President Donald Trump has announced that the US will send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, a week after the Pentagon canceled a planned deployment of 4,000 troops to the country.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte hailed the move ahead of a conference of foreign ministers in Sweden, saying the trend toward Europe becoming less reliant on the US “will continue.”
Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Thursday that the decision was based on the US’s connection with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom he supported in the presidential election last year.
He did not elaborate on whether the additional troops were part of the already planned deployment or a separate mission.
The White House has indicated in recent weeks that it aims to reduce overall force levels in Europe as part of its “America First” strategy.
Rubio is anticipated to demand additional burden sharing from Washington’s NATO allies at Friday’s discussions 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 questioned Rubio about unconfirmed rumors that the US may reduce its total soldier numbers available in the case of an assault on a NATO country.
He mentioned “some of those issues” will be discussed at the summit, adding Trump remained very upset and disappointed with NATO allies.
Earlier this month, the United States ordered the withdrawal of 5,000 troops from Germany following a disagreement between President Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about the war with Iran.
Trump earlier chastised Merz for claiming that Iranian negotiators had “humiliated” the United States.
It is uncertain whether the additional troops for Poland were part of the withdrawal from Germany or a separate unit.
He has also criticized Washington’s NATO allies for refusing to help the US in pushing Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.
Rubio stated 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 Defense Department abruptly canceled the deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later stated that the cancellation was “a temporary delay” in the planned deployment and that the US will continue to maintain a “strong military presence” in Poland.
Nawrocki was a long-time Trump fan who received his endorsement before winning Poland’s presidential election.
In an interview with the BBC’s Radio 4 Today in January, the Polish president stated that Trump was the only world leader capable of stopping President Vladimir Putin and putting an end to the Ukraine conflict.
Despite Trump’s earlier criticism of NATO and his European counterparts, Nawrocki reaffirmed that the United States remained the guarantor of European security.
Several Republican legislators have previously criticized Trump’s decision to withdraw soldiers from Germany, claiming it could send the wrong message to Russia.
