NATO chief, new US defense secretary have first phone call

ATHENS

The NATO chief and the new US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had their first phone call on Wednesday.

“To deter and defend we have to stay strong, united, and ready, and that’s what NATO is doing every day,” NATO’s Mark Rutte said on X after the call.

“Looking forward to working with you to further ramp up defence spending and defence production for a strong alliance,” he added, apparently referring to US President Donald Trump’s push for fellow alliance members to boost their defense spending.

Hegseth was sworn in on Saturday as the US’ new defense chief.

Hegseth was Trump’s second Cabinet secretary to take the oath since Trump’s own inauguration last week, joining Secretary of State Marco Rubio.