President Donald Trump says the US will send an extra 5,000 troops to Poland, a week after the Pentagon cancelled a planned deployment of 4,000 troops to the country.
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte welcomed the move ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers in Sweden – adding the trajectory towards Europe becoming less reliant on the US “will continue”.
Writing on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, Trump said the decision was based on the US’s relationship with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom he backed during presidential elections last year.
He did not give further details on whether the additional troops were part of the previous planned deployment or a different operation.
The White House has signalled in recent weeks that it intends to reduce its overall troop levels in Europe as part of its “America First” agenda.
Rubio is expected to call for increased burden sharing from Washington’s Nato partners at Friday’s talks in Helsingborg.
Speaking to reporters on Friday morning, he said: “The president’s views are frankly disappointment at some of our Nato allies and their response to our operations in the Middle East.
“In the meantime there are other areas where we continue with cooperation,” he added – citing the Poland announcement.
“That said obviously 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 re-examine where we put troops – this is not a punitive thing.”
Ahead of the meeting, the BBC asked Rubio about unconfirmed reports the US could shrink its total troop numbers available in the event of an attack on a Nato country.
He said “some of those issues” will be discussed at the summit, adding Trump remained very upset and disappointed with Nato allies.
Earlier this month, the US announced it would withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany after a row between Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the war with Iran.
Trump previously criticised Merz over his suggestion that the US had been “humiliated” by Iranian negotiators.
It is unclear whether the additional troops for Poland were part of those withdrawing from Germany or a separate group.
He has also been critical of Washington’s Nato allies for their unwillingness to join the US in pressuring Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.
Rubio said on Friday there had been “slight progress” in negotiations on Iran, but did not expand with any details.
“We await word on those conversations that are ongoing […] I don’t want to exaggerate it, but there’s been a little bit of movement,” he said.
Trump’s announcement comes a week after the defence department abruptly said it was cancelling the deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth later said the cancellation was “a temporary delay” of the planned deployment and the US will continue to ensure it “retains a strong military presence” in Poland.
Nawrocki has long been a staunch Trump supporter and earned his endorsement before winning Poland’s presidential election.
Speaking to the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme in January, the Polish president said Trump was the only world leader capable of stopping Vladimir Putin and ending the war in Ukraine.
Despite Trump’s previous criticism of the Nato alliance and his European counterparts, Nawrocki insisted the US was still the guarantor of security in Europe.
Several Republican lawmakers have previously criticised Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Germany, saying it risked sending the wrong message to Russia.
The US military deployment in Germany is by far its biggest in Europe, currently at more than 36,000 active duty troops compared to about 12,000 troops in Italy and a further 10,000 in the UK.
By BBC News
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