“It’s important to note that former President Trump had an extended phone conversation with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy,” he stated. “A clear consensus is forming: we all desire peace in Ukraine sooner rather than later, and we want the country to be in the strongest possible position.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a notable impression during his inaugural trip to Europe. On his first visit to Brussels since receiving confirmation from the U.S. Senate, he informed his NATO counterparts on Wednesday that Zelenskyy is unlikely to restore Ukraine’s borders to what they were prior to 2014.

He also dashed any hopes for Kyiv’s NATO membership, prompting Zelenskyy to remark, “I don’t believe those doors were genuinely open,” a pointed reference to previous and current U.S. administrations.

On Thursday, Hegseth praised Trump’s approach to engaging with Putin.