BRUSSELS, Belgium — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the NATO headquarters on Wednesday called for an end to the Ukraine War and laid out some outer limits of future United States military involvement in a future Ukraine peace deal.
“We are meeting at a critical moment. As the war approaches its third anniversary, our message is clear: The bloodshed must stop and this war must end,” he said in a statement at a meeting of nations who support Ukraine known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
He added, “President Trump has been clear with the American people — and with many of your leaders — that stopping the fighting and reaching an enduring peace is a top priority. He intends to end this war by diplomacy and bring both Russia and Ukraine to the table. And the U.S. Department of Defense will help achieve this goal.”
Hegseth called for a durable peace by “coupling allied strength with a realistic assessment of the battlefield.”
He called a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders — before Russia’s annexation of Crimea — “an unrealistic objective,” and an “illusory goal” that would “only prolong the war and cause more suffering.”
He also said the U.S. “does not believe that NATO membership of Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” and that any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops.
He said if troops were deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should not be deployed as part of a NATO mission, but instead, a non-NATO mission and not covered under Article 5.
Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty calls for members to come to the collective defense of a member in the case they are attacked, and could draw the U.S. into armed conflict.
Hegseth said there also must be “robust international oversight of the line of contact.”
He also made clear that as part of any security guarantee, no U.S. troops would be deployed to Ukraine.
To get Russia to negotiate, he said President Trump would wield pressure by driving down energy prices that have been fueling the Russian war machine.
“To further enable effective diplomacy and drive down energy prices which fund the Russian war machine, President Trump is unleashing American energy production and encouraging other nations to do the same. Lower energy prices coupled with more effective enforcement of energy sanctions will help bring Russia to the table,” he said.
But Hegseth made clear that it was time for Europe to “provide the overwhelming share of future lethal aid and nonlethal aid to Ukraine.”
That meant donating more ammunition and equipment; leveraging comparative advantages; expanding defense industrial bases; and leveling with citizens about the threat facing Europe and the need to spend more on their own defense, he said.
He called on NATO allies to spend 5 percent of their GDP on defense, beyond the 2 percent minimum set for alliance members.
“Increasing your commitment to your own security is a down payment for the future,” he said.
Hegseth also made clear that the U.S. could no longer be the “primary guarantor of security in Europe.”
He said the U.S. would focus on securing its borders and prioritizing the threat from China.
“As the United States prioritizes its attention to these threats, European allies must lead from the front,” he said.
He complimented European allies on “first steps,” but added, “More must still be done.”
And he said the U.S. remained committed to the NATO alliance and to the defense partnership with Europe “full stop.”
“But the United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency,” he said. “Rather, our relationship will prioritize empowering Europe to own responsibility for its security. Honesty will be our policy going forward. But only in the spirit of solidarity,” he said.
“President Trump looks forward to working together, to continuing this frank discussion amongst friends, and to achieve peace through strength — together,” he concluded.
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