Joint press conference

President Begaj,
Dear Bajram,

Welcome back to NATO Headquarters.
It’s great to see you here again.

And it is great to have a President of Albania that knows NATO so well as you do.
Because you have been the Chief of Defence of a country and therefore, we all know that you know this Alliance in many, many different ways.
And that is a strength for all of us and for the whole organisation.

Albania is a valued Ally with a long history of stepping up to support NATO Allies and partners.

You contribute to NATO’s multinational forces in Latvia and in Bulgaria, helping to deter any aggression.

And your forces serve in NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, and our capacity-building mission in Iraq.

Last month your country responded rapidly to the devastating earthquake in Türkiye,
Sending search and rescue and medical personnel.

Albania also plays a key role in promoting stability and cooperation across the Western Balkans –
A region of strategic importance to NATO.

I also welcome your active role in promoting NATO’s Open Door policy.
And I commend Albania for ratifying the Accession Protocols for Finland and Sweden so quickly.

This demonstrates that NATO’s door remains open.
And that we stand for the right of every nation to choose its own path.

All of these contributions show Albania’s strong commitment to our Alliance.

And NATO is committed to Albania.
Allies stood with you following the cyber-attacks last year.
And NATO experts provided urgent support.

We are also investing in the airbase, which will enhance the security of your airspace.

Mr President, we just discussed Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine.

President Putin is launching new offensives and waves of deadly missile attacks.

Our response must be to continue providing Ukraine with what they need to prevail.

Allies are stepping up with unprecedented support.
And I welcome Albania’s pledge of aid.
We must continue our support for as long as it takes.

Today we also discussed NATO’s commitment to the Western Balkans.
We agree on the importance of NATO’s presence in the region.
Including our KFOR peacekeeping mission in Kosovo,
And our offices in Sarajevo and Belgrade.

We are also stepping up our tailored support for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
To strengthen their defence capabilities and resilience.

I welcome the progress that has been made in the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina,
And I hope for further constructive engagements over the next weeks.

NATO remains strongly committed to the stability and security of the Western Balkans.
And I know we can count on Albania’s continued support. 

Mr. President,
Thank you again for Albania’s many contributions to our shared security, to our Alliance,
And I look forward to continuing working with you.

So please, welcome.

Dylan White, NATO Deputy Spokesperson
We will start with Radio Televizioni Shqiptar, second row please.

Mimoza Haxhiaj, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH)
[asks question in Albanian]

NATO Secretary General
First on NATO’s role in Kosovo, NATO has been present in Kosovo for many years and I also thank Albania for its contribution to our presence there. The KFOR presence, NATO force has played and is still continue to play an important role in promoting stability and peace and ensure freedom of movement for all groups in Kosovo and Allies are committed to continue to contribute and to ensure the continued presence of KFOR in Kosovo, meaning this is a substantial NATO presence that has proven extremely important for many years. We also work hand in hand with the European Union in Kosovo. The KFOR presence of the NATO troops supports the diplomatic efforts of the European Union, and I welcome the recent talks that were held here in Brussels, as part of the EU facilitated dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade and NATO will continue to fully support the EU facilitated dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade because we believe that that's the only viable path forward to a solution and to stability in Kosovo. We now have an historic opportunity for lasting peace, which could benefit the entire region. And I therefore, welcome the constructive approach. It is important that all parties now show flexibility and readiness to compromise and are actually showing a real will, to find a way, to find lasting solutions. And any solution has to of course, take into account the full respect of human rights, democratic values and the rule of law, domestic reforms and good neighbourly relationships. So NATO is present in Kosovo, we are taking the situation very seriously. And we strongly support the EU facilitated dialogue.

Dylan White, NATO Deputy Spokesperson
To AP there, please.

Mark Carlson, Associated Press
Hello, Mark from Associated Press. Mr. Secretary General, you've pointed out many times that the accession process has been the fastest in history for Sweden and Finland to get this many ratifications, it still seems like Hungary has not quite ready to cross that ratification process. What do you know about the state of Hungary's ratification of these two countries?

NATO Secretary General 
To finalize the accession process is a top priority for NATO and for me, and we are making progress. I met with President Erdoğan recently, and we agreed to restart the talks. There will be a meeting here in Brussels later on this week, where we'll address the implementation of that trilateral memorandum of understanding that was agreed by Finland, Sweden and Türkiye at the NATO summit last summer. I'm also going actually later today to Sweden and I have seen the reports from the Hungarian parliamentary delegation that has just visited Sweden, and they are sending positive message and recommending ratification. So of course, we still have some way to go, but we are making progress and this remains so far the quickest ratification process in NATO's modern history. We have to remember that Finland and Sweden applied in May, last year, already in June, they were invited, all NATO Allies, including Türkiye and Hungary invited Finland and Sweden and all NATO Allies, including Hungary and Türkiye, signed the accession protocols, and so far, already 28th of the 30 Allies have ratified, and then of course, I hope and, and I urge also, the two remaining Allies, Hungary and Türkiye to do that as soon as possible. The Hungarian parliament has announced the plan to do this towards the end of the month, and then with the delegation visiting Sweden, sending a positive message, I think we are making progress and approaching ratification also in Hungary.

Dylan White, NATO Deputy Spokesperson
I’m afraid that's all that we have time for. Thank you all very much.