Joint press conference

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(As delivered)

Dear Prime Minister, dear Petr,

It's a pleasure to see you again and now in Prague today.

Czechia is a staunch and a reliable ally. You make very important contributions to NATO's deterrence and defence. You have a strong defence industry. This is crucial. I gave a speech just this morning on how vital it is that we step up our production efforts, and Czechia is playing an important role here. You contribute to NATO's forward land forces. You have participated in NATO's air policing mission, and the list of your contributions goes on. But the bottom line is that Czechia knows what it means to stand by your allies, and your NATO Allies stand with you.

Our unity is essential and always has been, and given the threats we face, it is as important today as ever. When Allied leaders met for the NATO Summit in The Hague, they came together around the threats that we face, including from Russia, which we all know is not only a challenge today, but for the long term. So we need to be strong, and that requires investment, which is why we all agreed on a new defence investment plan to invest 5% of GDP annually in defence, on core requirements - the 3.5% - and then on defence and security related spending, 1.5%, by 2035, ensuring that we meet our individual and our collective obligations to our shared security.

Czechia is already spending more than 2% and I was so happy to hear that you now really have that credible path that each year defence spending will increase to reach 3% in 2030, and then beyond. And I'm grateful, really, for your work and your leadership here. And all allies, of course, need to do their part.

Czechia is also a staunch supporter of Ukraine. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, you played a significant role in providing military aid to Ukraine. The Czech-led ammunition initiative has been a resounding success. I want to thank you for that. As you said, in 2024 alone, 1.5 million shells were delivered thanks to your leadership, and this is absolutely supporting NATO's effort to keep Ukraine as strong as possible in the fight now and tomorrow, hopefully leading, of course, to a peace deal. What's more, Czech personnel contribute to NATO's mission to provide security assistance and training for Ukraine, NSATU, our joint command in Wiesbaden. And I welcome your offer to contribute to support NSATU’s logistical efforts in Eastern Europe, and you are also working with Ukraine to train their pilots.

So all of this is making a real difference for Ukraine's security, and therefore for our collective security.

Of course, we are all pushing for an end to Russia's war against Ukraine and a just and lasting peace. And indeed, we just participated in a video conference with European and Canadian colleagues. And this is all against the fact, because this started with President Trump breaking the deadlock with Putin, engaging with him, and therefore now for us to design the security guarantees - as Europeans and Canada, with the US - to make sure that when talks start, the Ukrainian President knows that he has the full backing of the US, of Canada, the Europeans, all of us in NATO, but also other countries outside NATO. And of course, knowing that the prime foundation for all of this will be the Ukraine's Armed Forces itself. So you will have the Ukrainian Armed Forces as strong as possible. And on top of that, these security guarantees. And finally, mid-July, the American President decided to again have a massive flow of non-lethal and lethal weapons into Ukraine, paid for by NATO allies. So that scheme is now working. Many countries are investing in Ukraine's defence industry. And of course, there are the bilateral projects, but here you are leading the way again with the Czech ammunition initiative. And again, I want to highlight that. Thank you for that.

Thank you for your leadership, our personal friendship over the years, in my previous role and in this new role.

We stand together, and I know I can count, NATO can count on Czechia’s continued commitments.

Thank you.

Question – Czech Television. Let me follow on what you said in the morning that, according to you, Russia will be a confronting and destabilisation force in Europe. Is this, is that realised by all NATO nations or not?

NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte – So the facts are there. Russia is investing 40% of its state budget in defence. And of course, you sometimes here and there have a nice parade, but that's not why they are investing all that money. They are investing it because they want to be successful in Ukraine, and we have to prevent them from being successful. But beyond Ukraine, it will not stop. And we have seen recent announcements and comments by senior military and also intelligence leaders in Europe saying that Russia might be ready by ‘27 by ‘29 some are saying by 2030, 2031 to really, if they would choose so, try to attack NATO territory. And we have to make sure that our deterrence is such that they will never try, knowing that our reaction will be devastating. That is yes money because we need more men and women in uniform, but also yes production, because production capacity, and also here the Czech Republic is very important because of your overall, let's say history, and still very much present when it comes to defence industrial production, that in itself, is also a deterrence factor. But to everybody watching this - please, men and women, citizens of the Czech Republic and all over Europe, Canada and the US, let's not be naive about Russia. We know what Putin tries to do, and the evidence is there in Ukraine as we speak, and it is there - that threat - for the long term, I'm afraid.