The US Secretary of Defense has shown a major change in Washington’s approach to war in Ukraine at his first meeting with allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Pentagon Chief Pete Hegses spoke on Wednesday at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, where he outlined the hard-wired pivots in US policy following four years of US President Joe Biden. .
He announced that we spoke before our staff and that Donald Trump had made his first call with Russian President Vladimir Putin since he took office.
“Our message is clear: the bloodshed must stop and this war must end,” Hegus said in his address to the Ukrainian Defense Liaison Group.
However, he said, “We will only end this catastrophic war, establish a durable peace, and by combining the strength of the alliance with a realistic assessment of the battlefield, we will be able to achieve durability. It just establishes peace.”
In other words, Ukraine must abandon its “fantastic goal” of returning to its border before 2014, referring to the year when Russia seized Ukrainian territory in Crimea and Donbas.
War-torn countries must prepare for a negotiated reconciliation with Russia, supported by potentially non-nat international forces, Heggs said.
He added that Ukraine’s long-standing membership of NATO (which Kiev calls essential to its long-term security) is not “realistic.”
The statement was the clearest and clearest expression of how to approach the war in Ukraine, which began with a Russian invasion in February 2022.
Trump has repeatedly promised to bring a quick end to the conflict. This curtails concerns that Kiev could pressure him to accept large concessions, including the loss of Russian-occupied territory.
The US President is also a vocal critic for NATO, calling on BLOC members to increase their defense spending while threatening the US withdrawal.
In a report from Brussels, Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbara waits for attendees at Wednesday’s meeting to “provide some details about the US commitment to Ukraine in the coming weeks and months.” He said he was worried that he was there.
but, “[It was] “We’re breaking from what NATO and the Europeans were looking forward to hearing from Americans today,” he said.
“Hegseth is saying it very clearly today. From now on, Europeans understand that given the harsh geopolitical developments around the world, Americans are not primarily focused on European safety. He says it has to,” added Ahelbarra.
“There are other challenges. In addition to that agenda, there is a growing economic and military influence in China that Americans want to counter.”
Europeans must provide “overwhelming sharing”
As part of a change in US policy, Hegses said European countries must “provide an overwhelming share of future fatal and non-fatal aid to Ukraine.”
Over almost three years, around 50 countries have provided Ukraine with more than $126 billion in arms and military aid. The US provided about $64 billion under the Biden administration.
Hegseth also reiterated Trump’s claim that NATO members must increase defensive spending, calling for a quota to 5% of GDP, far beyond the 2% he had already committed. It has been reflected.
Given that most European countries are still struggling to reach 2%, it is likely that most countries are not able to meet, Ahelbarra reported.
The Pentagon Chief also provided a new vision for Ukraine’s long-term security. He said that Ukraine should not ultimately join NATO.
The Biden administration supported, in principle, joining Ukraine if certain reforms were met, despite concerns that such a move could draw the alliance into a wider war.
Under Article 5 of NATO, an attack on one member is considered an attack on all members and causes a joint military response.
Hegseth said that “it must be guaranteed by European and non-European capable troops,” which are not supported by Article 5 protection.
He added that the deployment of the military in Ukraine must be “part of a non-nat mission.”
“To be clear, there are no US troops deployed in Ukraine as part of their security guarantee,” he said.
Heggs spoke just before he announced that Trump had made his first call with Putin on Wednesday.
“As they both agree, I want to stop the deaths of millions of people in the war with Russia/Ukraine,” Trump said in a social media post, adding that he is confident that negotiations to end the war will be successful. Ta.
The two leaders agreed to visit each other’s counties, he added.
Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelenki also said he made a “meaningful” call with Trump on Wednesday.
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