Pre-ministerial press conference
by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte ahead of the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Brussels on 3 and 4 December
(As delivered)
Yes, good morning. Good to see you.
Today, as you know, and tomorrow, NATO Foreign Ministers will meet and we have many urgent security issues to discuss.
This afternoon we will welcome His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan to our meeting. The King has been a guest at NATO many times, but this will be the first time he is participating in a meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers.
Jordan is one of NATO’s most important partners in the Middle East. We will open our NATO Liaison Office in Amman soon. And this is an important step in making our deep relationships in the region even stronger.
I am therefore grateful for King Abdullah’s presence. We will discuss the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and its impact on Euro-Atlantic security.
This evening we will have a working dinner of the NATO-Ukraine Council, for the first time with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
The new EU High Representative, Kaja Kallas, will also join us. Because NATO and the EU must work closely together in our support for Ukraine.
Ukraine is entering another crucial winter. And Russia’s aggression shows no sign of abating. Just the opposite, Putin is ramping up his rhetoric and reckless actions. He is using Ukraine as a testing ground for experimental missiles and is deploying North Korean soldiers in this illegal war.
Putin is not interested in peace. He is pressing on, trying to take more territory. Because he thinks he can break Ukraine’s resolve. And ours. But he is wrong.
Ukraine has a right to defend itself.
And we have a duty to help them.
So we need to continue our steadfast support.
In Washington, Allies agreed a financial pledge of 40 billion euros of security assistance for this year and we remain committed to this pledge.
And I very much welcome recent announcements of more military aid by the US, Germany, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania, Norway.
This is great news.
We are setting up our new NATO Command in Wiesbaden to coordinate security assistance and training for Ukraine. This makes our support more steadfast, and also sustainable.
But we will all need to do more.
Especially now.
The stronger our military support to Ukraine is now, the stronger their hand will be at the negotiating table.
And the sooner we can end Russian aggression once and for all in Ukraine.
Tomorrow, ministers will address Russia’s hostile actions in NATO countries.
Over the past years, Russia and also China have tried to destabilise our nations with acts of sabotage, cyber-attacks and energy blackmail.
To intimidate us.
None of these actions will deter us from supporting Ukraine or making our own defences stronger.
NATO Allies will continue to stand together to face these threats through a range of measures, including greater intelligence sharing and better protection of our critical infrastructure.
And with that I am ready to take your questions.
NATO Spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah
Thank you. We'll start with Reuters over there. Sabine,
Sabine Siebold, Retuers
Thank you. Sec Gen, Ukraine has been asking for a quick invitation to NATO. Will you give issue, such an invitation to NATO during this meeting, or will you at least strengthen the membership language on Ukraine's path to membership?
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Well, as you know, Allies agree that the future of Ukraine is in NATO, and during the Washington Summit, we agreed on the irreversible path towards NATO, and before and after the Washington Summit, Allies have been working on building the bridge.
And the bridge consists, for example, out of the individual bilateral security agreements between Allies and Ukraine, but also the implementation of all decisions being agreed in Washington. So this is happening step by step, what I would think that we have to concentrate, and we will concentrate over these next two days, very much on what is necessary now. And what is necessary now is to make sure that military aid will go to Ukraine, because that is now crucial for them to, if they decide to do so, enter into talks with the Russians one day, they will do this from a position of strength.
NATO Spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah
Okay, I'll go to Ukraine News Agency, Dimitri, third row,
Dymtro Shkurko, Ukrinform Natinoal News Agency of Ukraine
Thank you, Dymtro Shkurko, National News Agency of Ukraine. Right now we have some kind of narratives coming from the upcoming American administration on a peace plan for Ukraine, which is also about some kind of boots on the ground in Ukraine involving some kind of European forces. Do you expect that ministers will consider that issue and what kind of conditions are necessary to be kept to, for the presence of these troops in Ukraine, some, what kind of roles? Thanks.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
The meeting in the next two days will very much concentrate on how to make sure that Ukraine, wherever it decides, to enter into peace talks, will do so from position of strength.
