NATO comments on US troop reductions in Europe
Photo: The US is reducing its contingent in several European countries (Getty Images)
NATO maintains close contact with the US government regarding troop deployments in European countries after Washington informed its allies about plans to reduce the number of troops on Europe’s eastern flank, according to Reuters.
“NATO and US authorities are in close contact about our overall posture – to ensure NATO retains our robust capacity to deter and defend, and the US authorities informed NATO of this adjustment in advance,” a NATO representative said on Wednesday.
He also noted that changes in the number of American troops are not something exceptional.
According to him, even after the announced reduction, US forces in Europe remain higher than in previous years.
What preceded it
Earlier, it was reported that the US had begun a large-scale reduction of its military presence in Eastern Europe. About 800 American soldiers are being withdrawn from Romania, and there are also plans to reduce the contingent in Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Hungary.
On October 27, through NATO’s official procedures, it was announced that around 800 US troops would be withdrawn from Romania. Currently, American units are stationed at Mihail Kogălniceanu, Deveselu, and Câmpia Turzii bases. It is not yet known at which specific base the reduction will take place.
Meanwhile, Poland has not received any information about a possible reduction of the American contingent on its territory.
It should be noted that earlier this year, US President Donald Trump stated that he wanted to reduce the American military contingent in Europe by 20%.
In the spring, it became known that Europeans feared they would not be notified in advance and would find out from the media that thousands of American servicemen were being withdrawn from the continent.
