US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Thursday has defended US President Donald Trump’s planned negotiations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on peace in Ukraine despite criticism by NATO allies.
This is “certainly not a betrayal,” Hegseth said on the sidelines of a NATO defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels.
On Wednesday, Hegseth said that restoring Ukraine’s former borders is unrealistic, that Ukraine should give up aspirations to join the NATO alliance and that US troops would not serve as peacekeepers.
At the same time, Trump announced that he would meet Putin to seek a solution to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“There is a recognition that the whole world and the United States is invested and interested in peace, a negotiated peace,” Hegseth said on Thursday, adding “and so that will require both sides recognizing things they don’t want to.”
Only Trump could convene both sides to bring peace, Hegseth added.
European NATO allies were quick to criticize Washington’s approach to ending the war in Ukraine, amid concerns that the US could drastically reduce its support for Ukraine and force a peace settlement from which Russia could in fact emerge victorious.
“In my view, it would have been better to talk about Ukraine’s possible NATO membership or the country’s possible loss of territory only at the negotiating table and not to take it off the table beforehand,” German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said in Brussels.
It was also important that the Europeans were involved in such negotiations, the German minister said. After all, they would then be an essential part of a new order, he stated.
German Foreign Minister Annlena Baerbock struck a similar cord, calling for strong security guarantees for Kiev in order to secure a possible peace in the long term.
The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, called for Europe and Ukraine not to be left out of possible peace negotiations.
It is clear that an agreement behind the back of the EU and Ukraine will not work, she said.
French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu warned against making too many concessions to Russia in the planned negotiations.
If peace is not achieved through strength, this could lead to a dramatic situation and, in the long term, even to an escalation of the conflict, Lecornu said.
“Peace through weakness” could also send a disastrous message to North Korea, Iran or even China, he added. These countries are believed to be capable of military aggressions against other states.
“We’ve seen the calls from President Trump overnight and we all want to see a durable peace and no return to conflict and aggression – and let’s not forget, Russia remains a threat well beyond Ukraine,” said UK Defence Secretary John Healey.
“There can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine, and Ukraine’s voice must be at the heart of any talks,” he added.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reacted cautiously to Trump’s announcement. “We will see how this progresses from now on,” Rutte said. The crucial thing was for Ukraine to be closely involved in everything that is decided about Ukraine, he added.
Rutte stressed the need to ensure that Ukraine is in the “best possible position.”
“It is crucial that when a peace deal is struck, that that peace deal is enduring, that Putin knows that this is the end, that he can never again try to capture a piece of Ukraine,” he said.