Putin, Zelenskyy will not get everything they want, but peace will be achieved — U.S. Defense Secretary

She said this on the Espreso TV channel.

“At the final press conference, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, while discussing future peace talks regarding Ukraine, mentioned that Trump instructed him to achieve peace through strength. When I heard that, I thought: ‘Oh, does he mean strengthening Ukraine so that the negotiations would be more effective from Ukraine’s perspective?’ 

But the Pentagon chief explained what he actually meant. It turns out that ‘peace through strength’ from the American perspective means the strength of Trump himself, who is a strong negotiator,” Vysotska emphasized.

Espreso correspondent Tetiana Vysotska added that Pete Hegseth called Trump the ideal negotiator, who sits at the negotiation table from a position of strength and can simultaneously engage in talks with both Putin and Zelenskyy.

“Neither Putin nor Zelenskyy will get everything they want, but peace will be achieved. This is the new message that Pete Hegseth conveyed,” Vysotska noted.

• Earlier, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth stated that Ukraine’s membership in NATO and the restoration of Ukraine’s 2014 borders are not realistic outcomes.