Pentagon director skips major Ukraine meeting
(MENAFN)
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will not attend the upcoming Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, marking the first time a sitting Pentagon chief has missed the gathering. The Pentagon confirmed his absence, attributing it to scheduling conflicts.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will not attend the upcoming Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, marking the first time a sitting Pentagon chief has missed the gathering. The Pentagon confirmed his absence, attributing it to scheduling conflicts.
The United States has played a central role in the group, which has coordinated approximately $126 billion in military aid to Ukraine since its formation in April 2022. Under former Secretary Lloyd Austin, the US led the group, with both the Pentagon chief and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff regularly attending the monthly meetings.
Although Hegseth won’t attend in person or remotely, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker will represent Washington at the event, according to officials cited by AP and Politico. Hegseth is instead scheduled to participate in a NATO meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
Politico suggested Hegseth’s absence may reflect a broader softening of the Trump administration’s stance toward both Europe and Ukraine. Since Trump returned to office, no new US military aid packages for Ukraine have been announced. The administration has urged European allies to increase their own defense spending and reduce dependence on American support.
Hegseth has previously voiced doubts about long-term US involvement in the Ukraine conflict. In February, he described the goal of returning Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders as “unrealistic” and questioned Ukraine’s future NATO membership.
Despite this shift, the Trump administration continues to position itself as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, advocating for peace negotiations. Moscow has responded favorably, noting that Washington under Trump appears more attuned to Russia’s core security concerns, particularly regarding NATO expansion.
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