NATO's Rutte believes US military will remain stationed in Europe despite fears of withdrawal

Published connected 02/06/2025 - 17:50 GMT+2•Updated 17:53

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte connected Monday denied immoderate denotation that nan United States was reviewing its subject beingness connected nan continent, saying alternatively Washington would support "a very beardown conventional" deployment successful Europe.

"What we cognize is that nan US, adjacent to Europe, of people besides has to return attraction of nan Middle East, has to return attraction of nan Indo-pacific and it is only logical that complete clip arsenic we are building up that nan US will pivot truthful overmuch much towards Asia," Rutte told journalists astatine a property convention successful Vilnius connected Monday.

"But I americium convinced location will beryllium a very beardown accepted US beingness successful Europe, adjacent to nan atomic presence," nan NATO main added, speaking connected nan margins of a acme successful Vilnius pinch nan Bucharest Nine (B9) format and Nordic countries.

Rutte's comments travel amid long-standing allegations – spurred by US-Russia talks to extremity Moscow's warfare successful Ukraine – that Washington would trim aliases retreat its troops successful Europe.

Last February, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Europeans during a sojourn to Poland that US troops connected nan continent were "important," and that "you can't make an presumption that America's beingness will past forever."

The US had astir 84,000 work members successful Europe successful early 2025, according to a study from nan Council connected Foreign Relations, which besides specifies that complete nan people of Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine, now successful its 4th year, nan full number of troops has ranged betwixt astir 75,000 and 105,000 subject personnel.

In Vilnius, Lithuania's President Gitanas Nausėda echoed Rutte's remarks, saying he had not received immoderate denotation of a US unit withdrawal aliases simplification successful Europe.

Nausėda said location were truthful acold 1,000 US soldiers "standing enarthrosis to should pinch nan soldiers of Germany, Norway, and NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence," which includes battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

"We are fresh to summation this number if location is governmental will from nan US administration," Nausėda added.