On a windy Thursday outside Washington at the Pentagon, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcomed his British counterpart to discuss how best to quickly end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“European leadership of NATO, led by the U.K., led by others, is, we believe, the future of defense on the continent,” Hegseth said.
British Defense Secretary John Healey said the United Kingdom had increased its defense spending and would continue to do so.
“You challenged us to step up on Ukraine, on defense spending, on European security. And I say to you that we have, we are, and we will further,” Healey said.
On the possibility of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, Healey said the U.K. believes Kyiv is ready to make the most of a “unique opportunity.”
But as to whether the U.S. has seen enough to resume intelligence sharing with Ukraine, that is up to President Donald Trump, the U.S. defense secretary said.
“We’re very encouraged by the signs we’re seeing. Ultimately, he will make the determination. But it is a pause for now,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth added that Trump is “laser focused” on ending the bloodshed.
In a joint address to Congress on Tuesday evening, Trump said he was working to end the war in Ukraine.
“It’s time to stop this madness,” he said.
Trump’s comments came the day after the United States paused military aid to Ukraine and a few days after an acrimonious Oval Office meeting on Feb. 28 concluded with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy leaving the White House without an agreement.
In his address, Trump said he received a letter Tuesday from Zelenskyy that said Kyiv was “ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible.”
VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.
