Opening remarks
by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the start of the extraordinary virtual summit of NATO Heads of State and Government
(As delivered)
So colleagues, I think we are ready to start.
Good afternoon, and good morning to all of you, and welcome to this meeting of NATO leaders with our close partners, Finland, Sweden and the European Union.
Russia has shattered peace on the European continent. What we have warned against for months has come to pass, despite all our efforts to find a diplomatic solution.
Moscow bears sole responsibility for the deliberate, cold blooded and long planned invasion.
We condemn Russia's aggressions in the strongest possible terms. And call on Russia to immediately cease its military action.
We stand with the brave people of Ukraine, we fully support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Its right of self-defence. And its right to choose his own path.
And this ends the public part of the meeting. So then, I ask the media to leave the room and we continue in just a second.