NATO allies await US defense secretary’s visit, the first by a member of the Trump administration
BRUSSELS (ABC NEWS) — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will on Wednesday become the first member of the new Trump administration to visit NATO, where the allies are keen to understand how America now plans to influence the course of the war in Ukraine.
Hegseth’s trip comes just ahead of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Most U.S. allies fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not stop at Ukraine’s borders if he wins, and that Europe’s biggest land war in decades poses an existential threat to their security.
President Donald Trump has promised to quickly end the war. He’s complained that it is costing the American taxpayer too much money. Some allies worry that a hasty deal might be clinched on terms that are not favorable to Ukraine.
Hegseth will first take part in a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at NATO’s Brussels headquarters. Former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin set up the main international forum for drumming up arms and ammunition for Ukraine in 2022.
Over the last three years, around 50 countries have collectively provided Ukraine more than $126 billion in weapons and military assistance. But this week for the first time, the meeting will be convened by another country; the United Kingdom.
No decision has been made on who might chair the next meeting, if one is convened.
Hegseth was not expected to make any announcement on new weapons for Ukraine. He was not set to meet one on one with his Ukraine counterparts, but rather to be in a “listening mode” at the meeting, as well as at Thursday’s NATO defense ministerial, one U.S. official said.
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