Brussels - The United States welcomed the recent efforts by European member states of NATO to take on greater responsibility within the Alliance. These steps were taken at a time when U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth missed the NATO defense ministers' meeting held in Brussels on Thursday. He was also absent from the last meeting of foreign ministers in December, which raised questions about Washington's priorities towards the Alliance. Elbridge Colby, the third-highest official in the U.S. Department of Defense, said before the meeting: "Enhancing the contribution of European allies provides a very strong basis for working together within a partnership, with a partnership-based NATO 3.0."
