As we soon approach the anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, we see today a revitalised and refocused NATO."
This is what we’ve been training for."
I’m not the one that declares a red line or not. I work with the president, as we work through these issues, but we believed that it was useful just to speak some reality into the conversation. Ultimately, President Trump is the only one who’s gonna determine if there’s wiggle room or movement on any particular position."
That’s not a definitive value statement,
I think what I articulated yesterday, in consultation with senior leadership in the White House and the Oval Office of the president, was the reality of the moment — that NATO membership was unlikely considering the realities of where we are. No one’s throwing a stake in the ground for 25 years from now or any defined period of time,
There is no replacement for hard power,
Our partners must do far more for Europe's defence. We must make NATO great again, ... President Trump
Ultimately, we have our own budgetary considerations to be had,
It is clear that any deal behind our backs will not work,
I’m not going to stand at this podium and declare what President Trump will do or won’t do, what will be in or what will be out, what concessions will be made or what concessions are not made,
In his conversations with Vladimir Putin and [Ukrainian president Volodymyr] Zelenskyy, what he decides to allow or not allow, is at the purview of President Trump,
It's a crucial moment of truth,
Two percent of GDP is not enough. Three and four and ultimately, as President Trump has said, five percent of defense spending is critical,
Either we are within the parameters of a discussion that will genuinely bring peace through strength, or, on the contrary, it will be peace through weakness,
The United States faces consequential threats to our homeland. We must — and we are — focusing on security of our own borders,
To say that it’s the biggest and most robust alliance in history is true, historically speaking. But the real question is will that still be the case in 10 or 15 years,
The new security secretary should simply start by coming to Ukraine and getting acquainted with the Ukrainian Armed Forces,