European countries need to invest now in defence because it is not possible to assume that the United States' presence on the continent will last forever, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday during a visit to Warsaw.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday warned NATO allies in Europe against assuming that the American troop presence on the continent would "last forever", as he urged them to spend more on defence.

US President Donald Trump’s “lengthy and highly productive” phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has sparked fears in Europe of a “dirty deal” being struck to end the war in Ukraine on terms favorable to Moscow without Kyiv’s involvement.

The announcement of the Trump-Putin call made no mention of Europe or of much of a Ukrainian role, playing into fears that their interests will fall by the wayside.

"Any agreement without us will fail, because you need Europe and Ukraine to also implement the agreement," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. "Any quick fix is a dirty deal." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said: "Nothing can be discussed on Ukraine without Ukraine or on Europe without Europe.

"Make no mistake, President Trump will not allow anyone to turn Uncle Sam into 'Uncle Sucker,'" Hegseth told a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Europe should be primarily responsible for defense on the European continent,

Pentagon head Pete Hegseth defended Trump's Ukraine negotiations with Putin and urged allies to 'make Nato great again' US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth rejected criticism on Thursday of Washington's negotiating strategy with Russia on the war in Ukraine and warned Europe against treating America like a "sucker" by making it responsible for its