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Oana Lungescu (NATO Spokesperson): Thank you very much for coming. We'll start with short statements from the Secretary General and the President of Latvia and then we'll have time for a few questions.
Secretary General.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Secretary General of NATO): First of all, it's a great pleasure for me to welcome President Andris Bērziņš to NATO Headquarters so soon after he took over his post as new president of Latvia.
We have had a very positive meeting and I would like to say that Latvia proves that you don't have to be a big country to make a big difference. You bring to NATO your expertise and your commitment. Latvia supports our Afghan mission with troops, training and transit. That is a benefit to us all.
I know that the economic crisis has hit particularly hard in Latvia, but despite that you have remained committed to ISAF's mission and I thank you for that commitment.
We all know the economic challenges of today, but we must also keep in mind the security challenges of tomorrow. When we cut we must cut carefully and when we spend we must spend effectively. That will be a key theme of our next Summit in Chicago in May next year.
Baltic air policing is an excellent example of what I call smart defence. It provides Latvian people and territory with the security you need, while freeing up your resources for NATO missions beyond your borders. At our next Summit in Chicago I will look to Allies to make a smart commitment, to concentrate their resources, coordinate their planning and cooperate on multinational solutions so our Alliance has the capabilities we need.
And I expect we will put our enduring partnership with the Afghan people into action by agreeing on a concrete package of support to make sure Afghan security capabilities continue to develop after transition in 2014.
Those capabilities are already developing. The Afghan forces are already in the lead in seven provinces and districts, home to one-quarter of the Afghan population. I expect the next stage of transition to be announced soon and I expect it to be just as significant.
The enemies of Afghanistan are trying to test transition, but they cannot stop it. Afghan Security Forces are growing, both in numbers and quality and I'm confident that they will take the lead for security throughout the country by the end of 2014, as we all agreed.
So once again, Mr. President, I would like to thank Latvia for your continued commitment to our operation in Afghanistan.
Andris Bērziņš (President of Latvia): Thank you. (Speaking in Latvian).
Oana Lungescu: We'll start with the Latvian press.
Q: Hello, (inaudible) Radio-TV Latvia. I have questions for both gentlemen and for Mr. Rasmussen, given the state of the Latvian budget are you concerned of the level of spending for the defence? And what should Latvia prioritize on and how long are you going to accept the situation that Latvia is paying so few for defence budget?
And second question, did you discuss... you already mentioned that you discussed air policing. Can you ensure that that'll be continued after 2014?
And if I may ask question in Latvian for President Bērziņš. (Speaking in Latvian).
Anders Fogh Rasmussen: First on resources. I have, of course, discussed that issue with the President and what I've told the President is exactly the same message as I've conveyed to all other Allies; that obviously it is a matter of concern that we see declining defence budgets in most Allied nations, because in the long run it may lead to a lack of necessary military capabilities. So there is a lower limit as to how much defence budgets can be cut.
We all know the economic challenges, and we know that the economic crisis has hit particularly hard in Latvia. The President has assured me that Latvia will say committed to our operation in Afghanistan. Latvia will stay committed to continued reform and development of the Latvian military. And these assurances count, and I attach strong importance to them.
At the end of the day it is a national decision to elaborate the defence budgets and decide the level of defence spending. But obviously there is a lower limit if Allies, nations, shall live up to their commitments within our Alliance. And this is exactly the reason why I have launched the project Smart Defence. I am not naive. I don't expect increased defence budgets in the coming years taking the period of economic austerity into consideration. This is exactly the reason why countries must make more efficient use of their resources through multinational cooperation. And that's smart defence. And that leads to a good example of smart defence air policing in the Baltic states.
I would very much like to see the current arrangement extended beyond 2014, and I feel confident that Allies can agree on that, but we are now in the process of preparing a decision. I hope a decision could be taken at the latest at the NATO Summit in May next year.
Andris Bērziņš: (Speaking in Latvian).
Oana Lungescu: A very quick last question, David Brunnstrom, Reuters.
Q: Yes, it's actually for the Secretary General, if you don't mind. I wondered if I could ask about the events today in Kabul and whether you can confirm reports that ISAF Headquarters was amongst the buildings that were attacked? Do you have any details about that?
And also, can you tell us what this sort of type of attack in the centre... in the capital city of Afghanistan says about efforts to hand over security? I mean, are the Afghans actually ready to do this? We had an attack also on Saturday and is there a need for NATO to be refocusing its attention away from Libya back to Afghanistan now?
Anders Fogh Rasmussen: We are following the developments closely. We have confidence in the Afghan authorities' ability to deal with this situation. As I mentioned in my introduction, we are witnessing that the Taliban tries to test transition, but they can't stop it. Transition is on track and it will continue.
Oana Lungescu: Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mr. President, Secretary General.