Doorstep statement

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(As delivered)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Good morning, I am happy to be here. I want to thank Denmark for organising this – I think it’s now the 7th – European Political Community. Of course, with everything going on now, when it comes to our collective security, how to keep our skies safe, how to make sure that Ukraine stays in the fight as strong as possible now, but also to be in the best possible position when, hopefully, one day peace talks will start. It is important to come together to chart a course, and the dinner last night was very successful, hosted by the King and Queen of Denmark. We discussed a lot of issues, and we will continue doing that today. So, thank you for being here, and myself happy to be here also.

Reporter
What do you say to those who say Europe (inaudible) not going quickly when it comes to (inaudible) and defence (inaudible) Ukraine?

NATO Secretary General
Look at the NATO Summit in The Hague. We committed to the staggering 5% of defence spending. Look what happened with the airspace incursions in Poland and Estonia. We reacted as NATO and also Poland and Estonia as Allies, exactly as we and they are supposed to do, which is to take out the threat, assess whether the threat was at such a level that more had to be done, or that we could escort, in the case of Estonia, the airplanes out of Estonian airspace. So, this is exactly what we trained and prepared to do. The Russians know this, and it was important that we showed it worked.

Reporter
Do you have any comment about this (inaudible) Ukraine?

NATO Secretary General
No. No.

Reporter
Can Ukraine contribute to better protect Europe against hybrid threats?

NATO Secretary General
Oh yes, Ukraine is - if that’s your question, if I understand your question correctly - Ukraine is, of course, a powerhouse when it comes to innovation, insights, for example, when it comes to anti-drone technology, anti-cyber threats, etc, and the fact that Ukraine is now helping in Denmark, in Poland, NATO overall, to basically share its insights gained over more than three years, three and a half years of this terrible, full Russian onslaught, unprovoked, is very important. And we have this Joint Center, as you know, Ukraine-NATO in Poland, JATEC, where we capture all the lessons Ukraine is able to share from their insights on the war effort.

Reporter
(inaudible) sharing of intelligence with Ukraine in order to hit the targets?

NATO Secretary General
We never speak about intelligence.

Reporter
How is the EPC format still relevant when there are so many different countries, like Georgia (inaudible) to Russia?

NATO Secretary General
You exactly gave an answer to that question, and the answer to the question is, it is exactly the strength of the EPC that in addition to the NATO Summit, in addition to the European Council meetings with the 27 EU leaders, that we have this format to come together, to chart a course, but also to dialogue in bigger and smaller formats. Final question.

Reporter
Do you think that the Danish government has prepared itself enough for the threat from Russia?

NATO Secretary General
Absolutely, I have the highest confidence in Denmark, you are really leading the pack when it comes to defence spending, when it comes to making sure that Ukraine is in the best possible position, to defending yourself. So yeah, my answer is yes. Thank you so much.