The United States has no intention of leaving NATO, and thousands of American soldiers are involved in the alliance’s missions.
US Secretary of State and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Marco Rubio stated this at a joint press conference with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico following their meeting in Bratislava, News.Az reports, citing TASS.
“We’re not leaving NATO. We might redeploy a couple thousand soldiers from one country to another, but that’s always been the case,” he said in response to a question about the US’s status in NATO amid reports of a reduction in the number of US military units stationed in Europe.
Rubio added that the United States would view the growing influence of European countries in the alliance as a positive development and wants to see Europe as a partner, not a subordinate. “We’re not asking Europe to be a vassal of the United States. We want to be partners, to work with Europe,” the US Secretary of State said.
Earlier this week, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that the process of reducing the number of US military units stationed in Europe will take time. He indicated that Washington wants to reorient itself toward Asia.
In 2025, the Pentagon withdrew a brigade from the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division from Romania to its permanent home base. These troops returned to Kentucky.
At the end of 2025, Congress approved a defense budget that explicitly prohibited the Pentagon from reducing the number of American troops stationed in Europe to less than 76,000 for more than 45 days.