US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called on his French counterpart Sebastien Le Corneille in Washington today to "increase military spending" and assume, together with other NATO countries, "primary responsibility for the conventional defense of Europe," the Pentagon announced.
Hegseth and LeCorny also discussed efforts to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine, according to a statement from the US Department of Defense.
During his first official trip to Europe in February, Hegseth conveyed the same message to US allies on the old continent.
"It's time to invest, because you can't assume that the American presence will last forever," Hegseth said at the time during a visit to Poland.
LeCorny's visit to Washington coincides with talks in Paris on Ukraine between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
US President Donald Trump is demanding that all NATO member states allocate at least five percent of their gross domestic product to defense, which is a very ambitious goal for many of them.
The US allocates 3,4 percent of its GDP to NATO, while most European countries allocate around two percent.
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