NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks to the media.
- European nations are stepping up in terms of defence, said NATO chief Mark Rutte.
- He responded to US President Donald Trump, who announced a withdrawal of troops from Germany.
- Two top Republican lawmakers expressed concern about the decision to withdraw troops.
Europeans have “heard” US President Donald Trump’s message of frustration over the Iran war and are “stepping up”, NATO chief Mark Rutte said on Monday after Washington announced it would withdraw 5 000 troops from Germany.
“European leaders have gotten the message. They heard the message loud and clear,” Rutte said before talks with European leaders in Armenia, acknowledging “disappointment on the US side” faced with European allies’ resistance to joining the war.
“Europeans are stepping up, a bigger role for Europe and a stronger NATO,” Rutte insisted ahead of a European Political Community meeting dominated by the twin security threats posed by the Ukraine and Middle East wars.
“We have seen all these countries now participating with their bilateral agreements, making sure that when it comes to basing requests and all the logistical support,” Rutte said.
The Pentagon troop move comes with transatlantic ties badly strained over the Middle East war – although German Chancellor Friedrich Merz insisted on Sunday there was “no connection” with his recent spat with Trump over the conflict.
READ | US ‘being humiliated’ by Iran leadership, says German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas called the announcement’s “timing” a “surprise”.
“There has been a talk about withdrawal US troops for a long time from Europe,” she told reporters in Yerevan.
She added:
But of course, the timing of this announcement comes as a surprise.
“I think it shows that we have to really strengthen the European pillar in NATO, and we have to really do more,” Kallas said, while stressing that “American troops are not in Europe only for protecting European interests, but also American interests.”
In the US, Reuters reported that two top Republican lawmakers expressed concern on Saturday about the Pentagon’s decision to withdraw troops from NATO ally Germany.
“We are very concerned by the decision to withdraw a US brigade from Germany,” US Senator Roger Wicker and US Representative Mike Rogers said in a joint statement.
Wicker, a Republican elected from Mississippi, and Rogers, from Alabama, chair the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, respectively.
We are working with the U.S. to understand the details of their decision on force posture in Germany. This adjustment underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defence and take on a greater share of the responsibility for our shared security – where we’re…
— NATO Spokesperson (@NATOpress) May 2, 2026
Their statement was issued a day after the Pentagon announced the withdrawal and said the move was expected to be completed over the next six to 12 months.
Trump had threatened a drawdown in forces earlier this week after sparring with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said last week that the Iranians were humiliating the US in talks to end the two-month-old war and that he did not see what exit strategy Washington was pursuing.
Wicker and Rogers said that any significant change to the US military’s presence in Europe must be reviewed and coordinated with Congress and US allies.
“We expect the Department to engage with its oversight committees in the days and weeks ahead on this decision and its implications for US deterrence and transatlantic security,” they said in the statement.
A member of the US Army 7th Army Training Command pilots a DJI Matrice drone during the ‘Combined Resolve’ military exercise at the 7th ATC Joint Multinational Readiness Centre in Hohenfels, Germany.
The logo of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO/OTAN) is displayed on a smartphone screen in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium.
Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Europe has been ramping up its defence spending in the face of fears over Trump’s commitment to NATO and Russia’s assault on Ukraine – a push underscored by several leaders in the Armenian capital.
“Europeans are taking their destiny into their own hands, increasing their defence and security spending, and building their own common solutions,” French President Emmanuel Macron said.
“We have to step up our military capabilities to be able to defend and protect ourselves,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen told reporters.
