US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NATO allies that the Alliance will have to respond to President Donald Trump's concerns about the attitude of some European countries towards US and Israeli military operations in the Middle East, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
Upon arriving for the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in the Swedish city of Helsingborg, Rubio pointed out that Trump's position on the subject is well known and the issue is yet to be discussed further.
According to AFP, the US president remains dissatisfied with the refusal of some European allies to join the military campaign against Iran.
Rubio stressed that NATO must work in the interests of all its members and noted that the meeting in Sweden is part of the preparation for the upcoming Alliance summit in Ankara later this year.
The US Secretary of State also said that a possible taxi system in the Strait of Hormuz would be unacceptable. He also assured that Trump's decision to redeploy US troops to Europe is not a punitive measure, but part of a broader process of military reorganization.
Washington's decision to send 5,000 US troops to Poland just weeks after withdrawing the same number from Europe has caused confusion among allies and US military circles, the Associated Press notes.
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard admitted that the changes are difficult to understand, and US military officials, quoted anonymously, also said they were not aware of the logic behind the latest decision.
Meanwhile, the German foreign minister announced that Germany will allocate more than 4% of its GDP to defense this year and aims to reach 5%. Berlin also intends to offer closer defense cooperation with Ukraine in order to accelerate military production.