[김현서] Opening Remarks by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at UDCG

[김현서]

Opening Remarks by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at Ukraine Defense Contact Group

Speaker : Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (피트 헤그세스, 미 국방부 장관)

Glossary

1. Ukraine Defense Contact Group (우크라이나 방위 연락 그룹, UDCG)

2. non-NATO missions : 비나토 임무

Good afternoon, friends.

This is my first Ukraine Defense Contact Group. And I'm honored to join all of you today. 

We are at a critical moment. As the war approaches its third anniversary, our message is clear: The bloodshed must stop. And this war must end.

President Trump has been clear with the American people – and with many of your leaders – that stopping the fighting and reaching an enduring peace is a top priority.

He intends to end this war by diplomacy and bringing both Russia and Ukraine to the table. And the U.S. Department of Defense will help achieve this goal.

We will only end this devastating war – and establish a durable peace – by coupling allied strength with a realistic assessment of the battlefield.

We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. 

Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering. 

A durable peace for Ukraine must include robust security guarantees to ensure that the war will not begin again. 

That said, the United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.

Instead any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops.

If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission. And they should not covered under Article 5. There also must be robust international oversight of the line of contact.

To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine.

To further enable effective diplomacy and drive down energy prices that fund the Russian war machine, President Trump is unleashing American energy production and encouraging other nations to do the same. Lower energy prices coupled with more effective enforcement of energy sanctions will help bring Russia to the table.

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