06/04/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/04/2025 11:18
QUESTION: Good afternoon from the State Department's Brussels Media Hub. I would like to welcome everyone joining us for today's virtual press briefing. We are very honored to be joined by Ambassador Matthew Whitaker, the U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO.
With that, we can get started. Ambassador, thanks as always for joining us today. I'll turn it over to you for opening remarks.
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Yeah. Thank you, John, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us ahead of tomorrow's NATO defense ministerial here in Brussels. This ministerial is a critical waypoint as we build momentum towards the NATO summit in The Hague later this month.
The Alliance is approaching this moment with unity and unrelenting focus. The U.S. will be represented by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who arrives this evening, to cement our shared priorities at a pivotal time for NATO's credibility.
Let me cut to the core of our message: 5 percent. Peace through strength demands nothing less, and it demands it equally from all Allies. This is not going to be just a pledge. This is going to be a commitment. Every Ally must commit to investing at least 5 percent of GDP in defense and security starting now. Again, this is not a suggestion; it's a baseline for deterrence in a world where threats are (inaudible).
President Trump's leadership has transformed NATO's approach to burden sharing. A decade ago, a 2 percent GDP benchmark was a distant goal for most Allies. Today, thanks to America's unwavering leadership, we're seeing real movement. Since November's election, more than 20 Allies have announced defense budget increases, and we anticipate all Allies to be at or over 2 percent this year.
Progress is good, but it's not enough. This ministerial is about more than numbers. It's about building NATO - a NATO that's ready to deter and defeat any threat - conventional, nuclear, cyber, or hybrid. That requires modernized forces, cutting-edge capabilities, and increased lethality. It means turbocharging our collective defense industrial base to produce more - more munitions, more air defense, more heavy armor, and faster.
But this isn't just about war-fighting power. It's also about jobs, innovation, and economic strength across the Alliance. From factory floors in the United States to the production lines in Europe, together we can deliver prosperity with security.
The urgency of this moment is undeniable. As the Russia-Ukraine conflict grinds on, Moscow is already preparing for its next move. We are already seeing the Kremlin aim - aims to rebuilding its military. NATO Allies must outpace Russia. We have no other choice. Let me be clear: The time is now. That means investing in mobility to surge forces across borders, investing in cyber defenses to repel attacks, and investing in infrastructure to protect everything from space assets to undersea cables. We need an Alliance built for the threats of 2025 and beyond, not the battlefields of yesterday.
Tomorrow's ministerial is our chance to align our commitments. The United States expects every Ally to step up - with concrete plans, budgets, timelines, deliverables - to meet the 5 percent target and close capability gaps. And thanks to Donald Trump's leadership, the Hague Summit will be a moment to lock these commitments in.
I have often said that it is an honor of a lifetime to lead the U.S. mission here at NATO at a time when we can make NATO stronger, our deterrence unassailable, and our resolve crystal-clear. We will defend every inch of Allied territory, and we will do it from a position of unmatched strength.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
MODERATOR: Thanks very much, sir. We'll start with a first question from Molly Blackall, from The i Paper in the UK, who asks: "Can you confirm that there are - there is no planned U.S. withdrawal from NATO or reduction in its commitment? Also, European Allies are unnerved by the new administration's rhetoric around NATO. What reassurance do you have for them? Can you pledge the U.S. full support to European Allies should they be invaded by Russia?"
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: The United States is committed to NATO - full stop. Just this week we had two of our nation's top officials - my dear friend, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth - from the United States here in Brussels to meet with leadership from the Alliance to discuss shared priorities. Our commitment to Article 5 remains, but we also think it's reasonable that our Allies be also committed to Article 3, which includes their individual defense and the collective defense. And more than 10 years since the Wales Pledge, we're only now reaching the point where all of the Allies are fulfilling that obligation from 11 years ago. But yes, the United States remains committed to NATO, and we will continue to be a credible, serious partner in the Alliance.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. Next question, this time from Sachiyo Sugita from NHK here in Belgium: "Does the United States support the secretary general's proposed timeline of reaching 5 percent by 2032, or do you think that this timeline is too ambitious?"
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Well, we think that the threats facing NATO are growing and our adversaries are certainly not waiting for us to re-arm or be ready for them to make the first move. We would prefer our Allies move out urgently on reaching the 5 percent.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. Next question, this time from Niels Goedegebuur, ANP, from the Netherlands, who asks: "Do you think NATO could do without clear intermediate targets or annually fixed increases to get to 5 percent GDP for defense expenditures?"
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Yeah, President Trump and the Secretary of State and Defense have called for a credible path to 5 percent. We cannot have another Wales Pledge with a year-10 or 11 hockey stick, and so we are asking all Allies to increase their budgets as far as they can and as quickly as they can, understanding that, again, this is not the United States or the ambassador to NATO from the United States setting this timeline. It is our adversaries and their ability to wage war and to - to fight against the Alliance.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. We'll take maybe a live question now. Augustin Palokaj. Augustin, please, go ahead. Augustin, can you hear us?
