European allies welcomed President Trump's announcement to send 5,000 troops to Poland but said the back-and-forth from Washington was difficult to follow, with one foreign minister calling it "confusing indeed."
On Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he was "pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland." The announcement came just two days after Vice President JD Vance had defended the cancellation of a planned deployment of 4,000 forces to the same country. Vance had accused the media of "overreacting" to "a very minor thing."
NATO foreign ministers gathered Friday in Sweden, where the shifting U.S. position drew reactions ranging from relief to frustration. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski kept his response brief: "All's well that ends well."
Sweden's foreign minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard, was more direct. She told reporters the U.S. position on joint defense under the nearly 80-year-old alliance "is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate." She added: "Maybe social media negotiation is not the best thing."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also at the Sweden meeting, said any reduction in U.S. troop deployments was "not a punitive thing." But he acknowledged that Trump's "views — frankly disappointment — at some of our NATO allies and their response to our operations in the Middle East … will have to be addressed." He said the issue "won't be solved or addressed today," and stated that any alliance "has to be good for everyone who's involved."
According to CBS News, Trump had announced the surprise Poland deployment roughly three weeks after saying the U.S. was reviewing a possible reduction of troops in Germany. That came after a public dispute with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said Trump had been "humiliated" by Iranian negotiators. Senior U.S. defense officials told CBS News the following day that the Pentagon was planning to withdraw roughly 5,000 American forces from Germany.
It was not made clear whether the Poland troops would be deployed on a permanent or rotational basis.
NATO leaders are set to meet again next week at a summit in Ankara, Turkey. European allies were expected to press Rubio for clarity on the U.S. stance on troop deployments when they met Friday in Sweden.
