US denies plan to pull up to 40,000 troops from Europe

US ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker denied on Wednesday that Washington is preparing to withdraw between 25,000 and 40,000 troops from Europe, calling earlier reports "false". He was speaking at a defence conference organised by Euronews in Brussels, AFP reported.

At the same conference, Whitaker said NATO should respond to Russia's hybrid attacks by increasing, not reducing, support for Ukraine. He said NATO's Article 5 has no automatic mechanism covering hybrid attacks, leaving it to the alliance's 32 member states to decide how to respond, and said such attacks are intended to pressure allies into stepping back from backing Kyiv.

NBC News had reported in mid-September, citing unnamed US officials, that Washington intended to withdraw up to 40,000 troops from the continent. Whitaker said no such plan has been presented to date and that the Pentagon's review of its posture has not yet been finished, AFP and Agerpres reported.

The United States launched a review of its military presence in Europe at the end of July, due to be completed by the end of the year. Pentagon deputy secretary Elbridge Colby said at the time the review was meant to ensure NATO moves quickly and irreversibly toward European states taking primary responsibility for their own conventional defence.

Several European governments are concerned that a sharp reduction in US troop numbers could weaken NATO's ability to deter Russia, according to AFP. Whitaker said the US has repeated constantly that it remains committed to Europe.

The review also covers how US forces use European bases, Whitaker said. Washington has criticised European countries that refused American forces access to NATO bases on their territory during the war against Iran, and is examining the strategic value of its global base posture.

The US has already begun adjusting its presence in Europe, with troop reductions announced in Germany. Washington said in early June it also wants to reduce its contribution to NATO's "force model", which sets out what military resources the alliance can count on from its 32 member states.

Separately, the Pentagon has not invited some of NATO's biggest-spending members, including Britain, France and the Baltic states, to a meeting in Poland next month on the alliance's future, Politico reported, citing informed diplomats. Colby is due to lead the meeting, which diplomats described as a working group on NATO's direction. Diplomats from the excluded countries said they had not been told why, and one diplomat said treating allies as "good and bad" would be dangerous for the US itself.