Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby has urged Europe to take primary responsibility for its defence, saying the current NATO approach is 'no longer fit for purpose'.
Colby made the remarks during a meeting with NATO's defence ministers in Brussels on Thursday, where he called for 'clear-eyed realism and fundamental adaptation by all'.
The US official said a new 'NATO 3.0' requires 'much greater efforts by our allies to step up and assume primary responsibility for the conventional defence of Europe'.
US Commitment to NATO
Colby insisted that the US's reprioritising of its interests was not a retreat from Europe, but an 'affirmation of strategic pragmatism and a recognition of our allies' undeniable ability to step up'.
The US will continue to provide its extended nuclear deterrent and contribute to NATO's defence, as well as 'train, exercise, and plan alongside our allies', Colby said.
NATO Response
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the meeting was 'one of the most pivotal' that he had been part of, and believed that the longer term would see the US's 'nuclear umbrella as the ultimate guarantor of our security here in Europe and Canada, but also a strong conventional presence of the US here in Europe'.
Rutte thanked several countries, including the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Lithuania, for their contributions to the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), which supplies Ukraine with US-made equipment and munitions.
Ukraine Support
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for more protection from Russian strikes, saying 'it is the 'Patriots' that work most effectively against Russian ballistics, and the supply of missiles to these systems is needed every day'.
Zelenskyy thanked those who contribute to the PURL programme, saying 'everything that is currently in the air defence programme should come faster'.
Source: Original Media Outlet Name
