Romania says Russia asked US to withdraw NATO troops from Eastern Europe
Photo: The United States and Russia meet in Saudi Arabia (flickr by U.S. Department of State)
During a meeting in Saudi Arabia, Russian officials requested the withdrawal of NATO troops from Eastern Europe. However, the US delegation rejected the demand, stated Cristian Diaconescu, head of the Romanian presidential office and defense and national security advisor, the Financial Times reports.
While the US delegation dismissed the Russian request, there are no guarantees that Washington will not eventually concede to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to Diaconescu, the situation can change every day.
He added that visits of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron to Washington next week would focus on convincing US President Donald Trump not to yield to this demand.
The Financial Times reports that recent concessions from the Trump administration to Moscow, ranging from denying Ukraine NATO membership to promising to normalize US-Russia relations, cause concern among the governments of NATO's eastern border states about US intentions.
Meeting in Saudi Arabia
This week, American and Russian delegations held talks in Saudi Arabia.
It is known that the parties agreed to continue contacts to resolve Russia's war against Ukraine and to appoint special teams for this purpose.
After this meeting, US President Donald Trump's rhetoric changed dramatically. In particular, he began to harshly criticize Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
