Rubio arrives for NATO talks as allies wait to learn of US plans for a likely drawdown in Europe

BRUSSELS – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration’s caller envoy to NATO arrived Thursday successful Brussels, wherever the alliance’s apical diplomats are hoping they’ll shed airy connected U.S. information plans successful Europe.

European allies and Canada are profoundly acrophobic by President Donald Trump’s readiness to gully person to Russian person Vladimir Putin, who sees NATO arsenic a threat, arsenic the U.S. works to broker a ceasefire successful Ukraine.

Recent White House comments and insults directed astatine NATO allies Canada and Denmark — arsenic good arsenic the subject confederation itself — person raised alarm and confusion, particularly with new U.S. tariffs targeting U.S. friends and foes alike.

Since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned past period that U.S. information priorities prevarication elsewhere — successful Asia and connected the U.S.'s ain borders — the Europeans person waited to larn however large a subject drawdown successful Europe could beryllium and however accelerated it whitethorn happen.

In Europe and Canada, governments are moving connected “burden shifting” plans to instrumentality implicit much of the load, portion trying to guarantee that nary information vacuum is created if U.S. troops and instrumentality are withdrawn from the continent.

These allies are keen to perceive from Rubio what the Trump administration’s intentions are and anticipation to unafraid immoderate benignant of roadmap that lays retired what volition hap adjacent and when, truthful they tin synchronize readying and use European forces to plug immoderate gaps.

In a statement, newly confirmed U.S. ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker said that “under President Trump’s leadership, NATO volition beryllium stronger and much effectual than ever before, and I judge that a robust NATO tin proceed to service arsenic a bedrock of bid and prosperity.”

But helium added: “NATO’s vitality rests connected each state doing their just share.”

Whitaker affirmed the U.S. committedness to NATO’s corporate information guarantee, which says that an onslaught connected immoderate state indispensable beryllium considered an onslaught connected them all, but that his little would besides beryllium to promote Europe to pb connected “peace, security, and the rebuilding of Ukraine.”

The connection said allies should show that NATO takes earnestly threats from China.

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