Well, why don't we go to another (inaudible), who asks: "I'd like to ask if Spain is still the main or the only member-state opposed to the 5 percent increase for a defense spending target. If so, what would the consequences be for Spain and the relations with NATO and the U.S. if they veto this new target at the Hague Summit?"
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: We're working with all of our Allies to agree to this Hague defense commitment, including our friends in Spain. We look forward to a very successful summit at The Hague, and we expect that all of our Allies will join in the commitment.
MODERATOR: Thank you, Ambassador. Next question from Maria Vasileiou from Ta Nea in Greece: "What is the time horizon for NATO members to meet the 5 percent of GDP and defense spending, and are there going to be gradual safeguards to make sure there is a gradual progress towards this goal?" Sort of a slightly different question that what we had earlier.
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Right. Well, President Trump has called on Allies to increase their defense spending because he understands the threats we face. Allies will need to show meaningful progress on increasing their defense budgets to meet the challenge. Our adversaries will not wait for us to be ready. And so we would expect a meaningful and credible growth in those defense budgets year over year, again, trying to match and address any threats or challenges to make sure that our deterrence and defense is strong and we have peace through strength.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. Why don't we try one more live question. Alex Raufoglu. Alex, can you hear us? Alex, can you hear us? We might be having some issues with our -
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Yeah, and John, what was that complaint line that they could call and - (laughter).
QUESTION: Hey, John.
MODERATOR: Oh -
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: There he is.
MODERATOR: - you're there.
QUESTION: Yeah, that's different; it means we're still trying to learn how to how it works. Thank you so much for doing this, Ambassador. Can you please give us a timeline in terms of - in terms of 5 percent, time - 5 percent until when? And second question, I want to get your perspective on the latest on the ground when it comes to Russia and Ukraine, particularly Ukrainian successful drone strikes on Russian nuclear bombers. Thanks so much.
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Yeah, thank you. Couple thoughts. First of all, just to be clear, you know, we are currently negotiating, within the North Atlantic Council, the timelines and the - all - what is included in the 5 percent, both from a core defense standpoint and also from a - a defense-related and security-related spending and the timelines and the - and all of that. But let me be clear on this. It is not - there's not unlimited time. We cannot have another Wales Pledge style where we don't have a lot of Allies that meet their commitments until year 10 or year 11. So there's just - I mean - and it's - and again, it's not the United States saying that. It is our adversaries that - for example, Russia has announced, I believe, a second army. They are - I think if you're on the eastern flank, you understand the threat to that.
I have always said that the greatest threat, the biggest threat to the Euro-Atlantic alliance is Russia. At the same time, the United States is obviously involved in a hundred-year, century-long competition with China, and we believe that that is a significant threat to global security and stability.
What was the second question? Did - anybody - I'm looking at - oh, Russia-Ukraine. I'm going to be taking part in the defense ministerial that we're announcing right now - I mean, that we're having - that we're talking about right now.
And I would just say that Karoline Leavitt said it the best. This war needs to come to an end. President Trump feels very strongly about that. There is just thousands of people, including civilians, that are dying, and the cost is very high on both sides. I mean, President Trump wants this war to end, and he knows that it's not going to be a military solution to the end of this war. It has to be a diplomatic solution. It has to be negotiated resolution, and both sides need to come to the table and resolve this. And until they're both willing and able and ready to come to the table and resolve this diplomatically, unfortunately this brutal war continues on, but the United States has been very clear we want it to end.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. We'll go to another submitted question, this time from Maarten Rabaey from De Morgen here in Belgium, who asks: "Drone warfare is key in the war in Ukraine, both defensive and offensive on both sides. The latest Ukrainian counterattack, which you just referenced, is a good example of the rapidly evolving and changing face of warfare. Cheap drones destroy strategic bombers. On the opposite side, the Russians keep attacking civilians with cheap Iranian drones. Are NATO air defenses prepared enough to tackle a possible drone attack from adversaries like Russia, Iran, or terrorist groups? And if not, will the summit in The Hague look into that?"
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Yeah, I was just - I would first refer to Karoline Leavitt's comments yesterday, where she said that President Trump fully understands the future of warfare and how drones are a big part of that. We expect to see news from the White House policy team on that front in the very new near future. The - President Trump has Secretary Hegseth in place at the Pentagon so that it can make sure that he aligns it with the most lethal fighting force - as the most lethal fighting force in the world. The pending big, beautiful bill increases defense spending and puts attention on the creation of the "Golden Dome" system. And NATO - from a NATO perspective, we recognize that our adversaries are acquiring or developing new systems, including a large number of small, inexpensive, unmanned aircraft systems. NATO continues to take all necessary steps to ensure that its air and missile defense are coherent, resilient, and adaptable to the involving security environment. And obviously we are paying very close attention to the battlefield in the - in Ukraine, and we are trying to learn every single lesson that can possibly be learned about modern warfighting and how quickly it can evolve and how we must innovate and be technologically nimble to address those threats that evolve over time.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. We'll take maybe one more live question. Mattia Bagnoli from ANSA. Mattia, please. Mattia, can you hear us? Your mike's open if you'd like to engage.
