Are there concerns that Trump will halt Ramstein work: What US Secretary of Defense says
Photo: Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of Defense (Getty Images)
The Ramstein format is crucial for supporting Ukraine, and the future administration of Donald Trump will decide its fate, according to a press conference by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin following the Ramstein meeting.
The US Secretary of Defense was asked whether he feared that Donald Trump might halt the work of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (the Ramstein format).
"That is a decision that's, you know up... that's for the next Administration to make. And I won't speculate on which direction they would go in. But what I will tell you is that this is important not only to Ukraine but to the United States of America, to Europe, and to the entire world," said Austin.
He reminded that, despite the future Trump administration making the decision, the US will do everything possible to continue working in support of Ukraine.
According to Austin, today at Ramstein he heard from his colleagues that the work of the United States and this format is important. He added that Ramstein is not the only format that can work.
Ramstein format meeting
Today, January 9, the last Ramstein format meeting took place before Donald Trump's inauguration. It is currently unclear whether the Ukraine Defense Contact Group will continue its work.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius emphasized that this format must be preserved in the future.
At the same time, the head of the Ukrainian Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs and Interparliamentary Cooperation, Oleksandr Merezhko, stated that he hopes for further Ramstein format meetings, as there is no point in dismantling something that yields results.
