Joint press conference

Thank you so much, Jonas, and thank you all for being here. And what a beautiful backdrop. I don't think I had many pressers with such a beautiful backdrop, and it's so important to be here. Jonas, thank you for your leadership, for Norway's leadership, for the hospitality today, 

And this visit for me is very important, because this is, of course, about NATO. It is about Norway, but it's also about what collectively we are doing to make sure that we keep NATO territory safe, and, of course, with Norway being one of the seven High North countries, this is an important element of this visit to understand better what is the situation in the High North. How do the seven countries bordering on the High North work together. Of course, that's Iceland and Norway and Finland and Denmark and Sweden and Canada and the US. 

We are doing more and more together, and also NATO is getting more and more involved to see how we can best coordinate all those efforts. And we know that these sea lanes are opening up, that the Russians and the Chinese are more and more active here. We know that we have an issue when it comes to, for example, icebreaker capacity, so there are many issues. But then to be here to discuss the defence of Norway generally, but also focusing very much on the High North is really extremely, extremely valuable. And I really want to thank you for that and for the fact that you take such a forward leading role. 

And indeed, we also discuss the upcoming Summit in The Hague, focusing on more spending. And indeed, as the Prime Minister said, not more spending because we want to spend more, but because we have to deliver the capabilities we, collectively as NATO, need to deliver to make sure that we are not only safe today, but also in three years, in five years, in seven years from now, knowing that Russia is actively reconstituting itself. 

We know that China is building up its armed forces. We have the terrorist threat. So there are so many reasons why we have to spend more based on an in depth understanding of the targets we need to reach, the gaps we have at the moment, and we need to fill them, and it will mean spending much, much more than the famous 2% which we committed in 2014 and also, we know we have to spend more when it comes to defence related spending. And here, also Norway is an absolute leader when it comes to a whole society approach.

And we have also discussed that, and we'll discuss this further today, that we need the whole society to be involved if the Russians are a long term threat. And of course, we have so many other issues we have to face, including potential disasters from nature, potential other big disasters we, collectively, as societies, have to face, that we have to be prepared. 

And when it comes to countries like Norway, and yesterday, I had a meeting with Justice ministers and Safety ministers from a whole number of countries within and outside the EU, it is really important that we also concentrate on that. And that is why we will spend more on core defence spending, but also on defence related spending. And this whole resilience issue, this whole society approach will be an important part of that. 

So again, thank you, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the day because we are only halfway.

Question (TV 2)
Welcome to this part of Norway. And the Northern part of Norway is important for NATO. What can you say about the activity for the couple of years during the situation the world is now standing in?

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Well, obviously you guys here in Norway have an intimate knowledge of Russia. Originally, when I grew up, the only real border NATO had with Russia was in Norway. Obviously, now with Finland and Estonia and Latvia, also other countries have it, are directly bordering on Russia, but you have this long term knowledge of what this relationship with the Soviet Union and now Russia actually means, and particularly now that we have to face the security impact of the changes taking place in the High North, the fact that China and Russia are working together there, it is really important to understand from that historical base, from that knowledge, but also from coming from that insight, how to move forward. And that is how we, also as NATO, will see how we can do more and more together with the seven High North countries to be of maximum use here.

Question (Verdens Gang)
Good afternoon, Secretary General. Not far from here, Russia is modernizing and building up their military bases up in the High North. And there is a lot more activity north of Norway than it has been for years, at the same time as they are doing their war in Ukraine. So what can we expect from NATO in the coming years on that and considering, of course, President Trump's worry of Denmark's ability to defend Greenland, as he has mentioned. Are there any fresh ideas in NATO, how the Alliance can increase their attention to the High North?

NATO Secretary General
Yes. Well, basically, as I said, and this is under the leadership of countries like Norway, but also the other six High North countries - so this includes Iceland and, of course, Canada and the US, but also Finland, Sweden, Denmark - they are all working together, and NATO gets more and more involved. And for example, NATO is increasing focus on the High North through improved situational awareness, reinforcement, improved capabilities, revised command and control arrangements, increased exercises and training. So on all these issues, we will as NATO, and this is really a change from five to 10 years ago, get more and more involved. Of course, the countries themselves, working together, but also making sure we embed that in a common NATO approach. And there is really a large scale support for this. We will discuss this soon with the ambassadors in Brussels and taking this forward.