And we seem to have continued technical difficulties. So we'll go to the next question, sir. Dmytro Shkurko from the National News Agency of Ukraine, but he's based here in Belgium, asks: "The U.S. declared that there is no military solution to the Russia war in Ukraine. At the same time, the U.S. insists on strengthening NATO's deterrence and defense to respond to Russian aggression. Is the U.S. ready to sell and supply its weapons to Ukraine to enable NATO to rely on the Ukrainian army as an additional deterrent who will - to prevent a possible Russian advance in Europe?"
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Well, the United States remains laser-focused, as I mentioned earlier, on negotiations and preserving President Trump's space to bring an end to the hostilities. So no decisions have been made about future assistance, but let's be clear, the best way to secure NATO territory is for Allies - for fully resourcing our defense plans here at NATO. We are working towards a defense investment commitment, or as what I like to call the Hague Defense Commitment, that will ensure that we do just that. At the same time, we are counting on Europe to take a leadership position in providing Ukraine with the resources and political capital necessary to reach a durable peace in Ukraine. Europeans have a vested interest in securing peace on their continent, and the United States will continue to be doing all that we can to support that.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. Next question from Carsten Volkery from Handelsblatt: "Will the United States agree to naming Russia in a summit declaration as a common threat to the Euro-Atlantic area?"
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Well, right now our primary focus for the summit is ensuring the commitment to the 5 percent of GDP towards their individual and collective defense. We have not begun discussions with Allies on a summit statement, but I fully expect that the summit's statement will be direct, to the point, and will reflect all of the Allies' current beliefs on the threats and the needs for the collective defense and the individual defense of all Allies.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. We'll go now to Kristina Zeleniuk from 1+1 Media in Ukraine: "Do you expect" - sorry, we - "Do you expect any progress on deploying a European mission in Ukraine, and will the United States provide its guarantees to European Allies for that?"
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Well, we appreciate the work the Allies - particularly France and the United Kingdom, together with Germany and others - have undertaken to develop a coalition of the willing. We are counting on all our European Allies to continue to take a leadership position in contributing military resources and providing the political capital to make security guarantees a reality. I will defer to my European counterparts about the details of such a mission, as well as the timeline.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. I think we have time for one or two more. We'll go to Tetyana Vysotska from European Pravda in Ukraine: "Ukraine's NATO membership prospects - Russia continues to demand written guarantees that NATO will not expand eastward. What is the U.S. position on this?"
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Ukraine becoming a member of NATO is currently not on the table, and we are not the only NATO Ally who holds this opinion. However, this decision ultimately lies with President Trump and all 32 Allies to come to a unanimous decision.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. We'll go now to Sergiy Sydorenko, also from European Pravda in Ukraine: "Would you support allowing Allies to spend part of their hard defense spending, which is expected to be set at 3.5 percent of GDP, to the weaponry donated to Ukraine for protecting Europe?"
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Yeah, I would - like I mentioned earlier, it's - we are currently in the middle of negotiating all of the contours of the Hague Defense Commitment. And so it'd be premature for me to front-run that as to what it's in and what's out, but I certainly think that our Allies would get credit for their support of Ukraine and - but we'll just leave it at that.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. We'll just do - I know you're running out of time here so we'll just take one more question, this time from Leonora Klint, Borsen, from Denmark, who asks: "As President Trump has repeated several times, the U.S. is concerned about the security in the Arctic, specifically in Greenland. Is the American administration satisfied with NATO's new capability targets that neither takes the Arctic or Greenland into too much consideration?" So it's not - it doesn't seem to be taking those territories into consideration when they develop their plans.
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Well, how I would answer that is in a couple directions. First, NATO takes a 360-degree approach to its security and its defense planning. And every iteration of those plans are commented and discussed and negotiated and resolved by all 32 Allies. Obviously, the topic of the High North defense and deterrence is ongoing discussions amongst the United States and all Allies, including Denmark.
When I was getting confirmed, I would meet with various senators in anticipation of my hearing and confirmation, and I would take a map of the world from the North Pole. And so it's very clear the needs for the security, not only of Greenland but both Canada and all of our NATO Allies that touch the High North. And so this is something that's an important topic for me personally. I know President Trump is concerned about it, but we're going to continue to make sure that the NATO defense plans and how we prepare and are capable to defend the High North, address the threats as we see them and how they develop into the future.
MODERATOR: Thank you so much, sir. I know you have a tight schedule today.
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Yeah, I'm sorry.
MODERATOR: So I think we'll end here. Thanks, everybody, for your questions; and Ambassador, thanks always for joining us.
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Thank you. My pleasure.
MODERATOR: Shortly, we will send the audio recording of the briefing to all the participating journalists and provide a transcript as soon as it is available. We always love to hear your feedback. You can email us at thebrusselshub@state.gov. Thanks again everyone for joining, and we hope you can join us again for the - in the future for another press briefing. This ends today's briefing.
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