Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to review priorities for the NATO Defense Ministerial in Brussels October 11-12. They discussed a range of transatlantic security issues focused on implementing the Vilnius Summit deterrence and defense deliverables and ongoing NATO operations in the Balkans and Iraq.
Both leaders also discussed the Secretary General’s recent visit to Ukraine. They emphasized NATO unity in support of Ukraine’s self-defense and sovereignty.