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Secretary of State Marco Rubio tried to steady NATO diplomacy after President Donald Trump’s latest abrupt troop decision fueled fresh anxiety among allies. Rubio appeared at a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden after leaving Washington, seeking to explain how the United States remains committed to the alliance while adjusting its military footprint in Europe.
The timing undercut the message. Hours after Rubio departed for Friday’s meeting, Trump announced he would send an additional 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland, a country that had recently been told it would not be receiving an expected deployment.
At the Helsingborg meeting, Rubio said the U.S. troop presence would be adjusted and that the alliance has a shared understanding of that direction. Speaking to reporters, Rubio said, “At the end of the day, I think it’s well understood in the alliance that the United States’ troop presence in Europe is going to be adjusted. That work was already ongoing, and it’s been done in coordination with our allies. I’m not saying they’re going to be thrilled about it, but they certainly are aware of it. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody.”
Rubio acknowledged the tension, telling reporters, “none of this is surprising, although obviously I understand why it creates some nervousness.” He also declined to provide additional details about further changes to the American military presence in Europe, including whether the number of troops under the NATO Force Model would be reduced.
Trump’s reversals also drew criticism from diplomats with Europe experience. Dan Fried, a former U.S. ambassador to Poland and assistant secretary of state for Europe, said the administration’s handling of the policy shift reflected a “bad process or lack of process” and created “an absolute mess” with European allies. Fried said, “It was a poorly managed decision — people were appalled,” adding that he had been in Poland for a television appearance on Thursday when Trump announced the reversal.
Fried said he welcomed the step in principle but argued it highlighted bigger problems for alliance management, including the administration’s ability to deliver on commitments and to follow through on reforms many members have already agreed to. He said the administration’s seriousness about the policy “is now in serious question” and criticized what he characterized as haphazard execution, saying, “They are so haphazard and chaotic that they can’t take yes for an answer. The administration needs to pull itself together.”
The meeting took place in a broader atmosphere of uncertainty. Rubio and NATO allies were looking ahead to a NATO leaders’ summit in Turkey in July, while also grappling with how the war in Iran might unfold and whether U.S. efforts to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict would resume after stalling.
Rubio also used the meeting to reiterate complaints about NATO partners’ positions tied to Iran. He described himself as a “strong supporter” of the transatlantic alliance and said allies were aligned that Iran should not develop nuclear weapons, but he said few, if any, had stepped up when Trump said the U.S. would take action to prevent it.
Rubio pointed to differences among allies on basing access and participation in efforts related to the Strait of Hormuz, which he described as a crucial oil shipping route that Iran has largely closed. He said that when bases are denied to the U.S. during a conflict that the United States is involved in, it raises questions about whether allied value remains. Rubio said, “When some of those bases are denied to you during a conflict that we’re involved in, then you question whether that value is still there. So that’s going to have to be discussed.”
Rubio’s comments came as allies sought clearer coordination after the Poland decision and after an earlier announcement about drawing down thousands of U.S. troops in Germany. Rubio said that decision was not improvised and that the reduction brought troop numbers back to where they were three years ago, while once again holding off on further specifics even as European governments weigh how to plan around U.S. commitments.