European allies are seeking clarifications from Washington over plans to remove key military assets from Nato’s rapid response force, raising concerns about the alliance’s ability to deter and tackle Russian aggression.
The US has in recent weeks presented allies with detailed proposals to reduce the military capabilities it assigns to the Nato Force Model, the alliance’s pool of forces and equipment that can be deployed within 10 days to respond to a crisis, according to people familiar with the discussions.
German newspaper Die Welt late on Wednesday published a leaked list of the assets Washington wants to withdraw, including one of the two US aircraft carrier strike groups at present assigned to Nato and all submarines capable of launching cruise missiles such as Tomahawks.