubio has often been called upon to provide a calmer, less aggressive presence by the Trump administration at such meetings. He has been deployed on several similar missions this year, including the Munich Security Conference in February, and most recently to Italy, where He met with Italian officials and Pope Leo XIV after Trump criticized the American Pope For his positions on crime and the Iran war.
As he left for the meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Rubio declined further discussions Changes to the US military presence in EuropeIncluding a potential reduction in the number of forces the United States would commit under NATO’s force model, a contingency plan for European defense in the event of serious security concerns.
The Trump administration had decided so Cancellation of the deployment of thousands of US troops to Poland and Germany, but then the president posted on social media on Thursday that “the United States will send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland.”
It was not clear whether this meant that the brigade that had been prevented from going to Poland would return on its way, whether additional forces could be added beyond this rotational deployment, or whether there would still be a withdrawal of US forces in Europe, but from a different country. The Pentagon referred requests for comment to the White House, which did not immediately respond to messages seeking clarification.
Earlier, Rubio reiterated that Trump and others in the administration, including himself, feel “very disappointed” in NATO, especially in NATO. Its response to the Iran war.
“I don’t think anyone would be shocked to know that the United States, and the president in particular, is very disappointed in NATO right now,” he told reporters in Miami before boarding his plane.
Rubio said he was a “strong supporter” of the transatlantic military alliance and called it important. But he echoed complaints expressed by some NATO members, especially Spain He refused to allow access to US bases Because of the Iranian conflict, others have been reluctant, if not resistant, to join a coalition to reopen and protect the Strait of Hormuz, an important oil shipping route that Iran has largely closed.
“I know why NATO is good for Europe, but why is NATO good for America?” Rubio asked rhetorically, answering his own question by pointing to the rules that allow the United States and others to project power globally. “So, when that’s the main rationale for being in NATO, and then you have countries like Spain denying us the use of those bases, well, why are you in NATO?”
Rubio noted that almost all NATO members agree that Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, but few, if any, took the initiative when Trump said he would take action to prevent it.
“He’s not asking them to send in troops. He’s not asking them to send in their fighter jets. But they refuse to do anything, and so I think the president looks at that and says, ‘Wait a minute,'” Rubio said. “I think we were very upset about that. The president made that very clear.”
NATO officials downplayed the changes in US troop levels in Europe, saying they had been planned for a long time and did not come as a surprise.
However, these announcements shocked some allies and came despite US promises to coordinate military movements to avoid creating security gaps. Likewise, Trump’s apparent change on Poland came as another surprise.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday that US allies have known for a year that the Trump administration would withdraw some forces from Europe, and he “rightly expects Europe and Canada to take greater responsibility for NATO’s conventional defense and especially, of course, the European part of NATO.”
Rutte said the United States “will remain involved” but over time could shift resources elsewhere in the world. US General Alexus Grynkiewicz, commander of US and NATO forces in Europe, said this week that security in Europe would not be at risk, but warned that allies should expect more withdrawals in the coming years.
The Trump administration has warned that Europe will be forced to do so Take care of her own securityIncluding Ukraine in the future.
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Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.