Joint press conference

Thank you President Nausėda, dear Gitanas,
Thank you for hosting the B9-Nordic Summit here in Vilnius. It is a pleasure, always a pleasure, to be back here in Lithuania.
Lithuania is a staunch Ally, and continues to lead by example.
You invest more than 4% of GDP in defence this year, and I welcome your plans to spend between 5 and 6 per cent starting from next year.
I think this sends an incredibly powerful message of commitment to our collective defence, and it also sets an example for our other Allies.
On this stage, and in our meetings today, it is clear that the commitment to collective defence is strong.

We have had a productive day of meetings, as we continue to prepare for our Summit in The Hague.
We are facing the most dangerous security environment in decades.
Russia’s war of aggression continues. Terrorist threats persist.
We are not at war – but we are not at peace either.
So we must continue to strengthen our deterrence and defence.
And that means pivoting towards a full warfighting readiness.
Providing significantly more forces that are well-trained, well-equipped, and supported with logistics, sustainment and ammunition. 
We continue to count on the B9 and our Nordic Allies to play a key role in these important efforts. 

At The Hague Summit, I expect Allies to demonstrate their enduring commitment to our collective defence – by deciding to boost defence industrial production, and increase defence investment.
And this purely, simply, essential to our security.
And so is delivering on the new, ambitious capability targets that Allies are expected to agree later this week, when the Defence Ministers will meet in here in Brussels. Not here in Brussels, but in Brussels. 

 
Today, we also discussed Ukraine, a key priority for the Summit in the Hague. 
Dear Volodymyr, we continue to support Ukraine. We know that a strong, sovereign Ukraine is essential for Euro-Atlantic security.
So, we have about three weeks left, until the NATO Summit in The Hague, and I look forward to working with all Allies to ensure we deliver for our one billion people. 

Dear Gitanas,
Thank you again for your hospitality, your leadership, and your unwavering commitment to our Alliance.

Question, News Agency ELTA
Hello, [Inaudible], News Agency ELTA. I have a question to all of you. So, with the announcement that America will review its troop presence in Europe, there has been some concern about a reduction in United States capabilities on NATO's Eastern Flank. So, in this context and given the fact that the current administration of the United States has reduced America's focus on Europe, what can be expected at the upcoming Summit in The Hague? Thank you.

Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General
Let me be very straightforward here. Since January, I get two questions from European Allies. Question one is, is the US still committed to NATO? The answer is yes. Committed to NATO, committed to Article Five, and this has been many times repeated by President Trump in many meetings. So, my only suggestion to many European colleagues is, put on your television so that you can hear him say this. Don't ask me. He's very clear about this. But there is an expectation. The expectation is that we are going to spend more. Because we need to spend more for our defence, but also because it is fair to equalise our spending with the spending the US is doing currently. Second question, okay, but then they will say, Mark, but they might withdraw their troops all of a sudden. And exactly as President Duda is saying, there's absolutely no indication of this. What we know is that the US, next to Europe, of course, also has to take care of the Middle East, has to take care of the Indo-Pacific. And it is only logical that over time, as we are building up, that the US will pivot somewhat more towards Asia. But I am absolutely convinced that also in the long term, there will be a very strong conventional US presence in Europe, next to the nuclear presence, the nuclear umbrella, our ultimate guarantor of our freedom. There will be a very strong conventional presence of the US in Europe. There's no doubt about it. Now, basically referring back to what the two other speakers have been saying.