NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has welcomed US President Donald Trump’s announcement to deploy 5,000 US troops to Poland.
“Of course, I very much welcome the announcement,” said Rutte on Friday, arriving at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in the Swedish port city of Helsingborg.
He added however that it must be made clear that the alliance's current efforts must be continued, with the aim to reduce Europe's dependence on the US so that Washington can focus more on other priorities.
"What you will be seeing over the coming time is a step-by-step process where the Europeans step up more, which is really important," Rutte said.
"And within that process, you will always have, of course, decisions and announcements which are part of the longer-term trajectory," he added.
Trump had justified the decision to deploy 5,000 US troops to Poland by citing his good relationship with Poland’s right-wing conservative president, Karol Nawrocki. Trump described them as "additional" troops.
The Polish president won the presidential run-off in mid-2025 and visited Trump in the Oval Office in Washington the following the elections. The two politicians had made their mutual regard clear at the time.
"I want to thank President Trump for his announcement that the rotation, the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels," said Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski in Helsingborg.
Sikorski said that "Poland's reputation as a country that takes defence seriously" also helped with taking the decision.