And to get there, it is crucial that more military aid will be pumped into Ukraine. And therefore I'm so happy that all the countries I have just listed have announced military aid going into Ukraine, including many European Allies, and, of course, also the United States. And I commend them for that.
So that is the most crucial thing we have to do now. And from there, whenever the Ukrainian government would decide to enter into talks, as up to them to decide that, we want for them to do that from a position of strength. From there, it will be a step by step approach. So I'm not going to comment on every piece of news coming out of every Ally, because I think we really should concentrate, and that is what we will do today and tomorrow on making sure that Ukraine can start those talks from the best possible position.
NATO Spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah
Okay, FAZ. At the end there. Thank you, Thomas.
Thomas Gutschker, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Thanks a lot. Thomas Gutschker, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Two questions, please. The first one, have you discussed these such plans, like patrolling a demilitarized zone, for instances, in the future, when you spoke to President Trump in Mar a Lago? And the second question, related to China, there have been reports about delivery of drones, military drones to Russia and their use on the battlefield. Have you seen conclusive evidence that such drones are actually used against Ukraine? Thank you.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
On the second question, as you know, China is active in sanction circumvention, is active through dual use goods they deliver into, into Russia and therefore China, but also Iran and North Korea. They are all involved in Russia's full onslaught on Ukraine.
And we are very, not only worried about that, we condemn it. And then I come back to your first question, my discussions with the incoming president, with President Trump, clearly, I cannot tell you what he said, but we very much focused the discussion on three issues.
One, he was the one ramping up defence spending when he was president, and I again thanked him for that, because that was crucial. But we need to do more. It will not be enough to stick at the 2% because longer term, that means that our deterrence is not strong enough, if it would stick to the 2%.
Second, industry production. How do we get our defence industrial base to really put in extra shifts, put in extra production lines, to ramp up the production? Because we know the Russians and the Chinese are doing that. And by the way, also the North Koreans.
And thirdly, on Ukraine. My view on this is that when we discuss Ukraine, we should discuss the fact that Russia and China, you already mentioned, but also Iran, and, of course, North Korea, they're all working together and Russia is paying for this, for example, missile technology, which is then being used by the North Koreans to threaten not only us or the Republic of Korea, so South Korea and Japan, but also the US mainland.
So this all is getting connected. So whenever we get to a deal on Ukraine, it has to be a good deal, because what you can never have is high fiving Kim Jong Un and Xi Jinping, and whoever else thinking that it is a bad deal, because that might get other people think about what they could do.
So this, and this is crucial for our defence, not only here in Europe, but also the US, the Indo Pacific and the Euro Atlantic.
NATO Spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah
Thank you. We'll go to Independent Arabia over there.
Essa Hassan Nahari, Independent Arabia
Essa Nahari from Independent Arabia. So as China and Russia expand their influence in the Middle East, how do you envision the NATO role in the region, and do you plan to work with Gulf countries on this front? Thank you.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Well, as you know, we agreed that NATO needs to have strong relations what we call the southern neighbourhood, and that involves the Middle East, but also large parts of Africa. And we are working very actively on this. This is one of the reasons why His Majesty, the King of Jordan, is visiting today.
As you also know, we are opening an office in Jordan, and we are very active on this, because we cannot have a situation in which, and here I quote the Italian Prime Minister, that we have the Chinese and the Russians being involved in Africa and other parts of the region, and the West not being involved there.
So NATO has to be active there, not by extending Article Five or whatever, because the NATO is the Trans Atlantic, the Euro Atlantic defence community, but by being active there, by building bilateral relations, by helping out when that is necessary, like we are doing through the mission in Iraq, helping Iraq to build its national defence forces.
