Rubio heads to NATO meeting as European angst grows

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio will journey this week to a NATO overseas ministers meeting in Sweden, the place US plans to reduce troop levels in Europe coupled with President Donald Trump’s often inconsistent stance on the alliance have created concern whereas the world grapples with the fallout from the Iran battle and rising vitality costs.

The State Department stated Tuesday that Rubio would attend the NATO meeting in Helsingborg on Friday, one of many final senior-level NATO gatherings earlier than alliance leaders meet at a summit in Ankara, Turkey, in July.

Rubio will then journey on to India and plans to go to 4 cities, together with Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur and New Delhi, the place he’ll see Indian officers and is predicted to meet along with his Indian, Australian and Japanese counterparts, the opposite three members of the so-called “Quad” grouping of Indo-Pacific democracies.

In Sweden, Rubio will echo earlier US calls for “for increased defense investment and greater burden sharing in the alliance,” the State Department stated in an announcement.

It added that he would additionally give attention to Arctic points and meet with NATO’s Arctic members “to discuss our shared economic and security interests in the Arctic and our strengthened posture in the High North.”

The assertion didn’t point out Greenland by identify, however Trump has ranked Europeans with persistent speak about wanting to take over the Danish territory. Trump’s particular envoy for Greenland, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, visited the island this week.

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen stated Monday that he had a respectful and constructive meeting with Landry, however that he made it clear that the Greenlandic individuals insist on self-determination.

“The Greenlandic people are not for sale. Greenlandic self-determination is not something that can be negotiated,” Nielsen was quoted by Danish TV 2 as saying after meeting Landry.

For Europeans nervous about Trump, Rubio’s presence at transatlantic conferences has typically been welcomed due to his much less antagonistic nature and calm demeanor.

He has been dispatched on a number of such missions this 12 months, together with to the Munich Security Conference in February, and extra lately to Italy, the place he met with Italian officers and the pope after Trump criticized the pontiff for his stances on crime and the Iran battle.

Ahead of the NATO overseas ministers meeting, the alliance’s prime army officer stated Tuesday that he does not anticipate any more drawdowns of American troops from Europe — at the very least not anytime quickly — past the 5,000 that trump introduced he would go away the continent.

The remarks by US Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich observe Trump’s shock announcement of the transfer early this month. The US chief has bickered with allies over the Iran war and called for changes.

The Pentagon later stated it might draw down hundreds of troops in Europe by canceling deployments to Poland and Germany as opposed to yanking out forces already stationed there.

Asked Tuesday about Trump’s plans relating to troop ranges in Poland, Vice President JD Vance stated the administration’s focus is on selling “European independence and sovereignty.” He additionally disputed that the US is decreasing troop ranges in Poland.

“What we did is that we delayed a troop deployment that was going to go to Poland,” Vance advised White House reporters. “That’s not a reduction. That’s just a standard delay in rotation that sometimes happens in these situations.”

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell later Tuesday additionally stated it was a “temporary delay” of the deployment of US forces to Poland, which he referred to as a “model US ally.” He stated the delay was a results of the US decreasing the variety of brigade fight groups assigned to Europe from 4 to three and he indicated the Pentagon nonetheless wanted to determine which troops to station the place.

Trump’s announcement blindsided NATO and got here regardless of US guarantees to coordinate army strikes with its allies and keep away from creating safety gaps.

Trump was notably offended at Germany, after Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated the United States was being “humiliated” by the Iranian management and criticized what he referred to as a lack of US strategy in the war.

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Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed.