Pentagon Excludes UK, France and Baltic Allies from NATO Talks

The Pentagon has left the U.K., France and the Baltic countries off the invitation list for talks on NATO’s future in Poland next month, excluding major defense contributors from discussions intended to reshape the alliance.

Six diplomats familiar with preparations told POLITICO that the gathering would operate as a working group.

Its restricted membership has prompted questions about why allies with substantial military commitments have been denied a seat.

Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby is driving the initiative. Officials from excluded countries say they have received little explanation of either its remit or the requirements for participation.

“We’re doing everything that is being asked of us,” an official from one excluded country said.

Spending Offers No Guarantee

The exclusions have unsettled diplomats because several countries outside the group have met or exceeded the spending targets pressed by Washington.

Even some participating governments question the omission of Britain, one of Europe’s largest military powers.

The dispute comes as NATO confronts growing Russian aggression and dwindling weapons reserves. Diplomats fear that selective invitations could deepen existing divisions within the alliance.

The Pentagon declined to comment, while the White House did not respond to a request for comment.

A Smaller Group With Wider Ambitions

Colby has already convened two meetings involving Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands.

The arrangement is known as the Bergen Group, following its first gathering in the Norwegian city in June.

A diplomat from a participating country said the group was designed to develop proposals for scrutiny by the wider alliance.

Its members reject suggestions that the format is intended to divide NATO, while acknowledging frustration among governments left outside.

Colby has presented participation as reflecting progress toward NATO’s Hague spending commitments, the capacity to contribute and a willingness to undertake practical work.

At a Washington conference this month, he said: “the idea is to pull the whole alliance along.”

He argued that the initiative would strengthen NATO’s durability and expand Europe’s military capacity.

Denmark could receive an invitation following an agreement with Washington to increase the American military presence in Greenland, according to another person familiar with preparations.

Fears of Political Favoritism

The invitation dispute follows earlier administration discussions about rewarding cooperative allies and penalizing governments that resist President Donald Trump’s priorities.

POLITICO reported in April that the White House had developed an informal framework for distinguishing between those governments.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also advocated preferential treatment for allies supporting U.S. interests and consequences for those that do not.

Trump has repeatedly attacked NATO members over defense spending and their refusal to support the Iran war.

Last month, he reduced a planned military exercise with South Korea while criticizing Seoul’s unwillingness to join that conflict.

Whether those considerations determined the Poland guest list remains unclear.

However, diplomats worry that dividing allies according to Washington’s preferences could carry consequences beyond a single meeting.

“If they try splitting NATO into the good ones and the bad ones, it is dangerous for the U.S.,” another diplomat said. “But for Europe, this is existential.”