Pete Hegseth’s absence from the gathering in Brussels will be unprecedented for Washington’s top defense official
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will not attend Wednesday’s Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels, the Pentagon has confirmed. It marks the first time the head of the Pentagon will miss a gathering of the group.
The US has been the lynchpin of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which has provided Ukraine with around $126 billion in weapons and other military assistance since its inception in April 2022. Under former Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, Washington also served as the group’s chair, with the secretary and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff attending its monthly meetings.
However, Hegseth will not be present at the meeting of 50 defense ministers in Belgium, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson confirmed, citing scheduling issues. At the same time, she stressed that “the United States is focused on ending the war in Ukraine as quickly as possible, on terms that establish an enduring peace.”
An unnamed US official cited by AP also said Hegseth will not participate in the meeting remotely. According to Politico sources, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker will represent Washington at the gathering, and Hegseth himself is slated to take part in a NATO meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
Politico noted that Hegseth’s absence is yet another sign of “softening of the Trump administration’s relationship with Europe, and Ukraine.” Under Trump, Washington has not announced new military assistance for Ukraine.
The Trump administration has increasingly urged EU governments to reduce their reliance on Washington and increase their military spending.
Hegseth himself has been skeptical of the US involvement in the Ukraine conflict. In February, he said that returning Ukraine to its 2014 borders was “unrealistic” and that the country is unlikely to join NATO.
Nevertheless, the Trump administration has positioned itself as the key mediator in the conflict, consistently pushing Russia and Ukraine to reach peace. Moscow has praised Washington’s efforts, saying the US better understands Russia’s key security concerns caused by Kiev’s desire to join NATO and the bloc’s creeping expansion towards Russian borders.
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