NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gives press conference ahead of meetings of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
Transcript
Good morning. The Secretary General will preview the foreign ministerial tomorrow and then he’ll be happy to take your questions. Secretary General.
Good morning. Two weeks from now, NATO leaders will meet in London. Together, we will mark our Alliance’s 70th anniversary and look to the future. Tomorrow, Foreign Ministers will finalize our preparations for the London meeting. This leaders’ meeting is timely not least because questions are being asked about the strength of the transatlantic relationship. There are indeed differences among Allies on a range of different issues such as trade, climate, the Iran nuclear deal, and more recently, the situation in North East Syria. But differences and doubts among Allies are not new. Despite them, NATO has only grown stronger over the last 70 years and we continue to provide security for almost one billion people. In fact, Europe and North America are doing more together in NATO today than we have for decades. We are strengthening our deterrence and defense with more forces at higher readiness, stepping up our response against cyber attacks and hybrid threats, and playing a key role in the fight against international terrorism, including with training missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Because ultimately being part of a strong transatlantic Alliance is in the national interest of each and every one of our countries. Everything we do must be underpinned by fair burden sharing. We are now in the fifth consecutive year of rising defense spending across European Allies and Canada with more than $100 billion extra invested in defense. This is unprecedented progress and we are determined to keep up the momentum. In a fast-changing world, NATO continues to adapt to face strategic challenges. And tomorrow, we will take another important step. I expect ministers will agree to recognize space as an operational domain, alongside air, land, sea, and cyber. Space is essential to the Alliance’s defense and deterrence, for early warning, communication, and navigation. Around 2,000 satellites currently orbit the Earth. Around half are owned by NATO countries. So, recognizing space as an operational domain will be a clear sign that we continue to strengthen our deterrence and defense in all areas. Our approach will remain defensive and fully in line with international law. NATO has no intention to put weapons in space. But we need to ensure our missions and operations have the right support. We will also address a range of other issues including NATO’s role in the fight against terrorism. Our training missions in Afghanistan and Iraq continue to play an important role in preventing the resurgence of ISIS and other terrorist groups. Our work to counter hybrid threats will also be on the agenda. Allies are stepping up, including with new baseline requirements for resilient telecommunications including 5G, and our first counter-hybrid support team is in Montenegro this week. We will also discuss other strategic issues, including Russia the implications of the rise of China, the future of arms control, and energy security. NATO is the only forum that brings nations from Europe and North America together to address strategic security challenges. NATO remains the only guarantor of European and transatlantic security and it is the responsibility of each of us to maintain and strengthen our unity in order to ensure credible deterrence and defense for all of us. And with that, I am ready to take your questions.