Hegseth expected to follow Rubio in skipping NATO ministers’ meeting, sources say

By Andrew Gray and Phil Stewart

BRUSSELS, Jan 29 (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is not expected to attend a NATO defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels next month, two sources said, the second time in a row that a top Trump administration official skips a gathering of the military alliance.

U.S. President Donald Trump has had a tense relationship with NATO and many of its other members, most recently over his desire to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of fellow alliance member Denmark. 

The sources, a U.S. official and a NATO diplomat, both said Hegseth would miss the Feb 12 gathering at NATO headquarters. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not attend the last NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in December.

The two sources did not cite any reason for Hegseth’s decision. The Pentagon and NATO declined to comment.

“If confirmed, it will send a bad signal at a very tense time in transatlantic relations, and will only deepen the concerns of other allies about the U.S. commitment to NATO,” said Oana Lungescu, a former NATO spokesperson who is now a Distinguished Fellow at the RUSI think tank.

The news also comes as Trump is weighing options against Iran that include targeted military strikes on security forces and leaders to inspire protesters, according to multiple sources.

Until Trump’s second term in office, it was highly unusual for a U.S. cabinet official to skip a meeting of NATO ministers. The United States is the alliance’s military superpower and political lynchpin.

U.S. TO GIVE EUROPE ‘MORE LIMITED’ SECURITY SUPPORT

But the Trump administration has made clear that the United States has new military priorities, set out in a National Defense Strategy published last week.

“In Europe and other theaters, allies will take the lead against threats that are less severe for us but more so for them, with critical but more limited support from the United States,” the document states.

Diplomats said they expected Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s policy chief and a driving force behind the new strategy, to attend the NATO meeting instead of Hegseth.

Jamie Shea, a former senior NATO official, said a no-show from Hegseth would be especially unfortunate as Trump and NATO chief Mark Rutte had agreed the alliance should play a greater role in Arctic security to ease the tensions over Greenland.

“It has to be recognised that Hegseth has criticised NATO more than he has shown a desire to lead it,” said Shea, a senior fellow at the Friends of Europe think tank.

“At a time when transatlantic security consultations at high level are more needed than ever, this is another missed opportunity for the U.S. to show leadership and initiative in the alliance,” he said.

(Reporting by Andrew Gray in Brussels and Phil Stewart in Washington, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Chizu Nomiyama and Deepa Babington)