For the first time since the establishment of the Contact Group on Ukraine’s Defence (Ramstein format), US Secretary of Defence Pete Hagel will not attend its meeting. This was reported by the Associated Press.
Hughes, who recently returned from a national security conference in Singapore, will arrive in Brussels only in the evening of 5 June, after the UDCG meeting is over. A Pentagon spokesman confirmed that the minister will not be participating even via videoconference.
“Secretary Hagesse’s travel schedule prevented him from attending tomorrow’s UDCG meeting,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson.
Instead, the US will be represented by Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker. This move, according to AP and Politico, is causing concern among NATO partners, as it is seen as another signal of Washington’s distancing itself from the Ukrainian issue.
Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the US focus on conflicts in Asia at the expense of Ukraine undermines allied confidence and could have strategic consequences in the confrontation with China over Taiwan.
