WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday called on France to boost military spending at a time of strained transatlantic relations over President Donald Trump’s commitment to NATO.
France’s Defense Minister, Sebastien Lecornu, was in Washington for talks on a variety of issues including Iran and the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, with a series of remarks by Trump stoking fears over Washington’s reliability as an ally.
“The secretary urged France to increase defense spending and, alongside other NATO allies, take primary responsibility for Europe’s conventional defense,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said.
“Secretary Hegseth and Minister Lecornu discussed related priorities, as well, including ongoing efforts toward a durable peace in Ukraine.”
The visit came amid tensions between Washington and its European partners over Trump’s trade war and his remarks on multiple occasions implying a softening of US support for Kyiv in its war with Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday accused US envoy Steve Witkoff of “spreading Russian narratives” after he suggested a peace deal with Russia hinged on the status of Ukraine’s occupied territories.
Trump himself has claimed falsely on more than one occasion that Ukraine started the war and this week accused Zelensky of responsibility for “millions” of deaths.
Macron urges ‘strong measures’ to impose ceasefire on Russia
Trump, who returned to office in January, has long accused European allies of taking US protection for granted and underspending on defense.
The Republican leader is demanding NATO allies massively ramp up defense spending to five percent of GDP – a level that looks well out of reach for many.
Republican and Democratic administrations have taken similar stances in the past but Trump has gone further than previous presidents in threatening not to defend countries he thinks are not paying their way.
Faced with Russia’s war on Ukraine, NATO allies have already ramped up spending in recent years.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NATO counterparts earlier this month that they must agree a “realistic pathway” to five percent, which means Washington would have to spend more, too.
Vice President JD Vance made headlines when he argued that Europe cannot be a “permanent security vassal” of the United States, singling out France, however, as a nation he deemed worthy militarily.
Lecornu was also expected to meet Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to discuss the Ukraine conflict.
Trump’s push to end three years of fighting has yet to bear fruit, and he has voiced frustration over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to agree to a complete and unconditional truce.
Despite a series of diplomatic efforts, Russia has continued to strike Ukraine, killing at least 35 people in the northeastern city of Sumy on Sunday.
Ukrainian representatives and key allies of Kyiv were in Paris Thursday for meetings with Rubio and Witkoff to discuss rekindling stalled talks on a ceasefire.
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