Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday that his administration has no intentions to withdraw U.S. troops from Europe, but there might be slight adjustments in their positioning. The statement was made during a meeting at the White House with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, where Trump addressed questions regarding potential troop withdrawals from European territories.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Trump assured that while there are no plans to pull out troops, some repositioning might occur. “No, but we may move some around a little bit,” Trump remarked. He emphasized the significant number of troops stationed in Europe and mentioned that any movements would not alter the overall presence, stating, “We have a lot of troops in Europe, as you know a lot, and we can move them around a little bit, but now basically we’ll be pretty much set.”

The context of Trump’s comments is the Pentagon’s ongoing global posture review, which may influence U.S. troop deployments in various host coun
tries, including South Korea. During the meeting, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth highlighted NATO members’ commitment to increase defense spending to 5 percent of their GDP by 2035. Hegseth praised Trump’s leadership in encouraging NATO to take greater responsibility for continental defense. “We’re very much heartened by your leadership to get NATO to rise up to 5 percent, which means they can take primary responsibility for defense of the continent,” he noted. However, he clarified that this shift does not imply that America is withdrawing from NATO in Europe, but rather evaluating optimal troop positioning that benefits both America and its NATO allies.