NATO Secretary General, Press Conference at Defence Ministers Meeting, 15 FEB 2024

Press conference by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg following the meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence in Brussels, 15 February 2024. 🗣 | NATO Secretary General: Good afternoon, NATO defence ministers met today to prepare for the Washington Summit in July. Last year in Vilnius, we took major decisions to strengthen our deterrence and defence. Today, we accelerated work on resourcing our new defence plans, and strengthening our transatlantic defence industrial base. This requires investment. And we are on the right track. I expect 18 Allies to spend 2% of their GDP on defence this year. A six-fold increase from only 3 Allies in 2014. In 2024, NATO Allies in Europe will invest a total of 380 billion US dollars in defence. For the first time, this amounts to 2% of their total GDP. By the end of 2024, European Allies and Canada will have added more than 600 billion dollars for defence since we made the Defence Investment Pledge in 2014. We still have a way to go. But we have already made historic progress. We also discussed ramping up production of ammunition. To refill our stocks and continue to support Ukraine, we need to shift from the slow pace of peacetime, to the high-tempo production demanded by conflict. To do that, manufacturers need signed contracts. And just in the past few months, NATO has agreed contracts worth ten billion dollars. This helps Ukraine. Makes NATO stronger, And provides more highly-skilled jobs in Europe and North America. We also discussed the deteriorating security environment. We can never take peace for granted. But we do not see any imminent military threat against the Alliance. NATO continues to ensure there’s no room for miscalculation in Moscow about our readiness to protect all Allies. Right now, we are conducting Steadfast Defender: the largest NATO exercise in decades. With approximately 90,000 forces from all 31 Allies and Sweden. Testing our ability to swiftly move forces across the Alliance to defend our eastern flank. Today, we also met with Ukraine in the NATO-Ukraine Council. Defence Minister Umerov briefed Allies on the latest developments on the ground. And we addressed the importance of our continued support. Just in the past few days, we have seen new packages of aid announced by Allies including Canada, Finland, and Norway. Covering key capabilities like F-16 equipment and spare parts, as well as air defence. A group of Allies is coming together with the goal of delivering one million drones to Ukraine. 20 NATO Allies have also agreed to form a demining coalition. All of this will help to save Ukrainian lives. Together, NATO Allies account for 99% of all military aid to Ukraine. And our continued commitment is essential to preserving Ukraine’s freedom. Since Russia’s invasion, the United States has provided Ukraine with around 75 billion dollars in military, financial, and humanitarian aid. Other NATO Allies and partners have provided over 100 billion US dollars. So our support is an example of true transatlantic burden sharing. And it is making a real difference every day. Today, we decided to create a new NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre in Bydgoszcz, Poland. It will allow Ukraine to share lessons learned from Russia’s war. And it will create a structure for Ukrainian forces to learn and train alongside their Allied counterparts. We will continue to stand with Ukraine. For Ukraine’s security, and for ours. And with that, I am ready to take a few questions. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ SUBSCRIBE to this channel SUBSCRIBE to NATO News SUBSCRIBE to NATO History Connect with NATO online: Visit the Official NATO Homepage: Receive NATO updates via email: Find NATO on FACEBOOK: Follow @NATO on TWITTER: Follow NATO on Instagram: Find NATO on LinkedIn: Find NATO on Flickr: #NATO #OTAN #DefMin