US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has attempted to reassure NATO allies after the recent US troop deployment decision caused confusion across Europe.
Speaking after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Sweden on Friday, Rubio said Washington was regularly reviewing its military presence in Europe because of broader global commitments.
His comments come after US President Donald Trump announced plans to send 5,000 additional US troops to Poland.
The move came after the cancellation of a previously planned deployment of 4,000 troops to the country and a separate announcement that US forces would be withdrawn from Germany.
“It’s really confusing, and it’s not always easy to understand,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmmar Stengård said during the meeting in Helsingborg.
Rubio responded, saying: “That work was already underway and it has been done in coordination with our allies.”
“I’m not saying they’ll be thrilled about it, but they’re certainly aware of it,” Eh said.
The US currently has thousands of troops deployed across Europe, including major deployments in Germany, Poland, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Concerns have grown among NATO members since Trump repeated his criticism of the alliance and hinted that Europe should rely less on US military support as part of his “America First” agenda.
