Press statement

Thank you so much Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and it’s good to be back here in Athens and to meet with you. And thank you also for the warm welcome to me and to my delegation.

We had substantial talks addressing many different issues. We discussed how NATO is adapting to a new and more challenging security environment. With a more assertive Russia being responsible for aggressive actions in Ukraine. But also all the turmoil and violence we see in the south, Syria, Iraq, North Africa and the wider Middle East region.

And I would like to commend you for your strong personal commitment. And also for Greece being a committed NATO Ally for decades. And we appreciate very much the contributions of Greece to our Alliance. And the cooperation we have in the Alliance with all Allies including of course also with your country. So I very much appreciate this opportunity to discuss all these important issues with you.

Greece is at the forefront of the refugee and migrant crisis. You are generously hosting tens of thousands of people.

And NATO is in the Aegean Sea because Greece, Germany and Turkey requested our assistance to help cut the lines of human trafficking. We quickly answered that call.

And NATO ships are now providing real-time information to the coastguards of Greece and Turkey, as well as to the EU’s border agency Frontex.

And yesterday I was visiting the NATO flagship of the NATO deployment in the Aegean Sea. And I saw that our collective efforts are making a real difference. There has been a significant reduction in the number of people crossing the Aegean from Turkey to Greece. And NATO is helping counter criminal networks, secure our borders and save lives. And NATO is working with the EU closer than ever before. And I welcome this enhanced cooperation between NATO and the EU as we see it now take place in the Aegean.

We need to stay engaged.

And I thank Greece for contributing ships to our deployment in the Aegean and for the excellent cooperation and coordination between NATO, Greece and the EU and Turkey.

NATO is also helping the root causes of the refugee and migrant crisis. By helping partner nations in North Africa and the Middle East to become stronger in the fight against terrorism, and become more stable.

This month, we started training of Iraqi officers and we also stand ready to support Libya. We welcome the establishment of a new government of national accord in Libya. NATO has a clear mandate from our Heads of State and Government that we are ready to support the new government in Libya if so requested by the Libyan government.

We also discussed the challenge of a more assertive Russia, responsible for aggressive actions in Ukraine. And NATO is following a double track of deterrence and political dialogue. In response to Russia’s actions we have increased our collective defence and deterrence. Not to provoke a conflict but to prevent a conflict. And to keep our citizens safe. Everything we do is defensive, and fully in line with our international obligations.

But in times of tensions, it is especially important to keep channels of political dialogue open. To avoid incidents and to reduce risks. And that is what NATO has done – as the meeting of the NATO-Russia Council testifies. And we believe that there is no contradiction between strong defence and political dialogue. Actually, we believe that as long as we are strong, firm and predictable we can also engage in political dialogue.

All of these issues will be on the agenda of our Summit in July in Warsaw and I’m looking forward to meet you there again and to continue to develop the answers and the responses of NATO to a more challenging security environment.

Greece is making a significant contribution by spending more than 2 percent of GDP on defence. We appreciate these efforts and I appreciate the strong commitment of you to our cooperation in the Alliance. So Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, thank you for your commitment and thank you for hosting me and my delegation here today. Thank you so much.