U.S. allies at NATO focus on Europe as the Trump administration steps back

BRUSSELS (AP) — European allies at NATO on Thursday brushed aside concerns that the United States has stepped back from its leadership role of the world’s biggest security organization, leaving them and Canada to do the lion's share of defending Europe.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not attend Thursday’s gathering of defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels. His no-show came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipped the last meeting of NATO foreign ministers in December.

It’s rare for members of a U.S. administration to miss a meeting of the organization’s top decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, at the level of ministers, let alone two meetings in a row. Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby was sent in Hegseth’s place.

“Sadly for him, he is missing a good party,” Icelandic Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir told reporters. “Of course, it’s always better that the ministers attend here, but I would not describe it as a bad signal.”

“I’m not disappointed,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said. “Each of us has a full agenda. And one time the American defense minister is here, and one time not, so it's his decision and his duties he has to fulfill.”

When asked what NATO’s purpose was in its infancy in 1949, NATO’s first secretary-general, the British general and diplomat Lord Hastings Ismay, was reputed to have replied: “To keep the Americans in, the Russians out and the Germans down.”

Nowadays, Germany is stepping up. After Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago, it vowed to spend 100 billion euros ($118 billion) to modernize its armed forces in coming years.

A big part of NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s job is to keep the Americans in.

“They have to take care of the whole world. This is the United States,” Rutte told reporters before chairing the meeting. “I totally accept it, agree with it.”

“They have always consistently pleaded for Europe doing more, Canada doing more, taking more care of the defense of NATO territory, of course in conjunction with the United States,” he said.

That means more European spending on conventional weapons and defense, while the U.S. guarantees NATO's nuclear deterrent.

But doubts linger, and surprises from the Trump administration cannot be ruled out. Allies still wonder whether more U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Europe.

“What for me is the most important is the no-surprise policy that has been agreed between the NATO secretary-general and the U.S.,” Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said.

Publicly at least, the Trump administration is doing much less at NATO. A year ago, Hegseth warned that America’s security priorities lie elsewhere and that Europe would have to look after itself, and Ukraine in its battle against Russia's full-scale invasion.

Supplies of U.S. guns and money that were sent to Ukraine by the previous administration of President Joe Biden have dried up under Trump. European allies and Canada are obliged to buy weapons from the United States to donate now.

Western backers of Ukraine were also meeting at NATO on Thursday to drum up more military support. A scheme proudly championed by the Pentagon under Biden, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group is now chaired by the U.K. and Germany.

U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey announced that Britain would provide “an extra half a billion pounds ($682 million) in urgent air defense to Ukraine. This is Britain being a force for good in the world, building a new deal for European security within NATO.”

Sweden also intends to fund the purchase of more American weapons. The Netherlands will send more flight simulators to help Ukrainian fighter pilots train to fly F-16 jets.

The one “deliverable” from Thursday’s meeting was the announcement that NATO would launch Arctic Sentry, its response to U.S. security concerns in the high north, and an attempt to dissuade Trump from trying to seize Greenland.

It’s ostensibly aimed at countering Russian and Chinese activities or influence in the Arctic region.

But Arctic Sentry is essentially a rebranding exercise. National drills already underway in the region, like those run by Denmark and Norway, will be brought under the NATO umbrella and overseen by the organization’s military chief.

It is not a long-term NATO operation or mission.

Denmark, France, Germany will take part in the “military activities” happening under Arctic Sentry, but they have not said in what way. Finland and Sweden are likely to get involved. Belgium is considering what role it might play.

It remains unclear what role, if any, the United States will take.

“It can’t just be more from the United States,” U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said ahead of Thursday’s meeting. “We need capable allies that are ready and strong, that can bring assets to all of these areas of our collective security.”

Trump’s renewed threats last month to annex Greenland — a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark — have deeply shaken the rest of the alliance. NATO’s primary role is to defend the territory of its 32 member states, not to undermine it.

European allies and Canada hope that Arctic Sentry and ongoing talks between the Trump administration, Denmark and Greenland will allow NATO to move on from the dispute and focus on Europe’s real security priority, Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken said the Arctic security arrangement at least means that “we stop having some food fights over the Atlantic.”

“I think that the Greenland saga was not the best moment of NATO (over) the last 76 years," he told reporters. "It was a crisis that was not needed.”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, right, shakes hands with United States Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby prior to a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

A general view of the round table during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Defense Ministers Session at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

United States Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, center, speaks with Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Defense Ministers Session at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, right, speaks with French Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Defense Ministers Session at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, second left, introduces United States Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, center, to military staff during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Defense Ministers Session at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh on Thursday held its first election since the 2024 mass protests toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government. The balloting was mostly peaceful in a vote seen as a critical test of the country’s democracy after years of political turmoil.

