Digital Press Briefing: U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO Ambassador Matthew Whitaker
The Brussels Hub
MODERATOR: Good afternoon from the State Department’s Brussels Media Hub. I’d like to welcome everyone joining us for today’s virtual press briefing. We are very honored to be joined today by Ambassador Matthew Whitaker, the U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO.
And with that, let’s get started. Ambassador, thank you so much for joining us today. Over to you for opening remarks.
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: All right. Thank you, John. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today, and thank you to John Johnson and the Brussels Media Hub for facilitating this interview. I think we have more than 200 outlets represented here, which shows the genuine interest in NATO and U.S. policy towards this important Alliance.
I want to kick off this press conference with just a few remarks. Tomorrow is the start of the NATO informal foreign ministerial in Antalya, Türkiye. We are expecting a robust discussion among the 32 Allies, and I know Secretary Rubio is looking forward to connecting again with his counterparts. But make no mistake, this ministerial is going to be different. You’ve all heard the President and Vice President call for NATO members to adopt a new 5-percent-of-GDP Defense Investment Plan. And we look forward to getting more details this week on how Allies intend to make this happen.
Five percent is not just a number; it is a necessity for our security. The Alliance is facing significant threats, as all of you know, and we must be prepared to meet them head-on. That level of investment is necessary to ensure Allies have the capabilities to deter and defend the Alliance, and contribute to our collective defense. President Trump has been unwavering in his commitment to our collective security, and he has fundamentally changed the conversation on defense investment at NATO. His leadership has brought this issue to the forefront, and we are seeing real progress with 20 Allies pledging to increase their defense budgets since his election.
While investing 5 percent is critical, money alone will not deliver the security we need. Without capable defense industry producing what our militaries need to keep us safe, that money really means nothing and will be spent on unnecessary things like inflation. In the United States, we are ramping up defense production, and we encourage our Allies and partners to do the same. While we are working together to enhance transatlantic defense industrial base cooperation, defense industry capabilities must also include the fair treatment for American defense technology firms. Excluding non-EU member industries in EU defense initiatives would undermine NATO interoperability, slow Europe’s rearming, raise costs, and stifle innovation.
We all face competing priorities at home, but our collective security is too important. The progress we’ve seen over the last five months is promising, and we need to come together as an Alliance and commit to preparing for the future challenges we all know we will face.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions. And I’ll turn it back to you, John, to moderate this.
MODERATOR: Thank you so much, sir, for those remarks. Why don’t we start with a question from Vitor Matos from Expresso in Portugal, who asks: The U.S. will keep demanding 5 percent of defense spending. Is this just a stand or a sign, and you actually just want to negotiate to 3.5 percent? What are you trying to achieve?
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: No. Five percent is our number. We’re asking our Allies to invest in their defense like they mean it, so they’re actually prepared to face any threat and fulfil our collective and self-defense commitments outlined in the Washington Treaty. And that requires an investment of 5 percent on defense-related spending. We understand that in order to field a competent army and with all domains – whether that’s sea, land, air, conventional, and nuclear – that it’s just going to take a lot more money to be spent by everyone, including the United States of America. We want our Allies to be strong and fully capable of countering the 21st-century threats and projecting peace through strength, and this 5 percent investment plan will strengthen NATO’s ability to defer and defend against any threat, whether that’s conventional, nuclear, or even hybrid threats.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. Next question is from Niels Goedegebuur from ANP in the Netherlands, who asks: “Would the United States support dedicating a part of the new Defense Investment Pledge to related investments like military, mobility, and cybersecurity in Europe?”
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Well, so this defense – this new Hague investment pledge or plan is going to include all of the capability targets necessary for NATO Allies to deter and defend. But it also includes things like mobility, necessary infrastructure, cybersecurity. It is definitely more than just missiles, tanks, and howitzers. But at the same time, it’s got to be defense related. It is not a grab bag for everything that you could possibly imagine, and it is a 5 percent on defense-related spending, with a special emphasis on the NATO capability targets that all of the Allies have agreed to, and everyone understands are mission-critical to deterring and defending every inch of the Alliance.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. We’ll go to Vasco Cotovio from CNN, CNN UK. Vasco asks: “Russia’s strategy on Ukraine seems to aim to drive a wedge between the United States and NATO. Is that the view of the situation in D.C.?”
