Pete Hegseth, the new US Defence Secretary, faces a challenging first NATO meeting with concerns over continued US support for NATO and Ukraine. The meeting coincides with heightened anxieties about potential US disengagement from direct support to Ukraine and a shift in focus towards China. Hegseth's success will be measured by his ability to navigate these complex issues and ensure the continued effectiveness of NATO.
Today's NATO defence secretary meeting should be a relatively daunting prospect for the relatively inexperienced Pete Hegseth.There is so much uncertainty and concern over continued US support to NATO and Ukraine that his more seasoned counterparts will also be wary.
Following his bruising Senate confirmation hearings, Hegseth will be delighted just to be getting on with the job - and he chose to start his visit to Europe with an early morning PT session with troops. But his ultimate success will be judged on how effective he is at grand strategy and international engagement - not how he gets on with frontline troops.Hegseth's two-day trip will see him attend a raft of meetings with counterparts from NATO and Ukraine, and is part of a series of visits by US officials to Europe this week. Today, he'll attend the latest Ukraine Defence Contact Group, which the UK will be chairing for the first time.It's unclear why the US has stepped away from the leading in the coordination role, and it's only amplified concerns that Washington is looking to move back from direct support to Ukraine ahead of potential ceasefire negotiations between Presidents Trump and Putin. The contact group has been very effective at coordinating military aid to Ukraine over the past three years, and involves 50 nations that have contributed over $126bn of military support to Ukraine since the start of the war.NATO has provided member nations with a security framework for decades, yet we're still asking the question - is the alliance still fit for purpose? Trump has made clear that he is not prepared to continue subsidising NATO members, and with nine NATO nations still failing to meet the 2% GDP commitment , Trump has suggested that 5% is a more realistic target. Further, Trump is more focused on addressing the potential China threat, and sees Russia as a 'European problem'. Since Europe will feel the heat of Russian aggression far more than the US due to geographical proximity, Trump probably concludes that this will prove a much more effective way to 'encourage' an increase in European defence spending.We're likely to get a clearer steer on much of this today - and you can bet Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be watching developments closely. Sean discusses these topics and more on his InDefence podcast series.
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