After a slow start, crowds converged on polling stations in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere later in the day. By 2:00 p.m., over 47% voters had cast their ballots, the Election Commission said. Polls closed at 4:30 p.m. and the counting started right away, with the results expected on Friday.

At one Dhaka polling station, poll officials manually counted the black-and-white paper ballots and checked each for validity before tabulating the results. Political party representatives were present as electoral observers and security officials kept a close watch.

More than 127 million people are eligible to vote in what was the country's first election since Hasina's ouster after weeks of mass protests, dubbed by many as a Gen Z uprising. Hasina fled the country and is living in India in exile while her party has been banned from the polls.

Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party is a leading contender to form the next government. He is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and returned to Bangladesh in December, after 17 years in self-exile in London. Rahman has pledged to rebuild democratic institutions, restore the rule of law and revive the struggling economy.

Challenging the BNP is an 11-party alliance led by the Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party, which was banned under Hasina but has gained prominence since her removal. The conservative religious group’s growing influence has fueled concern, particularly among women and minority communities, that social freedoms could come under pressure if they come to power. Bangladesh is more than 90% Muslim, while around 8% are Hindu.

Shafiqur Rahman, chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, expressed optimism after casting his vote in a polling station.

The election "is a turning point,” he told The Associated Press. “People demand change. They desire change. We also desire the change.”

Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus was upbeat about the election, saying it was a moment of national joy.

“This is a day of great joy. Today is the birthday of a new Bangladesh," Yunus told reporters as he voted in Dhaka's Gulshan area and visited other stations.

The interim government led by Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has said it is committed to delivering a credible and transparent election. As part of that effort, around 500 international observers and foreign journalists will be present, including delegations from the European Union and the Commonwealth, to which Bangladesh belongs.

Bangladesh’s Parliament has 350 seats, including 300 elected directly from single-member constituencies and 50 reserved for women. Lawmakers are chosen by plurality and the parliament serves a five-year term. The Election Commission recently postponed voting in one constituency after a candidate died.

The election follows a turbulent period marked by mob violence, attacks on Hindu minorities and the press, the growing influence of Islamists and weakening of the rule of law.

It could reshape the domestic stability of Bangladesh, a country whose post-1971 history since gaining independence from Pakistan has been marked by entrenched political parties, military coups and allegations of vote rigging. Young voters, many of whom played a central role in the 2024 uprising, are expected to be influential. Some 5 million first-time voters are eligible.

“I think it is a very crucial election because this is the first time we can show our opinion with freedom,” said Ikram ul Haque, 28, adding that past elections were far from fair.

“We are celebrating the election. It is like a festival here,” he said. “I hope Bangladesh will have exponential change.”

Thursday’s election is a critical test not just of leadership but of trust in Bangladesh’s democratic future. Voters can say “Yes” to endorse major reform proposals that stemmed from a national charter signed by major political parties last year.

Yunus was also enthusiastic about the referendum. “Voting for a candidate is important, but the referendum is very important. The whole of Bangladesh will change,” he said.

If a majority of voters favor the referendum, the newly elected Parliament could form a constitutional reform council to make the changes with 180 working days from its first session. The proposals include the creation of new constitutional bodies and changing Parliament from a single body to a bicameral legislature with an upper house empowered to amend the constitution by majority vote.

The BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami both signed the document with some changes after initially expressing some dissent.

Hasina’s Awami League party — still a major party in Bangladesh though banned from the polls — and some of its former allies were excluded from the discussion. From exile, Hasina denounced the election for excluding her party.

Some critics have also said that the referendum has limited the options put before voters.

A Bangladeshi Christian nun casts her vote in a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

A person shows victory signs after casting his vote outside a polling center during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Shafiqur Rahman, center, addresses to the media after casting his vote at a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Bangladesh Nationalist Party Chairperson Tarique Rahman waves as he comes out after casting his vote during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Chief Adviser of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus waves after casting his vote during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Shafiqur Rahman, centre, addresses to the media after casting his vote at a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

A woman casts her vote at a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

A person shows victory signs after casting his vote outside a polling center during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Shafiqur Rahman, center, addresses to the media after casting his vote at a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Bangladesh Nationalist Party Chairperson Tarique Rahman waves as he comes out after casting his vote during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Voters wait in line outside a polling center to cast their ballots during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Voters wait in line outside a polling center to cast their ballots during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Bangladeshi people stand in queue to cast their votes in a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

An army official announces to the voters to maintain discipline in a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Bangladeshi women stand in queue to cast their votes in a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

People ride on three wheelers on a street ahead of Thursday's national parliamentary election, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Security personnel arrive to collect ballot boxes and voting materials at a distribution centre ahead of Thursday's national parliamentary election, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

An official stands near ballot boxes and voting papers before its distribution to various polling centers ahead of Thursday's national parliamentary election, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)