Media Huddle with NATO Secretary General


Media huddle with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, November 6, 2019

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Transcript

[Teri] Teri Schultz with NPR. Sorry it’s not on Germany. In the United States, there has now been a change in the impeachment proceedings, which I know is not your lane, and the Ambassador to the EU has confirmed that the White House asked Ukraine for a quid pro quo to get military assistance. NATO spends so much time, so much effort trying to strengthen Ukraine. Are you not troubled by these developments?

I will not go into domestic U.S. politics. The North Atlantic Council, I myself, visited Kyiv, Ukraine, last week. There we expressed our strong support, political support and practical support to Ukraine. And all NATO Allies continue to provide strong political and practical support to Ukraine. And we are actually stepping up our support. That’s the message from NATO. I will not go into the process, which is now going on in the Congress.

[Teri] But I asked about the implications on NATO. That is not just a U.S. process, if Ukraine’s military abilities are weakened by something like this.

But what we saw also when we visited Kyiv, Ukraine, last week, all the 29 nations together on a NATO visit, we saw that all Allies continue to provide strong support to Ukraine, because we stand in solidarity with Ukraine. The illegal annexation of Crimea is the first time since the end of the Second World War when one country in Europe is actually taking a part of another country. And that’s also a reason why NATO has implemented the biggest reinforcement of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War, and we continue to provide strong support to Ukraine. And all Allies do that, all the 29, of course, including the United States.

[Reporter] Is quid pro quo a NATO policy?

But again, I will not go into a process which is now taking place in the U.S. Congress. What I will do is to make sure that all NATO Allies continue to provide support to Ukraine. And that’s exactly what they are doing. We are actually stepping up after the aggressive actions against Ukrainian ships in the Strait of, in the Black Sea. We actually decided to also step up our presence in the Black Sea. So, NATO Allies, including United States, prove every day that we stand in solidarity with Ukraine.

[Reporter] Secretary General, a question on Syria. U.S. military officials have confirmed that ISIS is now regrouping in northern Syria. How concerned are you that Turkey’s operation there is allowing space for them to regroup?

I have stated several times that I am deeply concerned about the risks of jeopardizing the gains we have made in the fight against Daesh or ISIS. And that’s exactly also the reason why, when we had the NATO defense ministers here a few days ago, they all agreed that we need to maintain the progress we have made in the fight against Daesh, and also that we need to look into what more we can do to step up our joint efforts in the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh.

[Oana] DPA do you have any questions?

[Reporter] Yeah. You’ll meet the German Defense Minister, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, in Berlin today. You’ve been talking about her plans for northern Syria at the NATO Defense Ministerial a few days ago. Have you seen any progress, or do you have any expectations for this meeting?

What we have seen is, at least, a reduction in violence and that’s something we welcome on the ground in northern Syria. At the same time, the situation is fragile, difficult. And we are also concerned about the risks of jeopardizing some of the progress, or the progress we have made in the fight against ISIS or Daesh. And I think what has happened over the last weeks in northern Syria just highlights the importance of supporting all efforts to find a political solution. We strongly support the UN-led efforts to find a political solution and I also welcome proposals, ideas from Allies, to try to help and support such a political process. So, that was my message when I met Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, here at the NATO headquarters during the NATO Defense Ministerial. And that’s also my message when I go to Berlin later on today.

[Oana] NTV, last question?

[Reporter] Well, I was going to ask about Kramp-Karrenbauer as well, and Chancellor Merkel, you’ll be meeting her. What main topics will you be discussing with her on Friday?

First of all, I think it’s always a good thing to comment on meetings after they have taken place and not before. But of course, we will discuss a wide range of security issues which are relevant for NATO, for Germany. And that includes, of course, for instance, the situation in Ukraine, how to make sure that we are adapting NATO to a more unpredictable world, burden-sharing within the Alliance, and many other issues. But again, I think it’s wise to comment on the content of meetings after we have had them.

[Oana] Thank you very much.

Thank you, thank you.

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