‘Will have to be addressed’: Rubio warns NATO over Trump’s ‘disappointment’; says troop decisions ‘not punitive’
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Will have to be addressed’: Rubio warns NATO over Trump’s ‘disappointment’; says troop decisions ‘not punitive’")
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Photograph: (AFP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s disappointment with NATO over the Iran war must be addressed, as the US sends 5,000 troops to Poland, sparking confusion among European allies.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday (May 22) said that US President Donald Trump’s “disappointment” with NATO over its lack of support in the Iran war “will have to be addressed”. This comes after Trump on Thursday (May 21) announced that the US will deploy 5,000 additional troops to Poland, reversing earlier indications that a planned troop deployment had been cancelled. Meanwhile, NATO’s European members scrambled to seek clarity from Rubio on troop shifts by Washington.
“The president’s views, frankly disappointment, at some of our NATO allies and their response to our operations in the Middle East – they’re well documented -- that will have to be addressed, that won’t be solved or addressed today,” Rubio said before meeting his alliance counterparts for NATO foreign ministers’ talks in Helsingborg, Sweden.
He added that the upcoming alliance summit in Ankara would be “probably one of the more important leaders’ summits in the history of NATO.”
Trump’s ‘confusing’ troop moves
Trump announced on Thursday that he would send 5,000 troops to Poland, in an apprent U-turn of his earlier declaration of withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany following a spat with Chancellor Friedrich Merz. While the move was welcomed by NATO chief Mark Rutte and Poland’s foreign minister, concerns over a lack of coordination between the US and its allies surfaced.
“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” said Swedish foreign minister Maria Malmer Stenergard.
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Several NATO ministers stated that a reduction in US troop presence in Europe was largely anticipated, as Washington shifts its focus toward other threats while European nations strengthen their own defence capabilities.
“What is important is that it happens in a structured manner, so that Europe is able to build up when the US reduces its presence,” Norwegian foreign minister Espen Barth Eide said.
US troop decisions ‘not punitive’
Rubio has said that the troop shifts by Washington in Europe were not aimed at punishing allies for a lack of support over Iran.
“The United States continues to have global commitments that it needs to meet in terms of our force deployment, and that constantly requires us to reexamine where we put troops. This is not a punitive thing, it’s just something that’s ongoing,” he said.
