Pentagon Chief to Skip NATO Defense Ministers Meeting in Brussels

According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, the U.S. Secretary of Defense will not participate in the upcoming NATO defense ministers’ meeting scheduled for February 12 in Brussels. Instead, Albridge Colby, the third-ranking official at the U.S. Department of Defense, will represent the Pentagon in place of Pete Hagst. A source who requested anonymity did not provide a reason for the Defense Secretary’s absence.

The announcement comes amid heightened tensions within NATO following U.S. President Donald Trump’s January threat to acquire Greenland, marking one of the alliance’s most significant challenges since its founding in 1949. While President Trump initially insisted on bringing Greenland under U.S. sovereignty, he later walked back his stance, with his administration entering discussions with Danish and Greenlandic officials.

In early February, NATO began planning to dispatch a delegation to the Arctic region in response to concerns raised by the U.S. President.