Pre-ministerial press conference by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the meetings of NATO Defence Ministers, 13 February 2023.
NATO Defence Ministers are meeting in Brussels this week (14-15 February 2023) to strengthen the Alliance’s deterrence and defence, and step up and sustain for Ukraine. Previewing the meeting on Monday (13 February 2023), NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg noted the urgency of delivering key capabilities to Ukraine before Russia can seize the initiative on the battlefield.
🗣 | NATO Secretary General:
Good afternoon.
Our thoughts remain with the Turkish people following last week's devastating earthquakes.
Thousands of emergency response personnel from NATO Allies have been supporting the relief efforts. Including with search and rescue teams, firefighters, medical personnel and seismic experts. Moreover, NATO Allies and NATO has agreed to deploy shelter facilities to help accommodate people displaced by the earthquakes.
We stand in strong solidarity with our Ally Türkiye.
NATO Defence Ministers will meet this week at an important moment for transatlantic security.
We will take decisions to strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defence.
We will address our industrial capacity, and increase the protection of our critical undersea infrastructure. And we will step up and sustain our support for Ukraine.
Almost one year since the invasion, President Putin is not preparing for peace.
He is launching new offensives. So we must continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs to win.
And to achieve a just and sustainable peace.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister, Oleksii Reznikov, will join us tomorrow.
Both for the US-led Contact Group for Ukraine and for a meeting with NATO Ministers.
Together, we will address Ukraine’s urgent needs. It is clear that we are in a race of logistics.
Key capabilities like ammunition, fuel, and spare parts must reach Ukraine before Russia can seize the initiative on the battlefield. Speed will save lives.
If Putin wins in Ukraine, the message to him and other authoritarian regimes is that force is rewarded. That would make the world more dangerous. And all of us more vulnerable.
So I welcome the recent announcements by Allies on new tanks, heavy weaponry, and training for Ukraine. And I look forward to further deliveries.
Our message is clear. NATO stands with Ukraine. For as long as it takes.
Ministers will also address how to step up our practical support for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Moldova. Three valued NATO partners, which face Russian threats.
On Wednesday, Allies will take decisions to further strengthen our deterrence and defence.
We have already done a lot. Placing 40,000 troops under NATO command in the eastern part of the Alliance. Backed by major air and naval power. And doubling the number of battlegroups from four to eight.
Now we need to ensure we have the right forces and capabilities for the longer-term.
So I expect Allies will agree new guidance for NATO defence planning.
This will be a key driver of capability changes. And ensure credible deterrence and defence in the years to come. Ministers will also focus on ways to increase our defence industrial capacity and replenish stockpiles. The war in Ukraine is consuming an enormous amount of munitions, and depleting Allied stockpiles.
The current rate of Ukraine’s ammunition expenditure is many times higher than our current rate of production. This puts our defence industries under strain. For example, the waiting time for large-calibre ammunition has increased from 12 to 28 months. Orders placed today would only be delivered two-and-a-half years later.
So we need to ramp up production. And invest in our production capacity. NATO has just completed an extraordinary survey of our munitions stockpiles. And we plan to increase our targets for munitions stockpiles through the NATO Defence Planning Process. The good news is that several Allies, including the United States and France, have already signed new multi-year contracts with the defence industry. Enabling them to invest in increased production capacity. I look forward to further progress. This is essential to ensure we can keep supporting Ukraine, while protecting every inch of Allied territory.
Transcript continues: www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/op...
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