So that is what we are doing, because we cannot let the Russians in the Chinese in Africa, but also in the Gulf. It is crucial that we have those strong relations. And here the Jordan King, His Majesty, King Abdullah, is really helpful, for years now, to steer us on that path with all his knowledge of the region.
NATO Spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah
Thank you. I'll take another question, this time from Mamlaka TV,
Mohammad Omar Alloubani, Al Mamlaka TV
How is NATO coordinating with the United Nations and other international actors to address the crisis in the Middle East? Do you see the situation as important to strength NATO rule as a guarantor of regional stability, or could differing position among member states undermine its effectiveness?
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
It's a very good question, and I would argue that NATO has to concentrate on its core territory, which is the Euro Atlantic. But as I said to the previous question, that still means that we have to be active outside our own territory in terms of building relations, creating the bilateral context, the regional context. That is why we are in Iraq on behalf of the Iraqi government.
That is why we are helping in other countries in the region in making sure that wherever they want us to do so, help them in advising their military to become more effective. Obviously, we are very concerned about what is happening in the Middle East. I know Allies are day to day, navigating the crisis, and of course, we consult together on this. But generally, it is crucial that NATO is building those strong ties in the southern neighbourhood and step by step, making them strong.
NATO Spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah
Thank you. I'll go to BBC Russian service please. Third row.
Sergey Goryashko, BBC News Russian
Thank you. Mr Rutte, [inaudible] response to the recent Russian missile threats to NATO countries?
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Well, first of all, I would like to make use of your question to condemn Russia's recent launch of an experimental intermediate range ballistic missile. This was against Ukraine. What Russia is aiming here is to terrorise the civilian population in Ukraine, but also intimidating those who support Ukraine as it is defending itself as a sovereign nation against Russia's illegal and unprovoked aggression.
As you know, the NATO Ukraine Council met last week on Tuesday to discuss the attack and Allies reaffirmed their continuous support to Ukraine. So, let me make clear that deploying this particular capability will neither change the course of the conflict nor deter NATO Allies from supporting Ukraine.
NATO Spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah
Okay, I'll go to Georgian media. Third row.
Ina Tsartsidze, PIRVELI
Morning. It's Georgian broadcasting TV, PIRVELI. I'm sure you know the latest events in Georgia, its fifth day of the consecutive protest. People are very furious and angry at the government, who, four days ago, said that they will stop Georgia's euro-integration process, and now we see that US also stopped the strategic partnership with Georgia.
Please share your thoughts about that. Some leaders of the European Union also considering sanctioning of the high individuals of the Georgian government, including Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is an informal ruler of the country. It's your first comment as the Secretary General. So, hope share your thoughts on that and what NATO will do to help the Georgian people? Thank you.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Thank you so much for that very relevant question. The reports of violence are deeply concerning, and I condemn them unequivocally. I urge the government to do all it can to promote peace and stability, and I think this is in the interest of all Georgians.
NATO is an Alliance based on democracy, based on values, based on respect for freedom and democracy as a concept, but also as a day to day reality. And I believe strongly that these values are the basis for our collective peace and prosperity. And what I am seeing at this moment is that all Allies are making clear that any actions that undermine the democracy in Georgia or to take democracy further, also on road to more EU and NATO integration, Euro Atlantic integration, so to say that they really urge the Georgian government to stay on the path they decided a couple of years ago to be active on and not to retreat.
NATO Spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah
Okay, we'll go to Sky News, please.
Adam Parsons, Sky News
Good morning, Secretary General. Adam Parsons from Sky News. Last week in an interview with Sky News, President Zelenskyy said that the way to stop what he described as the hot phase of the war in Ukraine was for the unoccupied areas of Ukraine to be taken under the NATO umbrella.
He said that so far that this was an offer that had not been made officially. So I wonder if you could outline what is the offer that has been made to Ukraine, and in your mind, is it sensible to say that those areas that have been occupied by Russia will invariably end up remaining in Russian hands?
