NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte played down US President Donald Trump's sudden moves to withdraw troops and military capabilities from Europe, promising that any cuts would happen in a “structured manner“.
“We know there will be adjustments, US needs to refocus, for example, on Asia,“ Rutte told reporters in Brussels. But “it will happen over time, in a structured way,” he added, insisting that “the United States will remain engaged in Europe,” Politico reported.
Washington has reportedly announced it will withdraw at least 5,000 troops from Europe, including canceling the deployment of a rotational unit in Poland. The move surprised NATO allies and dealt a further blow to already frayed transatlantic relations.
The decision to redeploy troops was made in response to a personal dispute between Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran war. Meanwhile, Poland, long considered one of America’s staunchest allies in the EU, rushed officials to Washington this week to seek clarity on the unexpected move to halt troop deployments there, according to media reports.
The United States did not inform allies in advance of the announcement of the measures, according to two senior NATO diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Washington has not yet provided details on exactly how the cuts will be implemented, they said.
The U.S. Department of Defense issued a statement saying it had “reduced the total number of brigade combat teams deployed in Europe from four to three.” This would bring the number of U.S. troops in Europe back to 2021 levels. ahead of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The move is aimed at strengthening Trump's "America First" agenda, the statement added.
The statement also stressed that Poland is an "exemplary ally" and that US officials are in talks with their Polish counterparts about the delayed deployment.
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Koscienniak-Kamiś, for his part, met with US General Christopher Mahoney, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stressing that the talks "confirm the absence of plans to reduce the US military presence in Poland."
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said: "There is no reliable confirmation yet." All we hear is that this measure is part of a decision to reduce the number of US brigades in Europe by one.“
He added that it was still “completely unclear“ when this would happen and “whether it would be limited“ to a decision on Poland, in whole or in part, and to what extent this would affect troops stationed in Germany.“
Rutte noted that the troop withdrawal “would not affect NATO's defense plans“, echoing a similar statement by the alliance's supreme allied commander, US General Alex Grinkiewicz.
The change in US strategy affects about 3 percent of US forces in Europe, but the troop withdrawal also targets a long-range fire support unit equipped with “Tomahawk“ missiles. It is scheduled to be deployed in Germany later this year as a temporary measure while Europe develops its own similar weapon capable of striking deep into Russia.
Meanwhile, the United States said it planned to announce to allies on Friday that it would limit the amount of military capability it makes available to the alliance in peacetime and in the event of a Russian invasion of Europe.
Under the so-called NATO Force Modeling System, alliance members periodically determine the soldiers and equipment that contribute to NATO operations. Washington now wants to reduce that scale, according to media reports. While declining to provide details of the reduction, Rutte said the U.S. decision was “exactly what we expected and is absolutely within the no-surprises approach”.
”When it comes to NATO force modeling, we have well-established processes – "It's business as usual," he explained. "It was expected. I think it's absolutely right that this should happen."