Pentagon leaves UK, France and Baltics out of NATO meeting in Poland: Report

The Trump administration has excluded several major allies, including Britain, France and the Baltic states, from a Pentagon-led NATO meeting in Poland next month, Politico reported, citing six diplomats familiar with the planning. The gathering, spearheaded by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, is essentially a working group on NATO's future. Excluded allies are questioning why they were left out despite being large defense spenders, as a U.S. envoy separately warned the EU against prioritizing European-made weapons. Diplomats fear Washington is playing favorites in a way that could further splinter an alliance already strained by Russian aggression and depleted weapons stockpiles. Excluded allies seek answers on NATO meeting "We're doing everything that is being asked of us," an official from an excluded ally told Politico. "We're trying to understand what the criteria is and what the purpose of these meetings are.