During a press conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Hegseth told reporters, “Make no mistake, President Trump will not allow anyone to turn Uncle Sam into ‘Uncle Sucker’.”

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He also called for Europe to start taking responsibility for their own defense on the continent, indicating that he was open to negotiating the number of troops deployed in Europe and US supplies to Ukraine.

“I think it would be fair to say that things like future funding, either less or more, could be on the table in negotiations,” he said, adding that he would not get ahead of US President Donald Trump.

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Pete Hegseth on Wednesday stated that a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders was unrealistic and the Trump administration would not see NATO membership for Ukraine as essential to the end of the war.

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The US secretary of defense faced criticism for his announcement as European officials as well as those in Kyiv viewed it as allowing major concessions to Russia and giving up leverage in future negotiations.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday also spoke with both Russian President Vladmir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and said that the three-year-long between the two countries finally had an end in sight.

However, Trump’s talks with the world leaders also triggered alarm for European nations in NATO who feared that the White House would strike a deal without their involvement.

“We, as a sovereign country, simply will not be able to accept any agreements without us,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in response to speculation of a deal mediated by the US.

“Any quick fix is a dirty deal,” European foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters at NATO headquarters.

However, the Pentagon head has dismissed the idea that he undermined the NATO or European officials.

“NATO is a great alliance, the most successful defence alliance in history, but to endure for the future our partners must do far more for Europe’s defence. We must make NATO great again,” he said.