An upcoming Nato summit will probably be the most important in the military alliance’s history, US secretary of state Marco Rubio has predicted, amid force cutbacks by Washington and strained relations with traditional partners, including the UK.
America’s top diplomat said there were “things here that need to be cleared up and fixed” at next month’s crunch meeting, which US President Donald Trump is due to attend.
Mr Rubio made his comments as a senior commander warned there had been an “unhealthy co-dependence” on the US in Nato’s defence plans.
American air force general Alexus Grynkewich said in a statement that European allies and Canada would have to “step up” to increase the number of aircraft, drones and ships available in a crisis to make up for the reduced US military capability in Europe.
The move, coming against the backdrop of the Ukraine war, is part of a US push “to ensure Europe takes primary responsibility for its own conventional defence in response to the security threats it faces”.
The need for “greater burden sharing” within Nato was the subject of recent talks between Mr Rubio and UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.
The Pentagon informed allies last month of the decision to “rightsize” the US contribution to the Nato Force Model framework, used to earmark available forces that can be called on in the event of a major security alert or conflict.
Mr Trump has had a fractious relationship with Nato, arguing America has been carrying other countries financially.
Although this led to a commitment by members to hike spending on defence and security by 2035, a transatlantic dispute appeared to be brewing over how this is calculated, such as counting veterans’ pensions towards the total.
Tensions have been further heightened by the president’s designs on Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark and a fellow founding member of Nato, and the response of allies to the Iran war, including the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.
Mr Trump has previously raised the possibility of the US quitting the alliance, branding it a “paper tiger”.
He has been particularly scathing over Britain’s stance on the Middle East conflict, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of being weak and deriding the Royal Navy.
The Prime Minister refused to give the US free rein in its use of UK military bases to carry out attacks against Iran, with permission limited to defensive strikes on missile sites.
Appearing before Congress on Wednesday, Mr Rubio repeated that European allies had been able to build “a very vast and robust social safety net” at the expense of defence because they could rely on the protection of the US.
Arguing this “paradigm has to shift”, he added: “These are very wealthy countries that should have the ability to spend more to build up their defences and need to, and this is not unique to President Trump.
“Multiple American presidents in both parties have complained about Nato burden sharing. This is just the first president that actually is doing something about it.”
Mr Rubio also pointed out the US had global obligations, which had to be managed within significant but not unlimited resources.
He said: “We have to allocate them, and that will include constantly re-examining what our force posture looks like in Europe in comparison to other theatres and potential contingencies around the world.”
Mr Rubio told a committee on Capitol Hill: “We’re still in Nato, but Nato needs significant changes and the president has made that clear. He is very disappointed in Nato.”
While a long-time supporter of the alliance, Mr Rubio said the restrictions placed on the use of bases by the US during the Iran war, made Washington question the benefit of membership.
He also referred to “this European effort to stand up some sort of a military force”, which he warned could lead to Nato’s collective defence provision being triggered.
Mr Rubio said: “I think the next meeting of Nato in Turkey in July is probably the most important meeting in Nato’s history, because there are some things here that need to be cleared up and fixed.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the US European Command, General Grynkewich, Nato’s top commander and the head of US forces in Europe, said: “There has been an unhealthy co-dependence in the Nato Force Model on US forces.
“President Trump, (defence) secretary Hegseth and others have been clear that this needs to change, and it will change.
“The potential reality of simultaneous conflict in multiple theatres demands it.”
He added: “Two areas where Canada and European Allies can step up now and in the near term – as the United States reduces forces sourced to the Nato Force Model in Europe and refocus them elsewhere – is with manned and unmanned aircraft, and with naval vessels.”
