No signals that US plans to withdraw its forces from Europe - Lithuanian FM

VILNIUS - Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys says he has no signals that the United States plans to withdraw its forces from Europe.

"I want to assure you that I have not received any signal about such plans during my time in this position," Budrys told the public broadcaster LRT as he attends a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday.

"There are all sorts of considerations that there could be a scenario A, B or C, that it could be done this way or that way. Yes, we all see them, but I have not received any signals that this is planned, that it is going to be done," Lithuania's top diplomat said.

His comment comes amid concerns among allies about US President Donald Trump's commitment to European security.

Washington's increased focus on the Indo-Pacific region and China's growing influence there could lead to a review of the US presence in Europe, Budrys says, adding that "we should not be idle and do what we have to do".

"I see a risk in Europe when these two debates are mixed together: whether the American presence should be bigger or smaller, and what Europe must do. Europe must already double its spending from roughly 500 billion to 1 trillion," the foreign minister said.

Ahead of his first meeting with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged NATO members to commit to increasing their defense spending to 5 percent of GDP, and he also called doubts about President Trump's commitment to the Alliance hysteria.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has also assured that Washington has no plans to suddenly withdraw its forces from Europe.

During his visit in the US last week, Budrys said he told Rubio that Lithuania was ready to receive more US troops.

As BNS reported earlier, Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene also expressed Lithuania's willingness to host an additional battalion of US troops when she met with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in March.

US troops have been rotating intermittently in Lithuania since the spring of 2014, and US heavy battalions have been deployed in Lithuania since 2019.