The US secretary of protection has signalled a major shift in Washington’s strategy to the struggle in Ukraine throughout his first assembly with North Atlantic Treaty Group (NATO) allies.
Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth was talking on Wednesday on the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, the place he outlined a hardline pivot in US coverage following 4 years of former US President Joe Biden, whereas sustaining that ending the conflict in Ukraine remained “a prime precedence”.
He spoke shortly earlier than US Presdient Donald Trump introduced he had held his first name with Russian President Vladimir Putin since taking workplace.
“Our message is evident: The bloodshed should cease and this struggle should finish,” Hegseth mentioned in an deal with to the Ukraine Protection Contact Group, which incorporates all 32 members of NATO in addition to different backers of Kyiv.
Nevertheless, he added, “We’ll solely finish this devastating struggle – and set up a sturdy peace – by coupling allied power with a practical evaluation of the battlefield.”
Which means, he continued, Ukraine should abandon its “illusionary aim” of a return to its pre-2014 borders, referring to the yr when Russia seized the Ukrainian territories of Crimea and Donbas.
The war-torn nation should put together for a negotiated settlement with Russia, doubtlessly backed by a non-NATO worldwide power, Hegseth mentioned.
He added that Ukraine’s long-sought membership in NATO – which Kyiv has known as important to its long-term safety – was not “reasonable”.
The statements have been the clearest articulation but of how the administration of US President Donald Trump would strategy the struggle in Ukraine, which started with Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Trump has repeatedly promised to convey a speedy finish to the battle, which has stoked considerations that Kyiv could possibly be pressured to just accept hefty concessions, together with the lack of its Russian-occupied territories.
The US president has additionally been a vocal critic of NATO, threatening US withdrawal whereas repeatedly calling on members of the bloc to extend their defence spending.
Reporting from Brussels, Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra mentioned that attendees at Wednesday’s assembly had been anxiously awaiting for Hegseth to “present some extra particulars about america’s dedication to Ukraine within the coming weeks and months”.
Nevertheless, “[It was] a departure from what NATO and the Europeans have been wanting ahead to listening to from the People immediately,” he mentioned.
“Hegseth has mentioned very clearly immediately that from now onwards, the Europeans have to grasp that given the stark geopolitical developments globally, the People gained’t be primarily targeted on Europe’s safety,” Ahelbarra added.
“There are different challenges , and on prime of that agenda is China’s rising financial and navy clout globally, which the People wish to counter.”
Europeans should present ‘overwhelming share’
As a part of the broader US shift in coverage, Hegseth mentioned European nations “should present the overwhelming share of future deadly and nonlethal help to Ukraine”.
Over almost three years, about 50 nations have collectively supplied Ukraine with greater than $126bn in weapons and navy help. The US provided about $64bn of that beneath the Biden administration.
Hegseth additionally repeated Trump’s declare that NATO members should enhance their defence spending, echoing a name to extend the allocation to five % of their gross home product (GDP), far past the two % that they had already dedicated to.
That fee is probably going inconceivable for many nations to satisfy, Ahelbarra reported, given most European nations “are nonetheless struggling to get to 2 %”.
The Pentagon chief additionally supplied a brand new imaginative and prescient for Ukraine’s long-term safety, which he mentioned shouldn’t embody Ukraine ultimately becoming a member of NATO.
The Biden administration had supported in precept Ukraine becoming a member of the bloc if sure reforms have been met, regardless of considerations that such a transfer may draw the alliance right into a wider struggle.
Beneath Article 5 of NATO, an assault on one member is taken into account an assault on all members and triggers a joint navy response.
Hegseth mentioned that “any safety assure should be backed by succesful European and non-European troops”, not supported by Article 5 protections.
Any troop deployment in Ukraine, he added, should be “a part of a non-NATO mission”.
“To be clear, as a part of any safety assure, there won’t be US troops deployed to Ukraine,” he mentioned.
Hegseth spoke shortly earlier than Trump on Wednesday introduced he had held his first call with Putin.
“As we each agreed, we need to cease the hundreds of thousands of deaths happening within the struggle with Russia/Ukraine,” Trump mentioned in a social media submit, including that he was assured that negotiations to finish the struggle would achieve success.
