The US Will Pull Part Of Its Troops From The East Side Of NATO

US Marines at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania. (Wikimedia Commons/US Marine Corps/Sgt. AlexandriaCE/2DMARDIV COMCAM)

JAKARTA - The United States plans to reduce the number of troops on the eastern side of Europe, including soldiers to be stationed at Romania's Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, the Romanian Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday.

The ministry said the decision had been estimated given Washington's priority changes, and some 1,000 US troops would remain in Romania.

Between 1,000 and 1,200 US troops have been rotated out a month ago and will not be replaced, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"The American decision is to stop the rotation in Europe, a brigade that has elements in several NATO countries," the Romanian Ministry of Defense said.

Washington's allies in Europe have previously been told by President Donald Trump's administration that they need to take more responsibility for their own security as the United States focuses more on its own borders and the Indo-Pacific region.

The US military said the decision not to replace American troops leaving Romania was not a "dispersal of American troops from Europe or a signal of reduced commitment to NATO".

However, in a rare course of action, US Republican lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House of Representatives condemned the move.

"We strongly oppose the decision not to maintain the US rotation brigade in Romania," the joint statement said, adding lawmakers were seeking clarification from the Pentagon.

Defense Minister Ionut Mosteanu told a news conference that the brigade had troops in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia.

He said Bucharest's relationship with Washington remained strong and the ally's permanent presence remained "big enough", about 3,500 NATO troops including US troops.

"That is enough for our needs," said Mosteanu.

"The hope of having all the foreign troops here to defend us is unrealistic. We will continue to invest in the Romanian army," he said.

He said Romania had received an advanced air defense system from Washington that would enhance the country's ability to protect itself from unmanned aircraft that violate its airspace.

It is known that the EU and NATO countries share a 650 km (400 miles) land border with Ukraine and have watched Russian drones violate its airspace more than 20 times over the past two years, as well as mines floating in the Black Sea crossing trade and main energy routes.

A NATO official said the alliance was in close communication regarding its troop deployment, adding that adjustments to the deployment of US troops were not unusual.

Separately, Slovak's Defense Ministry said the decision not to replace the rotation brigade had only an impact on Romania, while Slovakia's defense was provided by the Spanish-led multinational NATO brigade.

Meanwhile, Polish Defense Minister Wldyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz and Lithuanian President Deividas Matulionis said they had not received any information about the possible reduction of US troops in their territory.

Despite concerns on NATO's east side about a potential reduction in US attendance in the region, as Russia continues to fight in Ukraine, President Trump said in September Washington could increase its troop presence in Poland.