U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that NATO membership for Ukraine was unrealistic and in sweeping remarks suggested Kyiv should abandon hopes of winning all its territory back from Russia and instead prepare for a negotiated peace settlement to be backed up by international troops.

Hegseth’s strident comments came during the first trip to NATO by a member of the new Trump administration. Allies have been waiting to hear how much continued military and financial support Washington intends to provide to the Ukrainian government.