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: No, I’m going to have to push back a little bit on that. I mean, right now President Trump is laser-focused on ending the slaughter and the killing that is happening in Ukraine from Russians’ invasion and to make sure that there can be an enduring peace deal. But the only way that happens is if both sides come together and negotiate a peace deal that ends this killing that’s just horrific. And there’s just too many thousands of people are currently dying on the battlefield. And President Trump has – really since his election, but certainly since his inauguration – has come the closest of anybody to peace.
And what’s necessary at this point in time is both sides to come together and negotiate an enduring peace. And I don’t think any – everything is on the table from a what it’s going to take, but both sides are going to have to agree. And nobody is probably going to be happy with any deal that both sides agree to, but at the same time I think we all agree that peace is much better than war. And this meeting that might happen on Thursday is really the most encouraging thing we’ve had in the last three years of this endless, really unnecessary war. But at the same time, it needs to end. We need to have peace in Europe, and we need to make sure that the fighting stops.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. Henry Foy has a question about the upcoming foreign ministerial in Antalya. Henry is from the Financial Times, based here in Belgium. He asks: “Will Secretary Rubio discuss specific areas where the U.S. plans to reduce its military footprint in Europe at the meeting?”
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Well, I think the first thing that everyone needs to understand is the United States is always reviewing its force posture. But as I’ve been clear – and I think even Secretary Rubio and Secretary Hegseth have been clear – the United States is not pulling away from Europe. We are having ongoing discussions with our Allies to make sure that there are no security gaps as we have to address all of the United States security threats all over the country.
But we are all rowing in the same direction, and we’re asking our European Allies to be more capable to be equal partners. I think one of the things that President Trump has been clear is that our European Allies plus Canada need to equalize their spending. But at the same time, one of the things that I’m emphasizing on that same thread is that it needs to be capability-targets-based, and it needs to be in full consultation in an Article 4 kind of way – full consultation with our Allies, and that we all agree as to what we’re doing and who’s doing it and make sure that we can all continue to work together, really, in the greatest Alliance ever created.
MODERATOR: Thank you, Ambassador. Shifting gears a little bit to talk about the upcoming NATO summit in the Hague. Evaldas Labanauskas from IQ magazine here in Belgium asks: “What do you think the main topics will be at the NATO summit in June. What will the discussions be about?”
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Well, thanks for that question. I – for me, we’re laser focused on the Defense Investment Plan, and there’s really nothing other than that. I think we’re going to also, just in addition to that, talk about things like the war in Ukraine, but it’s hard to know what the status of that will be, as we have potential peace negotiations happening as soon as this Thursday. And the defense industrial base, as we all commit to spend more, obviously that’s going to be an important topic as well. But these are our most trusted Allies in Europe and in North America, and so we’re going to have conversations on what’s important to that Alliance.
And NATO, as everyone on this call knows, takes a 360-degree approach to our security of the Alliance, and so we’re going to have to talk about those security threats at a – on a 360-degree view. But for me, the top priority in the United States is the Hague investment plan, together with the status of the war in Ukraine, together with the defense industrial base. But those would be, for me, the top three things, with the investment being the most important.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. And then Alexander Bakker from De Telegraaf, on a related topic in the Netherlands, asked – or says that there’s a lot of speculation that President Trump will not be attending the NATO summit in June. Can you confirm his participation?
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: We’re all planning on President Trump to be there, and he will take this opportunity to talk to 31 of our Allies, plus our Indo-Pacific partners, about the importance of this commitment to spend, really, trillions of dollars on our combined and collective defense. And so I – I expect and plan and we should fully expect that Donald Trump will be in The Hague for the NATO summit.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. Moving on to Petar Karaboev from Economedia in Bulgaria. He asks: “In preparation for the annual summit, what specific measures does the U.S. envision to strengthen security in the Black Sea, and how do these plans fit into the State Department’s efforts for direct negotiation to end the war in Ukraine? In preparation for the summit, what specific measures does the U.S. envisage to strengthen security in the Black Sea?”
