Hegseth, who spoke to reporters following a NATO defense ministerial in Brussels, appeared to walk back his comments from Wednesday, when he said it's not "realistic" for Ukraine to join NATO.
On Thursday he said "everything is on the table" in negotiations with Kyiv and Moscow as President Trump seeks to kickstart talks.
"These negotiations are led by President Trump. Everything is on the table. In his conversations with [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky. What he decides to allow or not allow is at the purview of the leader of the free world — President Trump," he said.
Hegseth in opening remarks before the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting Wednesday said he does "not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement," and that Ukraine will not get all its territory back from Russia. It's unclear where the Trump administration stands on territory that has been occupied by Russia since its full invasion three years ago.
Trump later that day declared he had called both Putin and Zelensky to push to begin negotiations to end the war, but that he also does not "think it's practical" to have Kyiv join NATO — a security guarantee that would help ensure the Kremlin doesn't move to attack Ukraine in the future.
Critics quickly seized on the comments, suggesting the Trump administration took away some of Ukraine's leverage even before negotiations begin.
But Hegseth on Thursday rejected the criticism, arguing that pointing out realities is not making concessions.
"I think realism is an important part of the conversation that hasn't existed enough inside conversations amongst friends," he said.
"But simply pointing out realism — like the borders won't be rolled back to what everybody would like them to be in 2014 — is not a concession to Vladimir Putin."
Multiple European leaders have also raised concerns about the way negotiations will be organized, insisting that both Ukraine and Europe must be represented.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said any agreement brokered by the United States alone "will fail because you need Europe and Ukraine to also implement the agreement."
"Any quick fix is a dirty deal," she added.
And Zelensky said Thursday that Ukraine would not accept any agreement reached without its involvement, also calling for Europe to have a seat at the table.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
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