From Central Europe, Rubio Rejects NATO Exit Talk, Calls For Stronger European Role

BRATISLAVA -- Just one day after addressing the Munich Security Conference, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio used a brief stop in the Slovak capital to dispel fears of a US retreat from NATO, telling reporters that Washington remains firmly committed to the alliance.

Standing alongside Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on February 15, Rubio dismissed concerns triggered by recent US troop adjustments in Europe.

“We're not leaving NATO. We're not leaving.... We may move a couple thousand troops from one country to another, but this has always been the case,” Rubio said, playing down speculation that redeployments signal a broader shift.

The number of US troops in Europe typically fluctuates between 80,000 and 100,000, depending on operations, training exercises, and rotational deployments. In fall 2025, the US announced that soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division, the majority of whom were deployed in Romania, would redeploy without being replaced.

Rubio also criticized what he described as alarmist interpretations of Washington’s call for higher European defense spending. “Every time we say this, people go crazy. They think that means you're going to abandon NATO, you're going to abandon your allies,” Rubio said, adding: “The point we're making is that the stronger our allies are, the stronger we are collectively.”

Instead of abandonment, Rubio framed his urging of European allies to spend more on defense as a recognition that NATO is more durable when its European members are more militarily capable.

“We are not threatened or feel that it's hostile to see NATO grow in its own capabilities, not independent of the United States, [but] in conjunction with the United States,” he said.

'We Want To Be Your Partner'

Rubio was explicit that Washington does not want Europe to remain dependent. “We're not asking Europe to be a vassal of the United States. We want to be your partner,” he said.

This message echoed themes the secretary of state advanced a day earlier in Munich, where he combined pointed criticism of Europe’s internal trajectory with an affirmation that the United States and Europe share a common destiny. In that speech, he warned that Europe must reverse what he described as cultural and economic decline and regain control over mass migration, while reaffirming transatlantic unity.

In Bratislava, Rubio’s tone was more transactional than doctrinal. He portrayed Central Europe as a focal point for deeper US engagement, underscoring shared interests in defense and energy cooperation.

He also played down disagreements -- including Slovak criticism of a recent US operation in Venezuela -- as inevitable among sovereign nations.

“A lot of countries didn't like what we did in Venezuela. That's OK. That was in our national interest. I'm sure there's something he'll do one day that we don't like, and we'll say, hey, we didn't like what you did. So what? That doesn't mean we're not going to be friends,” Rubio said.

Rubio’s visit to Slovakia lasted only a few hours before he departed for Budapest, where on February 16 he is scheduled to meet Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The sequence of appearances -- from Munich to Bratislava to Budapest -- underscores the dual thrust of Rubio’s diplomacy: reaffirming US commitment to NATO even as Washington presses Europe to become stronger and less dependent and deepening ties with key Central European governments seen as aligned with the administration’s approach to transatlantic relations.