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Let me be very firm on this. And here, I will quote Zelenskyy, end of February 2022, when some countries offered him a plane to bring him into safety in Poland. And he said, I don't need a ride. I need ammunition.
I would now argue that Ukraine doesn't need more ideas on what a peace process could look like. And you and I can sit together and drink a cup of coffee, and we can think of many ways how to deal with a peace process whenever that starts. But I would argue, let's not have all these discussions step by step on what a peace process might look like. Make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to get to a position of strength when those peace talks start, when the Ukrainian government has decided they are ready to do so.
And that is what we will very much focus on the next two days, how to get more military aid into Ukraine, more missile defence into Ukraine, better coordination of everything we are doing, making sure that the command in Wiesbaden will be up and running as soon as possible, that the pledge is implemented, that is what we need to do.
So I would say more military aid and less discussions on what a peace process could look like. You and I will – are smart enough to think of many ways how to deal with that, but we have to bring Ukraine to that position that it can start, and it can only start when they are in a position of strength.
NATO Spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah
Okay, we'll go to Moldovan Jurnal TV on the third row.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Hello. Good morning.
Iulia Sarivan, Jurnal TV
Good morning, Mr. Secretary General, in light of Donald Trump's victory and his previous statements on reducing US involvement in support for Ukraine, as well as the first round, first victory round of Călin Georgescu in Romania, known for his Eurosceptic and anti-NATO views.
How do you assess the impact on the Alliance itself, on the Ukraine, and how big the risks become for Republic of Moldova, as our neighbours are Romania and Ukraine.
And also, another question would be about our security, because we are facing Russian drones crushing our airspace, and we can't defence our airspace, and maybe it's time for the Alliance to help us in this regard. And maybe there is an option to collaborate in this regard with Romania, which is a NATO member state.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Well, thank you so much and for your question. And let me first of all emphasise very much, of course, I cannot comment on national elections in Allied countries, we expect every outcome. And in Romania, the second round still has to take place. But I will not comment on national elections. And it's my experience that all 32 Allies are very much involved in NATO, committed to NATO, to the success.
Yes, we will always have debates. This is a democratic Alliance. But the strong point is that because of the democracy, we get to better results and better decision making. In the end, more prosperity and a better deterrence.
I have the highest respect for Maia Sandu, the President of Moldova, and I'm in intense contact with her, and we will continue to do so. Obviously, the question on the drones is very much, I think, also a bilateral question, what Romania and Moldova could do here. So it's not up to me now to comment on that. I understand the question, but I would leave it with the Romanian authorities for the moment.
But you can be assured that Moldova is very much on our NATO screen, and that we respect the country, respect the leadership, particularly when you have been seeing what happened during the elections, in the Euro referendum, and how much foreign influence there was, and then still that government being able with the population in a calm, measured way to move forward.
NATO Spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah
Okay, we'll go to NHK, please.
Sachiyo Sugita, NHK
Thank you. NHK, Sachiyo, thank you very much. Good morning. I'd like to ask about the North Korean troops deployed to Kursk. Does NATO see the number of troops increasing or casualties increasing in the North Korean side? And also President Zelensky earlier has mentioned that the numbers may be increasing to 100,000. Does NATO also consider the same situations?
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Whenever we would have news on that, we would, of course, inform you. But let me make a more general statement, and that is that the North Korean involvement in this war helping the Russians is a huge escalation, and it is threatening at this moment not only Ukraine, but it is threatening Korea, Japan, so the Republic of Korea, South Korea, Japan, but also US, as I said before.
And we should not forget this. Russia is not getting this for free. Iran is not without getting paid, in this case, in money, helping with the Shahed drones and with missiles the war effort of Russia. North Korea is not deploying troops without North Korea getting money, no doubt, but also missile technology, which is then posing a threat to all of us.
What it is doing is also bringing these two, what we call, I think in our jargon, the theatres of the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic, so these two big regions closer together. I've been on the phone since I became NATO Secretary General three times with President Yoon of the Republic of Korea.
