President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday dismissed reports that the United States is preparing to withdraw from military facilities in Alexandroupolis, Greece, calling the claims “not true.”
The denial came after a Greek newspaper reported that the Trump administration was planning to end its use of the northern Greek port, a key logistics hub for U.S. forces in the region.
As journalists packed into the Oval Office for a joint appearance by Mr. Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, a reporter asked whether the United States intended to pull out of Alexandroupolis due to pressure from Turkey and Russia.
Mr. Trump appeared unfamiliar with the claim and turned to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and then to Mr. Hegseth, who promptly dismissed the report. “It is not a true story,” he said, a statement Mr. Trump later echoed.
Pentagon Denies Reported Withdrawal
A U.S. Defense Department official also refuted the claim, telling Breitbart News that the United States is not ending its use of the facility.
“The United States does not have a military base in Alexandroupolis,” the official said, clarifying that the site is a Greek facility that the U.S. military accesses under the Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement (MDCA).
The port primarily serves as a logistics hub for U.S. and NATO forces moving equipment in and out of Europe, the official added, noting that American personnel are present only to oversee transport operations.
Reports of an alleged withdrawal gained traction in the U.S. after the defense-focused website Defense Blog cited the Greek newspaper’s claim that Mr. Trump’s decision to pull out of Alexandroupolis followed a joint request from Russian President Vladimir V. Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
However, Pentagon officials have dismissed such assertions, emphasizing that U.S. operations in Alexandroupolis remain unchanged.