Question (NRK)
Secretary General, Ramsund, where we are now, has been identified as an important base especially for the United States. What is the significance of the investments in Ramsund and in naval forces based in Northern Norway for NATO?

NATO Secretary General
It's crucial. It is crucial for many reasons, of course, for the defence of this part of NATO territory, Norway itself, but also Sweden and other countries bordering here and on Norway, and Norway itself bordering on Russia when it comes to the High North, but also when it comes to the defence of the US mainland. If anything would happen between Russia and the US directly, it might originate not far from here. So that means that we have to work together, and that is why the United States is so committed to NATO, but also to all the activities we are currently undertaking here.

Question (NTB)
There's been a debate in Norway over whether the country is doing enough to support Ukraine, especially given the gas profits during the war. What do you think about that discussion, and should Norway increase its support to Ukraine?

NATO Secretary General
I was just when I was flying out here, checking again about the impressive support Norway is giving to Ukraine. And this is really impressive. You have more than doubled your support to Ukraine in 2025 the total pledge for this year now is over 7 billion euros. And here we are talking about Norway, which, of course, is a large, big country, but given the size of some other economies, it is not in the top 20 of economies in the world, you are really leaning forward here. You are really leading the pack. So there are countries like Denmark and the Netherlands and Germany doing a lot, but Norway is really now high up on that list. And again, I want to thank you for that. You are investing in a defence industrial base in Ukraine. You are working with other countries to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to stay in the fight. And it is important because Ukraine has to prevail. We have to prevent a situation in which this war ends and you are in a situation compared to Minsk in 2014 so when this ends, it has to be lasting. It has to be durable. Vladimir, Vladimirovich Putin should never, ever try again to attack Ukraine and the Norwegian contribution again, I repeat the number, 7 billion euros. This is an enormous amount of money compared to other countries. But also as a sum in itself, I really commend you for that.

Question (Dagbladet)
It's a little question about the Norwegian who used to have your job: in what way will you continue on Jens Stoltenberg's work as a leader of NATO, and in what way will you play his role differently?

NATO Secretary General
Well,  I'm feeling very big shoes. He is an exceptional leader. And I already thought he was when I was watching him leading NATO, and then I had the extraordinary honour of taking his place as Secretary General. But of course, when you then enter office, you start to talk to people, and you start to realize, learning from the inside, what he did. For example, when in 2022 the Ukraine war, when the full Russian onslaught on Ukraine started, he had to bring NATO together, sketch out the best way NATO could support Ukraine without becoming party to the conflict. This led to the setup of the command in Wiesbaden. This led to the joint training efforts making sure that when all this military support for Ukraine is gathered from Allies, that we deliver to Ukraine in the best possible way. But also when it came to the accession of Finland and Sweden. And you have seen that because the Swedish succession was not easy. There is even now a beautiful documentary which is largely focusing on that part of his work. And then you see an exceptional leader, an exceptional diplomat, somebody who can also laugh, who has an ego which is manageable. So I really love the guy, and I really have a lot of lot of respect for him, so I can only try to fill those shoes, try to take forward the work he started, including what Jonas was just telling the prime minister that he, in the past, would say, "Let's spend 2% on defence" Why 2%? Now we say we need to spend much more than 2% because we know which targets we have to achieve, which gaps we have to fill. And this is also a whole process which Jens Stoltenberg designed. So yes, we are all better off for because of his leadership.

Question (Fremover)
Secretary General, I expect you're going to take a fly by over Narvik in a while. Yes, the port of Narvik is referred to as Finland's most important port in the event of crisis or war. What expectations or demands do you have, NATO has to Norway in relation to preparing support for Finland and Sweden of military equipment?

