German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Wednesday: “There is still no reliable confirmation. The only thing we are hearing is that this is embedded in a decision to reduce the number of American brigades in Europe by one.”
He added that it was still “completely unclear” when this would happen and if this would “remain limited to the decision concerning Poland, in full or in part, and to what extent troops stationed in Germany will be affected.”
Rutte said the withdrawals were “not having an impact on NATO’s defense plans,” echoing a similar claim by the alliance’s top commander, U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, on Tuesday.
The shift in U.S. strategy affects about 3 percent of U.S. forces in Europe, but the withdrawal also targets a long-range fires unit equipped with Tomahawk missiles. It was set to deploy in Germany later this year and serve as a stopgap measure until Europe develops its own comparable weapons able to hit deep into Russia.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is reportedly planning to tell allies on Friday it will curb the amount of military capabilities available to the alliance in peacetime and if Russia invades Europe. Under NATO’s so-called Force Model system, alliance members periodically identify the soldiers and equipment they will commit to NATO operations. Washington now wants to scale that down.
While declining to give details on the reduction, Rutte said the U.S. decision was “exactly as we expected and absolutely within the realm of the no-surprises approach.”
“When it comes to the NATO force model, we have the processes in place — this is normal business,” he said. “This was to be expected — I think this is only right that this happens.”
Rixa Fürsen contributed reporting.
