US unhappy with Europe’s plans to buy fewer American weapons - Reuters
In conversations with their European counterparts, U.S. officials have expressed a desire for Europe to continue buying weapons from the United States amid recent steps by the European Union to restrict the participation of American manufacturers in arms tenders.
According to Censor.NET, Reuters reports this with reference to five sources familiar with the matter.
The US announcement comes at a time when the EU is taking steps to develop the European arms industry while restricting purchases of certain types of American weapons.
According to the newspaper, on March 25, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the foreign ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia that the US wants to continue to participate in EU defense procurement.
Two sources said that Rubio said that any exclusion of American companies from European tenders would be negatively perceived in the United States.
At the same time, a Nordic diplomat who was not involved in the meeting said that US officials also recently said that any exclusion from EU arms procurement would be seen as inappropriate.
Rubio plans to discuss expectations that EU countries will continue to buy U.S. weapons during his visit to Brussels this week, where he will attend a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, an unnamed State Department official said.
The State Department official also said that Donald Trump welcomes the efforts of European countries to "strengthen their defense capabilities and take responsibility for their own security," but warned against creating new barriers that would make it impossible for American companies to participate in European defense projects.
