US, German defense chiefs hold talks in Washington

WASHINGTON

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius met Monday for talks in Washington, DC.

Hegseth hosted an enhanced honor cordon for Pistorius at the Pentagon.

Ahead of their closed-door meeting, Hegseth said he wanted to recognize the "long-standing partnership that we’ve had.”

“I think we've seen incredible progress inside NATO and with Germany taking the lead on that, upfront commitment to your spending, commitment to European leadership," he said.

Pistorius said Germany and the US share a "long-standing, deep and trusted" partnership which strengthens not only the two nations, but also benefits the entire transatlantic alliance.

"In response to the shifting security landscape, Germany and our European allies have taken significant steps to reinforce the European contributions within NATO. We have committed to substantially increasing our defense investments reaching 5% of our GDP by 2035," Pistorius said.

He added that Germany will achieve 3.5% of its GDP on core defense spending by 2029 already.

Stressing that Germany is determined to assume greater responsibility for Europe's deterrence and defense, Pistorius said a German brigade in Lithuania will be operational by 2027.

He said they will also discuss strengthening NATO, steadfast support for Ukraine, and regional issues in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific.