NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that the reduction of US troops in Europe will begin immediately, but expressed hope that in the event of a conflict, the US would do 'everything possible' to defend the continent. This was reported by TASS.
'What the US announced, and NATO knew that it would happen, because the US must operate on many theaters and should not spread its resources, and it was previously announced that they would slightly reduce their participation in the NATO force configuration [in Europe],' Rutte said.
He confirmed that this would happen 'immediately.' At the same time, the NATO Secretary General noted that in the event of a war against the military bloc, Article 5 on collective defense would be invoked, and all countries, including the US, would do 'everything possible' to enable the North Atlantic Alliance to conduct combat operations.