NATO Secretary General
Maybe the Prime Minister can talk a little bit more about this, but there is a close cooperation between the countries in this part of NATO. We know that Finland will host a Forward Land Force, so that will be the ninth, next to the eight we already had: in Poland and the three Baltic countries, but also Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia and Hungary. And that is important, and there is a close cooperation between all the countries here.’

Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre
Norway, Sweden and Finland, we have a lot of north-south infrastructure. And with this integration of all being in NATO, we need more east-west. So obviously, one of the major lines here is Narvik-Sweden-Finland with a railroad. So this is, I think, fairly realistic to see that that would be one of the key areas to develop that east-west scenario. In the past, we were thinking about Allied reinforcement coming into Norway. And if we are going to see Sweden and Finland, it means help is going to come through Norway. So this is now a task for our military commanders to work on integration. And SACEUR has developed his regional plans, taking into account that we are all three countries, members of NATO. And Narvik region, that's why we are here with the Secretary General. We cannot take him in many places, but this is really a key area, combining our capacities, but also this issue of Allied reinforcement.

Question (Harstad Tidende)
Secretary General, how can local communities such as those near Evenes, Ramsund, for example, Harstad benefit from NATO's increased presence beyond the military aspect?

NATO Secretary General
Well, there is a two way street here. I think one, this is what Norway is already doing. I know that all your local communities are working on how you can all play your part when it comes to defending the country, be it natural disasters, other disasters, even if it is a war situation. And I can tell you, coming from the Netherlands, we can learn a lot from what Norway is doing. Because in many other countries, we are not at that sophisticated level of a whole society approach your country has. And then, of course, when it comes to defence investments and spending, of course, there is a direct impact on the local community if there is a base, and if Norway and together with NATO, we are investing. But there's also an enormous impact on the defence industrial base. Norway has an impressive defence industrial base. This is one of the reasons why I'm constantly pleading with the EU to make sure that when the EU designs new policies when it comes to defence spending, that they will make sure that Norway and United Kingdom and Türkiye, big NATO partners with big defence industrial base, that they are as much as possible connected to what the European Union is doing. But there will be a direct impact on the country when you spend more on defence. The defence dividend will also largely come back to the country itself. And of course, this is not the main reason to spend more. You have to spend more to make sure you can fill the gaps and reach and reach the targets, and make sure that when it comes to long-range missiles, manoeuvrable land formations, command and control systems, air defence systems, all these things we are lacking. And we have to spend a lot to make sure that we fill those gaps to stay safe, not only now, but also in five to ten years. But there will be an absolute impact also on the national economies, particularly if you have a strong defence industrial base like Norway.

Question (Forsvarets Forum)
Hello, Secretary General, based on what you've seen today, what's your impression of the Norwegian Armed Forces?

NATO Secretary General
I am absolutely impressed. And we were just sitting in the car driving us to the spot where we did the exercise. And I said to the guy driving the car, I'm really impressed with Norwegian Armed Forces. You really have the best and the hospitality here. The fact that   so many men and women in uniform serving this proud nation, it is really impressive. I think you can be very proud.

Question (High North News)
Secretary General, what has been the most important input you have received so far during this visit? And to what extent will the High North and the Arctic be discussed at NATO's upcoming Summit?

NATO Secretary General
For me, what I found really revealing when we had our secret briefings this morning. So I cannot tell you, of course, from those briefings. But when you again look at the map, not from the perspective, as we would usually look at the map of the world, and particularly of NATO territory, but when you look at the map from the position of the North Pole. And then you take that perspective and you see how close all these regions are interconnected, that we have eight countries bordering there, seven in NATO, and one being Russia outside NATO, knowing that Russia is working closely together with China. That's in itself to have that change of perspective, to be here to really sense and feel and speak with the people working on all these issues, is in itself a reminder of the importance of this issue. But it's also very inspiring to continue working on this. And the NATO Summit in The Hague will be very focused on spending, on production, on Ukraine. So I'm not sure that we will go in every detail of every aspect, but I can assure you that you have an excellent ambassador to NATO. She and the other 31 Ambassadors will continue taking this forward, this issue of the High North in the coming weeks and months. Because, together with the seven [High North] countries and NATO we have to do that.