The United States makes a surprising decision – behind the scenes of the NATO meeting there is a stir

Before the start of the NATO foreign ministers meeting, a NATO diplomat described the mood of the alliance by saying that it is not even worth organizing a traditional background event for the media about the NATO meeting, because the situation is what it is.

The NATO foreign ministers’ meeting to be held in Sweden will be overshadowed by the war in Iran and the constant barking of the United States at NATO allies, the surprising reductions in forces in Europe and the crumbling of NATO’s collective defense.

The US Secretary of State will also attend the meeting Marco Rubiowho, according to one NATO diplomat, “certainly expresses his dissatisfaction” with the fact that the United States has not received sufficient support to promote freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Tuesday news agency Bloomberg reports, based on a NATO official source, that the alliance plans to discuss the possibility of helping ships through the blocked Strait of Hormuz if the channel cannot be opened by the beginning of July. According to Bloomberg, the proposal has received support from several NATO member countries.

Despite the news, it is hard to believe that the required consensus of the 32 member states would be found to launch the actual NATO operation. This is due to the fact that some of the European NATO countries have been very tight-lipped about the war started by the US and Israel, and not all of them have allowed the US to use their airports or airspace during war-related operations. The reluctance of the allies to participate in securing the Strait of Hormuz while hostilities continue has caused the US president Donald Trump’s very dissatisfied.

However, under the leadership of the European NATO countries France and Britain, activities aimed at securing freedom of navigation in the strait have already been initiated. Now several countries, such as France, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands are already transferring their resources to the region.

Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte commented on a possible NATO operation in the Strait of Hormuz at his press conference on Wednesday, stating that of course there are always discussions in the alliance – also about whether some kind of NATO operation could be possible, but at the same time the Secretary General stated that “in my opinion, these are informal discussions”, but the situation is alive.

A surprising announcement

One example of Trump’s frustration with NATO allies was seen in early May, when the Pentagon announced that the United States would withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany. The announcement came shortly after the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had angered Trump with his Iran speeches.

The decision to withdraw the troops surprised the NATO allies and made another dent in the already weakened transatlantic relationship.

The US withdrawal also targets a long-range fire unit equipped with Tomahawk missiles. The unit was to be stationed in Germany later this year and act as a temporary solution until Europe develops its own similar weapons capable of striking deep into Russia if necessary.

On the other hand, the United States has a total of about 84,000 soldiers at the bases of NATO countries in Europe, so after the withdrawal of about 5,000 soldiers, the number of troops will return to the same level as it was in 2021, i.e. before the Russian war of aggression.

Earlier in May, the United States also suspended the transfer of more than 4,000 soldiers to Europe. However, the Pentagon recently announced that the transfer of troops to Poland will not be canceled, even if it is delayed. At the same time, Poland, which invests massively in defense, received thanks from the United States for its exemplary alliance.

At his press conference on Wednesday, Rutte downplayed Trump’s sudden actions to withdraw troops and equipment from Europe. He only stated that the reductions will be implemented in a “structured way”.

The United States also plans to tell its allies on Friday that it intends to limit the number of military capabilities available to the alliance in peacetime and also in the event that Russia attacks Europe. The arrangement is related to NATO’s force model system (NFM), which NATO uses to organize and activate the forces of member countries during peace, crisis and war.

On Wednesday, Rutte did not agree to give details about the deductions. He only stated that the US decision was “exactly in line with our expectations” and did not come as a surprise.

The Secretary General also assured that NATO has the processes of the mass model already ready.

“This was expected – I think it’s only right that this happens,” Rutte said.

The United States has demanded that Europe take more responsibility for its defense, and in Helsingborg there is a discussion about how the strengthening of deterrence and defense and the transfer of the burden to Europe will proceed. And it is progressing, for example, Germany plans to spend more than 150 billion euros on defense by 2029. It is a significant change when Europe takes a bigger role in NATO.

However, Rutte assured again on Wednesday that the United States will remain involved in Europe in the future as well, even though “changes are happening”.

Faster production

One issue that connects Europe and the United States is the defense industry.

Currently, NATO’s defense industrial capability in the United States and Europe cannot meet the needs of the two ongoing theaters of war (Ukraine and Iran).

Rutte said the coalition needs more air defense and missile defense, long-range strike systems, drones, ammunition and larger stockpiles.

“This means we need to produce faster and on a larger scale on both sides of the Atlantic,” NATO’s secretary general said.

At the very least, a number of memorandums of understanding for the defense industry should be achieved in Ankara, so that strengthening the alliance’s performance does not remain mere talk.

Supporting Ukraine is also on the table of NATO foreign ministers. Rutte has proposed that the NATO countries should use 0.25 percent of their gross national product to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capability, because the problem now is that only some of the member countries bear the financial burden of the situation in Ukraine.

Although Rutte admitted on Wednesday that his proposal will not proceed due to the opposition of some member countries, the discussion will continue.

Sweden as the center

It is a nice feather in Sweden’s cap that the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting is organized in the alliance’s newest member country. Sweden, which joined NATO in 2024, wants to show that it is an active and committed member of the alliance.

The meeting place is Helsingborg in southern Sweden, which is located on the shore of the narrow Öresund strait. The strait is one of the busiest in the world and acts as a gateway to the Baltic Sea. At the same time, it symbolizes NATO’s growing security threats at sea, on land and in the air.

In recent weeks and days, the Baltic countries and Finland have had to witness the aerial threat of a war of aggression started by Russia, when Ukrainian drones intended for Russia have strayed into the airspace of NATO countries.

The foreign ministers also have a lot to talk about, how to keep the citizens of the alliance safe from Russian aggression, which is now and in the future the biggest threat to NATO, because even Ukrainian drones wouldn’t wander in the wrong places without a Russian war of aggression.