There are no indicators of US troop withdrawal from Europe - Rutte
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that the United States remains committed to the Alliance, despite the concerns of European countries about a possible change in Washington's foreign policy.
This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to Espresso.
The Secretary General assured that there is no reason to doubt the US commitment to NATO.
"I will be very straightforward. Since January, I have been asked two questions by European allies. The first is, is the United States still committed to NATO? The answer is yes. And to NATO, and to Article 5, and this has been repeated many times by President Trump in many meetings. So, my only suggestion to my European friends is to turn on the TV and hear them say it," Rutte said following the summit of the Bucharest Nine and the Nordic countries in Vilnius.
He noted that the United States expects European countries to increase defense spending.
"Because it is fair to equalize our spending with American spending," the NATO Secretary General explained.
Commenting on fears of a possible withdrawal of US troops from Europe, Rutte emphasized that "there are no indicators of this".
"What we do know is that America, along with Europe, also has to worry about the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific region. And it is logical that as we build our capabilities, the United States will focus more on Asia. But in the long run, I am confident that there will be a serious conventional presence of the Americans in Europe, along with the nuclear umbrella that will guarantee our freedom, there will be a strong, serious, conventional presence of the United States in Europe. There is no doubt about that," the NATO Secretary General assured.
