Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby provided the following readout:
Secretary Austin spoke by phone with German Federal Minister of Defense Christine Lambrecht today to congratulate her on her appointment. The principals reaffirmed their commitment to strong U.S.-German defense cooperation, both bilaterally and within the NATO Alliance. They discussed their commitment to work together on a full range of challenges, including addressing Russia’s destabilizing actions in Eastern Europe, ensuring NATO Alliance unity, maintaining positive trajectory on defense investment, and increasing cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.