Brussels
CNN
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US Defense Secretary Pete Hegses on Wednesday noted that the war between Ukraine and Russia “music” must “end”, and that Kyiv will join NATO is unrealistic, and that the US will no longer secure the US by the Trump administration He said he would not prioritize the safety of Europe and Ukraine as he turned it. “Deterrent to war with my own borders and China.
In a statement before the Ukrainian Defence Contact Group meeting, Hegses also said that European troops should be the main force securing post-war Ukraine.
“The US does not consider Ukraine’s NATO membership to be a realistic outcome of the negotiated settlement,” Heggs said. He added that the security guarantees provided to Ukraine must be “supported by competent and non-European forces.”
“To be clear, there are no US troops deployed in Ukraine as part of their security guarantee,” he said.
Hegus also said that Ukraine’s return to its pre-2014 border was “an unrealistic purpose” before Russia invaded Crimea and eastern eastern Ukraine.
Many NATO allies actually agree with Hegses that retrieving Crimea from Russia is not realistic and even Ukrainian President Volodymi Zelensky has not argued it as a precursor to peace talks. It must be. One NATO official said he would have been more concerned if he had said that it would be unrealistic to return to Ukraine’s pre-2022 border.
However, I believe the comments on security assurances relate to Zelensky this week, who said that Europe alone could not provide meaningful security assurances to Ukraine without US guidance. Zelensky also continues to argue that it is the only way to prevent its NATO countries from launching new attacks in the future.
Hours after Hegses spoke, President Donald Trump announced that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday morning. Trump said the two agreed to work together “very closely” and to begin negotiations “quickly” to end the war in Ukraine.
“(w)e starts by calling Ukrainian President Zelensky to let the conversation go,” Trump said. The Kremlin said Wednesday that President Putin had invited Trump to visit Moscow.
Trump spoke with Putin to Zelensky shortly after he got off the phone.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Trump agreed to Hegses and said he didn’t “think practical” that Ukraine would join NATO.
“I don’t think it’s practical to have it. Personally, I know that our new Secretary of Defense is excellent. Pete said today that it’s unlikely or not. He issued a statement saying he thought it was realistic. I think it’s probably true. Long before Putin, they said there was no way to allow it. This has been going on for many years. They have said for a long time that Ukraine hasn’t entered NATO, and I’m fine with that,” Trump said from his oval office.
The European Defense Secretary told CNN that many of the NATOs do not necessarily believe that Ukraine can join the alliance given the political reality with Russia, but as Hegus did, they would give Russia an idea. He said he doesn’t say it that much publicly because he wants to avoid it. Be able to tell who can participate and who cannot participate.
Some former Biden administration officials said he quickly got heavier in the X and Hegseth gave away valuable leverage.
“They just abandoned one of their main leverages before negotiations began,” said Matthew Miller, a former State Department spokesman.
Hegseth also did not announce new US aid to Ukraine. “We are here today to continue to express directly and clearly that a clear strategic reality prevents the United States from focusing primarily on Europe’s security,” he said.
Hegseth’s comments were not necessarily a surprise to US allies. NATO and the European Union have become brave to significantly retreat from the major roles they have played since 2022 to provide and coordinate military aid to Ukraine. Therefore, NATO has set up its own security mechanism to coordinate military aid to the country.
“We have heard your concerns about stepping up to Ukraine and your concerns about stepping up to Europe’s safety,” British Defense Secretary John Healy responded. “We will.”
The UK may be able to replace the US as Ukraine’s closest western ally. It chaired the Ukrainian Defense Liaison Group meeting for the first time on Wednesday, and Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov issued a lengthy reading of the meeting with Heale at NATO on Wednesday, accompanied by a photo of the pair shaking hands and smiling.
In contrast, Umerov’s explanation of the meeting with the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses was a long sentence, accompanied by a photograph of him standing side by side without waving.
And NATO Executive Director Mark Latte said Wednesday he “consent” Trump. But there’s more to do to truly change the trajectory of conflict. ”
And Dutch Defense Minister Reuben Breckelmans told CNN: “As a Europe, I agree we should do more to protect our own continent and protect our own safety.” .
However, the US Secretary of Defense’s comments were the clearest and clearest way the Trump administration was trying to separate itself from Europe and try to make the Ukrainian conflict a completely European issue. This is a total departure from the Biden administration’s approach, making the Transatlantic Alliance and Ukraine support at the heart of its foreign policy.
Small eastern flank countries of the Alliance – the countries closest to Russia are particularly concerned about the US retreat.
Latvian Defense Minister Andris Splaz told CNN that the US is “absolutely essential” in that it “constrains and contains Russian invaders.”
Hegseth also repeated calls from Trump to help allies increase defensive spending to 5% of GDP rather than 2%, saying the latter is “not enough.” A senior NATO official told reporters Wednesday that “US questions for European allies… investing more is not new,” agreeing that 2% is too low.
Towards the end of his remarks, Hegses emphasized that the United States is “still committed to the NATO Alliance and the defensive partnership with Europe.” Full stop. However, the US no longer tolerate the unbalanced relationships that promote dependency. ”
The European Secretary of Defense said Hegses said there was a general sense of security that the US is not planning to withdraw from NATO completely. The sentiment is that as long as the US is a member of the alliance, there is room for negotiations on the details of US support for Europe and Ukraine at least.
For now, the US has not stopped military aid to Ukraine, which has already flowed from the aid package announced by the previous administration.
But as has been the case for a long time, Ukraine still needs more armored vehicles, long-range weapons and air defense systems, NATO officials told CNN. And Hegseth on Wednesday gave no indication that the US would continue to immerse themselves in US military stockpiles and send weapons and equipment to Ukraine, a process known as the president’s drawdown authority.
The Department of Defense has not yet made it with almost $4 billion in Congress-certified funds left from its previous administration.
Hegus also did not outline what a possible settlement of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia would look like. In an interview with The Guardian in the UK issued on Tuesday, Zelensky proposed an exchange of territory seized by Ukrainian forces within Russia’s Kursk region for Ukrainian territory seized by Russia, but Moscow was the idea I quickly refused.
“Russia has never discussed it before and will not discuss the topic of exchange of its territory,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.
As CNN reported Tuesday, there is a reinforcement consensus within the administration that President Putin, not Zelensky, will be the main hurdle for both parties to reach the negotiation table. Similarly, European officials said they saw no indication that Putin is willing to engage in meaningful negotiations.
CNN’s Anna Chernova and Katherine Nichols, Samantha Waldernberg and Alejandra Jaramiro reported.
This story has been updated with additional reports.
