Pentagon Spokesman John F. Kirby provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with German Federal Minister of Defense Christine Lambrecht today to reaffirm the U.S.-German bilateral relationship.
The two leaders discussed Russia’s unprovoked and premeditated invasion of Ukraine, with each leader complimenting the resiliency and resolve of the Ukrainian people and Ukraine Armed Forces. Secretary Austin thanked Minister Lambrecht for German assistance to Ukraine, including lethal and non-lethal assistance to the Ukrainian armed forces. He also thanked Minister Lambrecht for German support to bolster NATO’s Eastern Flank, including through support to U.S. and NATO force deployments to and through Germany, German leadership as the framework nation for the NATO battlegroup in Lithuania, and Germany’s decision to deploy Patriot batteries to Slovakia in support of the NATO battlegroup there.
The leaders also discussed security challenges in the Indo-Pacific. Secretary Austin commended Germany’s decision to increase defense spending to two percent of GDP. They agreed to remain in close contact on shared security concerns in Europe in the run-up to the NATO Summit in June.