Eastern Europe competes for U.S. troops

Donald Trump’s plan to remove 5,000 or more U.S. troops from Germany has set off a scramble across NATO’s eastern flank, with Poland, Romania and the Baltic states publicly offering to host more American forces. The competition follows Trump’s announcement earlier this month that the United States would reduce its presence in Germany, a move that has reopened a long-running question inside the alliance: whether any cuts in western Europe would be offset by deployments closer to Russia. Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Romania have all signaled interest in taking additional U.S. troops, according to Politico Europe, which reported on May 12 that those governments were making their case through public statements and private lobbying. Romania’s deputy defense minister, Sorin Moldovan, told the publication that a stronger U.S. presence on the eastern flank was necessary and said Bucharest would welcome a permanent American presence. (politico.eu) Romanian Defense Minister Radu Miruță separately said, “We need more troops.” Karol Nawrocki, Poland’s president, and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda also said last week that they would be ready to host more U.S. forces, while Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže voiced the same position on May 11, according to Politico. An Estonian defense ministry spokesperson told the outlet that Tallinn supported an expanded U.S. footprint in the Baltics. The Pentagon had not made a final decision on which units in Germany would be affected, Politico reported, and it remained unclear whether any troops would move east or return to the United States. (politico.eu) Volodymyr Zelenskyy tied that debate to Russia’s broader demands in remarks to the Bucharest Nine summit on May 13. In a speech published by Ukraine’s presidency, Zelenskyy said Moscow had demanded before the full-scale invasion that NATO return to its 1997 borders — a formulation referring to the alliance’s posture before the accession of most central and eastern European members. He said that demand had meant “giving up all of you — all of us” and warned that Russia would return to it “if they get the chance.” (politico.eu) The 1997 reference matters because NATO’s founding act with Russia, signed in Paris on May 27, 1997, said the alliance would carry out collective defense through reinforcement and interoperability rather than “additional permanent stationing of substantial combat forces” in the current security environment. That document has long shaped arguments over whether NATO should rely on rotational deployments in the east or establish larger permanent bases there. (president.gov.ua) Germany’s response has been markedly different. Reuters reported on May 2 that German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said a U.S. drawdown should push Europe to strengthen its own defenses, while senior Republicans in Washington raised concerns about the plan. That split has underscored two parallel debates — whether Europe can replace lost U.S. capability and whether Washington wants any reduced presence in Germany to be moved east rather than brought home. (nato.int) July is the next major date in the dispute. Zelenskyy said in his May 13 address that the NATO summit in Türkiye must show the alliance is “strong” and not weakening, even as relations between the United States and Europe face strains. Any decision on where Germany-based U.S. troops go next is likely to be watched most closely in Warsaw, Bucharest and the Baltic capitals, which have already begun making their case. (president.gov.ua) (msn.com)