US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday downplayed the deliberate withdrawal of 5,000 US troops from Germany and mentioned President Donald Trump has not decided on eradicating extra service members from Europe amid rising cracks within the transatlantic relationship.
Speaking in Rome after conferences with prime Italian leaders, Rubio sought to publicly distance the transfer from Trump’s continued critique of NATO and its members, together with Italy, over a perceived lack of assist for the US conflict in opposition to Iran.
Still, his argument just isn’t prone to assuage European fears concerning the reliability of the United States and its dedication to the defensive alliance. Rubio, a longtime NATO proponent, didn’t foreclose the potential of additional troop reductions in response to the US displeasure with the bloc. Instead, he mentioned Trump had but to decide.
The prime US diplomat mentioned the discount of the troops in Germany, introduced by the Pentagon final week, was “already ongoing.” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the topic of Trump’s ire over feedback on the Iran conflict, has equally sought to downplay the transfer.
“The troops represent less than 14% of our total troop presence there,” Rubio mentioned at a press convention Friday. “That’s already pre-programmed. In fact, all it did take us back to where we were in 2022.”
“There was always a plan to do some shifting within NATO,” he mentioned.
Even if that’s the case, European officers have eyed the transfer with concern for what it may portend transferring ahead. Trump himself has threatened extra cuts to the variety of US troops in Germany and European allies have been left in the dead of night concerning the president’s selections. Efforts by the likes of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to emphasize the work that allies are doing in assist of freedom of navigation within the Strait of Hormuz have seemingly had little affect on his anger towards the alliance.
Rubio on Friday echoed Trump’s displeasure however mentioned that he hasn’t decided on a response.
“If one of the main reasons why the US is in NATO is the ability to have forces deployed in Europe that we can project to other contingencies, and now that’s no longer the case – at least when it comes to some NATO members – that’s a problem and has to be examined,” he mentioned.
“Ultimately, that’s a decision for the president to make. His team and people like myself and others will provide him what those potential options are, but ultimately he’ll have to make that decision. He hasn’t made those decisions yet,” Rubio added.
Rubio, who met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday, mentioned they “didn’t discuss any specifics” like a possible US withdrawal from NATO or discount of troops from Italy. Rubio as a senator cosponsored the regulation to cease a president from unilaterally withdrawing from the alliance.
A State Department readout of the assembly mentioned they talked about “the importance of continued transatlantic collaboration to address global threats.”
“A frank dialogue,” Meloni said on X, “between allies who defend their own national interests but who both know how precious Western unity is.”