German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen attends a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia on Feb. 10. Mary F. Calvert / Reuters

Russia's deputy defense minister has called those NATO exercises a "threat."

But Von der Leyen disputed that characterization and deemed the NATO troop movements, which involve a U.S. Armored Combat Brigade, "appropriate."

"Russia knows that it is a reaction for the Russian annexation of Crimea and the hybrid war in Eastern Ukraine," she told NBC News. "Therefore it was important for us to make sure that our Baltic friends know their borders are secure"

Von der Leyen is the first defense minister hosted by Mattis at the Pentagon and their meeting lasted for about an hour, twice as long as scheduled.

Their conversation ranged from Syria to Ukraine, and also touched upon European defense spending levels. She said it was a "fair question" for President Trump to ask why so many NATO countries do not spend the targeted 2 percent of GDP on their military budgets.

"In an alliance there needs to be a fair share of the burden," she said. "We recognize that we need to raise the budget, because we need it in the Armed forces. We need to modernize the armed forces."

The German defense minister also suggested that Europe needs to consider establishing an EU army, to conduct missions that aren't core to NATO's mission.

"We need as Europeans to address problems where for example we do not see NATO," she said, "We have to bring over stability for example to Mali and Niger."

Ahead of Germany's planned election in September, she called on the press to help dismantle "fake news" stories, while suggesting that Russia may attempt to meddle in their democratic process.

"The Kremlin has no interest in having a too stable and too strong Europe, she said. "The free press is the strongest sword you have within these complex situations."

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Germany's Defense Minister: Trump is Committed to NATO - NBCNews.com