Pentagon chief skips Ramstein meeting, but USA to be represented
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte HAS confirmed that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth will not be at today's meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, but noted that the United States will be represented at a different level.
"This will be Pete Hegseth's second visit to Brussels since he was appointed US Secretary of Defense in January. He will be here for the second time this year, he will participate in tomorrow's meeting. Today, the United States will be present at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting," Rutte said at a press conference on Wednesday.
He assured that the United States is fully committed to NATO and to the joint efforts when it comes to Ukraine.
"There is no reason to doubt that. Regardless of who participates in the meeting. Let's not forget that these meetings are mostly held in Europe, so American officials will not always have the opportunity to participate in every meeting," Rutte explained.
The Associated Press previously reported that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will miss the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting for the first time in three years. According to media reports, the minister returned from Singapore on Sunday from a national security conference and will arrive in Brussels only on Wednesday evening, after the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting concludes.
A US official confirmed on condition of anonymity that Hegseth will not participate, including via video link.
According to a statement by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell on the U.S. Department of Defense website, Hegseth will travel early this week to attend a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Belgium, on June 5, and to commemorate D-Day in Normandy, France, on June 6.
Hegseth will address the defense ministers' meeting to promote President Donald Trump's call for NATO allies to commit to spending 5% of their GDP on defense and to reorient NATO toward collective defense and deterrence.
