Pete Hegseth excluded sending US troops to Ukraine and reiterated the call for NATO countries to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP.
– Right now. no plans to cut anything. However, there is simply a knowing that we will review the deployment of forces worldwide. president Trump's assumptions and plans are different in many respects," Hegseth said during a gathering with journalists at the office of the U.S. African Command (AFRICOM) in Stuttgart, Germany.
Pentagon calls for increased defence spending in NATO
As he stated, Pentagon does not want to base its plans on current circumstances, including conflicts on Middle East and Ukraine, and He suggested that changes could be made after the end of the war in Ukraine.
– But it would be a mistaken presumption of planning to say 'Oh, America is leaving someone' or 'America is leaving'," he noted.
Hegseth announced that during his next meetings, in Brussels at a gathering of defence ministers NATO and the countries of the Ramstein Group in support of Ukraine, plans to have ‘honest talks’ with European allies on increase their work for defending the continent and increase defence spending to 5% of GDP.
– The European continent deserves to be free from any aggression, but These neighborhoods should invest the most in this collective, individual and collective defense – he said.
Pete Hegseth: There will be no American troops in Ukraine
At the same time, the Pentagon chief ruled out the anticipation of sending US forces to Ukraine.
He besides said that itself advocates expanding the US defence budget, although not necessarily to the same level. At the same time, he announced that he would be happy to work with Elon Musk and his DOGE squad on cutting unnecessary expenses and expanding Pentagon performance.
When asked if he accepts China For America's top threat, erstwhile presenter Fox News stated that Now the top precedence is to safe the US borders. However, he admitted that the rivalry with China would form the 21st century, and announced that he intended to fight Chinese influence in Africa.
Pete Hegseth in Europe. Visits in Germany, Brussels and Poland
Tuesday is the first day of the first abroad visit of the fresh Minister of Defence. In Germany Hegseth visited soldiers in AFRICOM and held physical exercises together with soldiers in the European Command office (EUCOM) in Stuttgart. inactive on the way to Germany He besides signed a memorandum to reconstruct the name of the celebrated military base in North Carolina to Fort Bragg, although its name will mention not to the name of Confederate General Braxton Bragg, but to Private Roland Bragg, decorated in the conflict of Ardeny during planet War II.
Hegseth then goes to Brussels, where will take part in meetings of NATO Defence Ministers and Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG)Also known as the Ramstein group. For the first time, it is not under the leadership of the United States, but United Kingdom.
On Friday and Saturday he will besides visit Poland, gathering with representatives of the Polish authorities and visiting American soldiers in Powidz.
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