Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met with German Federal Minister of Defense Christine Lambrecht on February 16 on the margins of the NATO Defense Ministerial. The leaders discussed their grave concerns over Russia’s concerning military build-up in and around Ukraine. They reflected upon discussions at the Ministerial over NATO’s response to the situation and the importance of continued Alliance unity. Secretary Austin thanked Minister Lambrecht for the swift deployment of German personnel to augment its enhanced Forward Presence battle group in Lithuania and acknowledged Germany’s support to U.S. personnel deployments to and through Germany to bolster deterrence and assure our Allies on NATO’s Eastern Flank. The leaders exchanged perspectives on a range of other security and defense issues, including defense procurements and security in the Indo-Pacific.