"A sustainable world for Ukraine must include reliable security guarantees to ensure that war does not break out again. It cannot be 'Minsk 3.0'," said the head of the Pentagon, adding that "the U.S. does not consider Ukraine's NATO membership a realistic outcome of the negotiation process."
According to Hegseth, any security guarantees should be supported by "capable European and non-European forces."
He noted that U.S. President Donald Trump plans to resolve the war diplomatically by bringing the aggressor country, Russia, and Ukraine "to the negotiating table," and that the U.S. Department of Defense "will help achieve this goal" to end hostilities and establish a strong peace.
"We will only be able to end this war and achieve lasting peace by combining the strength of our allies with a realistic assessment of the situation on the battlefield. Like you, we want a sovereign and successful Ukraine. But we must begin by acknowledging that returning to Ukraine's borders before 2014 is an unrealistic goal," the head of the Pentagon emphasized, describing such a goal as "illusory" and one that "will only prolong the war and bring more suffering."