Washington has told Romania and allies it will reduce some US troops deployed on NATO’s eastern flank, the Romanian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. The decision was not a “withdrawal,” Romania’s Defense Minister Ionut Mosteanu told journalists shortly after the statement was released.

It was the “cessation of the rotation of a brigade that had elements in several NATO countries, including Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary”, he said. The ministry statement said that 1,000 US soldiers would remain deployed in Romania.

A NATO official said that the body had been informed by the administration of US President Donald Trump in advance and also played down its significance. (AFP)