Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Meeting With U.K. Secretary of State for Defence, the Right Honorable Grant Shapps

Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met with the UK's Secretary of State for Defence, The Right Honourable Grant Shapps at Moffett Field in California today to discuss the deepened defense and security cooperation between the United States and the United Kingdom.

In furtherance of our close partnership and the special relationship between our two countries, both officials affirmed their commitment to supporting Israel's right to self-defense, consistent with international humanitarian law and the Law of Armed Conflict. The two also discussed ongoing efforts to support Ukraine in its defense from Russia's unprovoked war of aggression.

The officials met together later in the day with their counterpart from Australia, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles, to discuss the Australia-United Kingdom-United States Security Partnership (AUKUS).