France says NATO members facing 'moment of truth' on alliance's future

France's defense minister has told members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that NATO is facing a "real moment of truth" which will determine the military alliance's global influence in upcoming years.

Sebastien Lecornu voiced his concern about the future of the military alliance following the recent announcement of Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Washington’s plans for a deal with Russia in line with US President Donald Trump's promise to end the Ukraine war speedily.

Hegseth, who was on his first trip abroad on Wednesday, told US allies, including NATO officials, that US military forces will be focused on maintaining homeland security by defending America's borders, thus playing a minor role in Europe's security makeup, particularly, the war in Ukraine which would be left up to the European governments to provide arms and munitions.

“The United States faces consequential threats to our homeland. We must — and we are — focusing on the security of our own borders,” Hegseth said

He suggested that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders was “an unrealistic objective” and described any peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia, without ceding land to Moscow, as an “illusionary goal.”

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In response to the new military plans outlined by Hegseth, France’s Lecornu said that given the current changes in the US with the incoming Trump administration changing the foreign and military policy, the very need to keep NATO up and running fast is now questionable.

“To say that it’s the biggest and most robust alliance in history is true, historically speaking. But the real question is will that still be the case in 10 or 15 years,” he asked.

NATO, which was established back in 1949, was formed by 12 nations to counter the threat to European security posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Since then, NATO has expanded to include 32 members with most allies still believing that Russia could pose an existential threat to Europe.

Among NATO members, US armed forces have the greatest troop numbers and superior weapons. American troops also enjoy superior transport and logistics assets compared to other NATO members who have cut their military budgets for years.

Ukraine may be Russia’s someday, Trump says

The US president says Ukraine may belong to Russia someday as Russian troops continue to make advancements on the eastern Ukrainian frontline.

Following Trump's demand that Europeans make larger contributions NATO members have started to increase their military budgets.

The goal is for NATO member states to start increasing their military spending by 2 percent to 3 percent or more of gross domestic product on the ally country's military forces within a decade.

Trump has said his first face-to-face meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the former’s second tenure would take place in Saudi Arabia.

Trump's announcement came after earlier comments in which he suggested that Ukraine “may be Russian someday.”

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