US defense chief Pete Hegseth to skip key NATO ministerial meeting

Oana Lungescu, a former NATO spokesperson, said the move “risks sending a further signal that the U.S. isn’t listening as closely as it should to the concerns of its allies, especially after Marco Rubio skipped the last meeting.” “Having said that, there is also an upside,” said Lungescu, who now works as a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, “in that Elbridge Colby … is best placed to explain [the new U.S. defense strategy’s] intent and implications, and to hear the views of allies.”