So this is testimony of the fact that we are working more and more closely together, including with Japan and Australia and New Zealand, but also within the EU. And this is what Putin has achieved. And this is maybe the only small positive of all of this, that the bonds are even stronger now, and that Sweden and Finland, for example, are now within NATO. But let's not be naive, this North Korean troop deployment is a huge development.
NATO Spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah
Okay, we'll go to Al Arabiya, right there.
Hadley Gamble, Al Arabiya
Thank you so much, and good morning, Secretary General. I want to kick off by asking you specifically about the energy situation in Ukraine today, they remain a major target of the Russian military of Vladimir Putin. And in terms of a ceasefire regarding energy infrastructure, is that something that NATO is willing to facilitate? And even beyond that, what kind of security guarantees can NATO offer in view of NATO membership for Ukraine?
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Well, first of all, Ukraine is facing a very difficult winter because these attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure are ongoing. And I think President Zelensky and his team are totally right when they ask the Allies in NATO and others, like Australia and other countries who are supplying military aid into Ukraine that they are really asking from them. Yes, of course, military aid so that we can offensively, fight back, but also in defence, or particularly in air defence, and this is necessary to protect as much as possible the energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
Your second question again comes to the subject of what might be next. And my point these next two days, and in all my consultations with Allies, is that we very much agree that the focus has to be on strengthening Ukraine at the moment, because as we speak, the front is moving not from the West to the East, but from the East to the West slowly and high casualty rate on the Russian side, we are now thinking is more like 700,000 than the 600,000 we communicated before, people dead or heavily wounded.
So Russia is paying a high price for this. But still, the front is not moving eastwards. It is slowly moving westwards. So we have to make sure that Ukraine gets into a position of strength. And then it should be the Ukrainian government to decide on the next steps in terms of opening peace talks and how to conduct them. And we are there to help. And as I said, with your colleague here, and you and I could also discuss this. We are smart enough to think of many ways on how to do that. And Ukrainians, by the way, will also think of this themselves.
NATO Spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah Thank you all. We have one more question, time for one more question from Swedish TV.
Christoffer Wendick, SVT
Good morning, Secretary General. On the topic of growing numbers of suspected acts of sabotage and hybrid attacks in NATO countries, internet cables in the Baltic Sea being one example, could you please comment on these events and please also expand on how you see an updated NATO strategy to face hybrid attacks?
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Yes. So what we will discuss tomorrow amongst the 32 Foreign Ministers, is very much this. And what we are seeing is acts of sabotage. We are seeing acts of energy blackmail and of course, cyber and the need to protect our cyber system.
And as you know, for example, this whole issue of cyber, already in 2023, so already last year, NATO launched the Virtual Cyber Incident Support Capability, as you know. So we are working on this, but what we need to do is to step up. And that's what we will discuss very much tomorrow on all these three big issues, of energy blackmail and sabotage and cyber, because we cannot be naive.
And it is not only the Russians doing this. We also see China getting more and more involved on this. So this will be the focus of tomorrow. We will also make sure that we will take stock of where we are, how we can coordinate better, also between our services, between the various Allies. So that as an Alliance, we always have the best information.
Then on the specific issue of sea cables and internet. So more generally, let's say the infrastructure through the cable network. As you know, we look into every case. Today, there was a new case in Finland, and authorities are always looking into that very carefully. We share information on that, and as soon as we know who is behind it, of course, that will be then announced to the public wherever possible. But more importantly is that we have set up systems within NATO to make sure that we can protect those cable systems. And so we will take stock tomorrow on all of this, decide on the next steps, and I'm absolutely convinced that we will get to an agreement on this, because all Allies feel the urgency now on this issue.
Thank you, and thank you all for this morning. I will be back tomorrow morning with a doorstep and tomorrow afternoon in the post-ministerial of press conference. So, I hope you will bear with me.