Romania and NATO allies have been notified of U.S. plans to cut the number of troops stationed on Europe’s eastern flank including a reported 800 soldiers who were to be based at a Romanian Black Sea military base, Romania’s defense ministry said on Wednesday.
Sources said the announcement was made on Monday within the official NATO framework and that the U.S, will also withdraw its troops from Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia.
U.S. American soldiers are currently deployed at the Black Sea Mihail Kogălniceanu base, Deveselu and Câmpia Turzii bases. It was not immediately clear from which bases the 800 soldiers will be withdrawn.
The measure is executive and to be applied immediately, but theoretically, the US Congress can modify it.
The move comes as President Donald Trump has told NATO’s European allies that they need to take more responsibility for their own security as the U.S focuses its attention on its own borders and the Indo-Pacific region.
“The American decision is to stop the rotation in Europe of a brigade that had elements in several NATO countries,”Romania’s defense ministry said.
It said the decision was expected due to changes in Washington’s priorities. Some 1,000 U.S. troops will continue to be stationed in Romania.
“The decision also took into account that NATO has consolidated its presence and activity on the eastern flank which enables the United States to adjust its military posture in the region,” the ministry said. It did not specify how many U.S. troops will be withdrawn.
There was no immediate comment from NATO.
There are worries on NATO’s eastern flank about a diminishing U.S presence in the region at a time when Russia continues to wage war in Ukraine. However, Trump said in September that Washington could increase its troop presence in Poland.