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Well, we – we’ve been having a lot of discussions at the North Atlantic Council with our allies, and I’ve specifically talked to the ambassador from the Black Sea region – the ambassadors from the Black Sea region – Türkiye, Romania, and Bulgaria – about these topics, because I understand the critical strategic importance of the Black Sea. And you’re seeing it, obviously, play out with the war in Ukraine. To your point, I think I mentioned the 360-degree approach that NATO takes to all regions. And sort of it’s like you can’t have a favorite child in a family, and you can’t have a favorite region inside of NATO. And so we have to be very careful when we talk about those strategic challenges and threats that we face.
But I would say that I am crucially aware of the importance of the Black Sea, the issues that surround the Black Sea currently with the war in Ukraine. And we are making sure that the needs of our Allies are addressed both by the Alliance and by the United States of America to provide strategic help.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. We’ll go now to Kristina Zeleniuk from 1+1 Media in Ukraine. She asks: “What will the U.S. do if Putin rejects the requirements of an immediate, unconditional ceasefire for 30 days as a precondition for the start of any negotiations? Will the U.S. put more sanctions on Russia in coordination with European Allies?”
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Did you cut out there, John, or was that the question? I’m sorry.
MODERATOR: All right, that was the question, sir.
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Okay. Yeah. All right. Well – so I mean, obviously, we will ultimately have to judge President Putin’s commitment to a long-term ceasefire by their actions, not their words. We have to get to the table to negotiate an end to this war. And if we don’t get to a table – to the table, then there won’t be an end to this war. The relationship between the United States and Russia is not probably even germane to where we are right now, because we need to see if we can end this war. And President Trump has ultimately the ability and the unique ability to bring both sides to the table. We – we’re – we’ve gotten further down this road with him leading this. And if anybody can get a peace deal done, it’s President Trump. And obviously he wants to end the killing, most importantly, and the dying and just the tragedy we’re seeing play out on a daily – an hourly, a daily, a weekly, and a monthly basis.
And so I think we just have to take this at a step at a time. I think President Trump has expressed that he’s been frustrated with Russia. He had previously been frustrated with Ukraine. But from where I sit right now, I think we are as close as we’ve ever been to the war ending and the fighting to stop. And I think that is a – that’s a great step. But again, we have to see how this plays out on Thursday and just take it a step at a time. So it’s just hard to predict what happens after that. And hopefully with God’s help, we’ll get a deal done on Thursday and we’ll have peace and an end to the fighting.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. I know you’re on a tight schedule, so we just have one more question. Nicholas Barotte from Le Figaro and then Maarten Rabaey from De Morgen both asked a similar question. Essentially, if an international coalition of the willing can provide a reassurance force to Ukraine as part of this peace negotiation, will the United States be able to provide backstop support?
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: I think all of these kind of topics are all related. And we need to get – whatever the deal is and whatever the United States’s role and whatever Europe’s role and our allies’ role, the United States will be able to provide. But that’s – those negotiations, those decisions, those are ultimately up to the President of the United States. And my – and I think everything is on the table to try to get a peace deal. But ultimately both sides – Russia and Ukraine – are going to have to agree to that deal and then the deal will have to hold. And Europe’s role, United States role, I think that is all being negotiated by President Trump and his team. And ultimately, we’ll see if we can get all sides to agree.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. Like I said, I know you have a tight schedule, so I think we’ll wrap it up here.
AMBASSADOR WHITAKER: Right. Got to get on to the next thing, but I appreciate it. And thank you, everyone. And I look forward – I’m sure some of you will be in Türkiye this week. A lot may be happening on Thursday, and I look forward to seeing some of you if not all of you in person. Thanks for the time.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir. Unfortunately that’s all the time we have for today. Thanks, everyone, for your questions, and obviously thanks to the ambassador for joining us. Shortly, we will send the audio recording of the briefing to all participating journalists and provide a transcript as soon as it is available. Thanks again to everyone for participating, and we hope you can join us for another press briefing in the near future. This ends today’s briefing.
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