Rutte’s assurances echoed those made by NATO’s top commander, U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who indicated Tuesday that he did not expect further withdrawals of American troops from Europe in the “near term.”
Instead, he said, the gradual process of redeployment will take place “over time as [European] allies build their capacity” and could take “several years.”
Still, concerns in Europe remain, as Trump has threatened to withdraw troops from E.U. countries he deems have been unsupportive to his mission during the Iran war.
These criticisms come amid Trump’s wider ambition to reduce the U.S. spending on NATO defense that the alliance currently relies heavily on, something which Rutte himself seemingly agrees should happen.
“Part of keeping this alliance strong involves shifting responsibilities. Moving away from unhealthy over-reliance on one ally to a fairer sharing of the responsibility for our collective security,” he said Wednesday.
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