Defense Secretary Austin says US, NATO prepared to defend 'every inch' of territory of member states

Join Fox News for access to this content Plus get unlimited access to thousands of articles, videos and more with your free account! Please enter a valid email address. By entering your email, you are agreeing to Fox News Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. To access the content, check your email and follow the instructions provided.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday reaffirmed NATO's mission to defend "every inch" of territory of its members as Russia continues to pose a threat despite being bogged down in a war with Ukraine.

The remarks came as NATO defense ministers met in Brussels to discuss a range of issues, including Moscow's invasion and how to further strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defense.

"The United States will continue to stand with our NATO allies and to defend the sovereignty and the territory of every alliance member — every inch of it, as President Biden has repeatedly made clear. Our commitment to Article Five remains ironclad," Austin said in a statement.

NATO ALLIANCE TO EXCLUDE UKRAINE FROM UPCOMING SUMMER SUMMIT, US AMBASSADOR SAYS

Article Five refers to the notion that an attack on a NATO member is considered an attack on all members.

Defense spending among the 31 NATO member states has been a point of contention. Each nation has pledged to spend 2% of its GDP on defense.

In 2014, only three successfully hit that target. This year, 18 are expected to, said NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg.

"Since the Investment Pledge was made in 2014, European Allies and Canada have added more than $600 billion US dollars for defense," he said Wednesday. "So we are making real progress."

THE ANTI-US AXIS OF CYBER CHAOS OF RUSSIA, CHINA, IRAN AND NORTH