NATO foreign ministers are meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden against the backdrop of Washington's plans to draw down its presence on the continent. US top diplomat Rubio insisted the move is not 'punitive.' More on DW.
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"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," Radoslaw Sikorski said ahead of a NATO summit in Sweden.
The Trump administration earlier this week stopped the scheduled deployment of an armored brigade to Poland that caught officials off guard.
The Pentagon said that was part of a US plan to draw down troops on the continent and that there could be a "temporary delay" in plans to send troops to Poland.
Trump announced earlier this month he was going to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, escalating his clash with Berlin and NATO allies over their refusal to support the US in its war with Iran .
Trump then on Thursday said the US would send 5,000 troops to Poland, a NATO ally bordering Ukraine, Moscow ally Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
"It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate," Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said in response to a question by DW's Teri Schultz.
"What is important is that it happens in a structured manner, so that Europe is able to build up when the US reduces its presence," Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said.
Polish officials were caught off guard after the Pentagon earlier this week said the US was stopping the scheduled deployment of a combat team to Poland.
Trump then said Thursday that he was going to send 5,000 troops to Poland based on his good relationship with the president of the country, Karol Nawrocki.
It also comes after Trump said said earlier this month that he was going to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the US was being "humiliated" in its war with Iran.
There are about 80,000 US troops stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment stationed on the continent unless NATO is consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in US interests.
"The US continues to have global commitments that it needs to meet in terms of our force deployment, and that constantly requires us to reexamine where we put troops," Rubio told journalists ahead of a NATO meeting in Sweden.
"This is not a punitive thing, it's just something that's ongoing," However, the US top diplomat added that President Donald Trump's "disappointment" with the country's allies over their lack of involvement in the Iran war would need addressing.
"That will have to be addressed, that won't be solved or addressed today," Rubio said before his meeting with his NATO counterparts.
Both countries are looking to rebuild ties following a change of government in Hungary.
The neighboring countries began online expert-level consultation earlier this week before the foreign ministers met in Helsingborg this morning.
"We took stock of this week's first round of bilateral expert-level consultations on national minorities and agreed to hold the second round next week," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.
Why are Ukraine and Hungary discussing minority rights?
Bilateral ties between Ukraine and Hungary deteriorated for years under the government of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, as the Hungarian leader regularly blocked EU funding for Ukraine.
Orban, who was voted out of office in April, justified many of his government's anti-Kyiv policies with what he said was the restriction of language and education rights of the roughly 100,000 ethnic Hungarians that live in the southwestern Ukrainian region of Transcarpathia , which borders Hungary.
Both Orban and his successor, current Prime Minister Peter Magyar, campaigned on protecting the rights of Hungarian populations in neighboring countries ahead of the April election.
Magyar has promised to retain some of Orban's nationalist policies while mending ties to Brussels and Kyiv.
NATO's military commanders will work through details, Rutte said, during remarks to reporters ahead of the alliance's foreign ministers' meeting in Sweden.
US to send 5,000 troops to Poland: What to know Trump said Thursday he plans to send 5,000 troops to Poland, a move meant to reassure an ally.
"Based on the successful Election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki," Trump wrote in a social media post, "I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland." But the decision led to confusion because it came two days after the Pentagon announced that it was suspending the deployment of a brigade combat team (4,000 to 4,700 troops) to Poland.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said then that that meant there was going to be a "temporary delay" of the scheduled deployment of US forces to Poland.
It was not clear whether Trump's announcement meant the brigade would resume its deployment to Poland, if additional troops on top of that rotational deployment could be added, or whether there would still be a drawdown of US troops in Europe but from a different country.
Trump said the US would reduce troops in Germany in early May. The Trump administration has said it would hope Europe would take on the primary responsibility of security on the continent from the US.
The comments come in reaction to US President Donald Trump announcement that the US would deploy 5,000 additional troops to Poland despite Washington previously having said it would draw down its presence in Europe.
Tsahkna was also cited as saying that it was clear European states need to step up.
Breaches of European airspace put NATO on high alert To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video https://p.dw.com/p/5EAbD Skip next section Welcome to our coverage 05/22/2026 May 22, 2026 Welcome to our coverage Roshni Majumdar | Felix Tamsut | Saim Dušan Inayatullah Editor Today we'll be following all the updates from NATO 's meeting in Sweden, in which the alliance's members will discuss the most recent developments in Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine , as well as its members' defense spending.
Ahead of the meeting, NATO head Mark Rutte welcomed US President Donald Trump's decision to station more troops in Poland, while also emphasizing Europe's security should remain in the continent's own hands.
Estonia's foreign minister also commented on Trump's decision, saying it's up to the US to decide its troops deployment in Europe.
Join us as we cover the meeting throughout the day.
