Europeans Remain Wary After Trump Promises to Send Troops to Poland

America’s allies in Europe have been left wary and reeling after a tumultuous three weeks in the trans-Atlantic alliance, in which President Trump has repeatedly threatened to pull troops away from the continent only to seemingly change course.

The whiplash was clear on Friday as Europe reacted to Mr. Trump’s social media announcement that the United States would be sending 5,000 troops to Poland. The decision, which he announced late on Thursday night, appeared to be a reversal from his administration’s earlier threat to cancel or delay a deployment of 4,000 troops to the country.

European officials responded cautiously. They made it clear that they believe the United States is still pivoting away from the continent, and several used the oscillating signals from the White House to galvanize their calls for Europe to push for greater military self-reliance.

“I welcome the announcement,” Mark Rutte, NATO’s secretary general, told reporters at a meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers in Sweden on Friday morning. But he added that Europe’s trajectory away from dependence on the United States would continue.

A more self-sufficient Europe would give the United States “the possibility and the option to pivot more towards other priorities, which are also in our interest,” Mr. Rutte said.