Ankara (AA) – US Secretary of Defense Pit Hegset called on European allies to invest more in defense costs.
“Because it is impossible to proceed from the fact that the existence of America will last forever,” he said.
Hegset spoke at a joint press conference with the Minister of Defense of Poland Vladislav Kosinyak-Kamysh in the capital of Poland Warsaw, where he is on an official visit.
“This is not just the proposal of the United States, but a direct requirement to which we will follow as a reflection of the desire and determination of these countries to defend our own yards,” the head of the Pentagon added, noting that Washington made it clear to NATO member countries, that you need to invest more and make more efforts for their overall defense.
He emphasized that this is important for NATO to become a “serious alliance” in the future: “As I said, you may have any flags as you like, but if you have no rigid strength, you are not a real alliance” .
According to him, the American military presence in Europe is strong, and the troops in Poland are investments in this context.
“It is obvious that the invitation that we received here will make me as the Minister of Defense want to send more troops to Poland. This is not a political statement. I just think so,” Highset commented.
He noted that US President Donald Trump admits that the US presence in Europe is important for holding back Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Our message to the European allies is extremely clear: now is the time to invest (in defense), because it is impossible to proceed from the fact that the presence of America will last forever,” the minister said.
“The United States has to deal with many threats, including communist China,” the Hegset summed up.