NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, stated that the withdrawal of 5,000 troops from Europe will not affect the alliance's defense capability.

Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO, assured on Wednesday that the United States' decision to withdraw between 4,000 and 5,000 soldiers from Europe will not impact NATO's ability to defend itself.

He explained that this withdrawal will be carried out in a structured manner and that discussions regarding the U.S. contribution to NATO began more than a year ago. Rutte emphasized that this measure is a logical response to the increasing defense spending by European allies and Canada.

He also labeled Russia's accusations regarding the opening of the airspace of the Baltic countries to Ukrainian drones as "ridiculous," emphasizing that these drones are there due to Russia's illegal attack. Rutte mentioned that NATO has reacted calmly and proportionally to the recent incident in which a Ukrainian drone was shot down in Estonia.