Poland’s prime minister has issued a dire warning over the future of NATO amid a deepening row between Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Donald Tusk said the alliance is “disintegrating” after the US announced plans to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany in the wake of criticism by Mr Merz over the war in Iran.

“The greatest threat to the transatlantic community are not its external enemies, but the ongoing disintegration of our alliance,” Mr Tusk wrote on X on Saturday. “We must all do what it takes to reverse this disastrous trend.” The Pentagon overnight confirmed it would be pulling back the 5,000 troops from Germany over the next “six to 12 months”.

"No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise!" he said in a post on Truth Social.

The German government looked to play down the withdrawal, describing the move as “anticipated”.

NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said the alliance was “working with the US to understand the details of their decision on force posture in Germany”.

The US has around 40,000 troops stationed in Germany as part of a deterrence against Russia.

Mr Trump suggested he could also withdraw troops from Italy and Spain amid an ongoing rift with NATO.

"NATO WASN'T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON'T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,” Mr Trump said in a post online last month after talks with Secretary General Mark Rutte.

The American troops leaving Germany could redeployed to other nations such as Poland or Romania, reports suggest.