NATO defense cannot depend on United States alone – Pentagon chief

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said NATO allies cannot rely on the United States for defense and must step up their own efforts.

The Pentagon chief told reporters ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on June 5, Politico reports.

"The United States is to be here, to stand with our allies, but our message is gonna continue to be clear: It's deterrence and peace through strength, but it cannot be reliance. It cannot and will not be reliance on America. It can't just be U.S. capabilities," he said.

The defense ministers of the military alliance are meeting in Brussels a few weeks before a crucial summit of NATO leaders in The Hague. At the meeting on June 5, ministers are expected to agree on updated capability goals, i.e. new requirements for military equipment, and pave the way for an agreement later this month on a new defense spending target of 5% of gross domestic product.

Hegseth stressed that all NATO allies must participate in the defense of the continent.

"The reason I'm here is to make sure every country in NATO understands every shoulder has to be to the plow, every country has to contribute at that level of 5 percent," he said, adding that he was confident of reaching an agreement in The Hague.

The publication noted that in recent months, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed doubts about Washington's commitment to NATO's Article 5 on mutual defense.

"We remain committed to Article 5, but we believe it is reasonable for our allies to also adhere to Article 3," US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker told reporters on June 4, referring to the military alliance's requirement to build up the capacity to resist an armed attack.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that there are currently no plans to withdraw US troops from Europe amid Washington's announced talks in May on reducing the US military contingent in Europe.

As we will recall, in mid-May, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said that the US and its European NATO allies would begin talks on reducing the US military contingent in Europe by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not participate in a meeting of 50 defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels for the first time in three years to coordinate military assistance to Ukraine. The Pentagon says that the reason for this is scheduling problems.