Pentagon explains why US defense secretary will miss a Ramstein format meeting for the first time

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will not attend the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (Ramstein) meeting at NATO headquarters on 4 June because his schedule made it impossible.

As reported by Politico, the Pentagon chief will be in Brussels for a meeting of NATO defence ministers on Thursday 5 June, but his place at Wednesday's meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group will be taken by US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker. It was reported by a Pentagon representative and two people familiar with the plans. 

The US Department of Defense explained that Hegseth would be unable to attend in person due to a busy schedule.

"Secretary Hegseth’s travel schedule precluded attendance at tomorrow’s UDCG meeting," Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement. "The United States is focused on ending the war in Ukraine as quickly as possible, on terms that establish an enduring peace."

The United Kingdom and Germany took over the leadership of Ramstein in February after Hegseth said the United States would no longer play a key role in the regular meetings initiated by former US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in April 2022.

The AP reported that Hegseth would arrive in Brussels late on 4 June, after the Ramstein meeting had ended.

Hegseth was not physically present at the April Ramstein meeting in Brussels, but participated online. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius explained that the US minister had not arrived due to a busy schedule.