PRESS CONFERENCE
by
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after a meeting of NATO defence
ministers
- 14
Feb. 2018 -
- Last
updated: 15 Feb. 2018 09:26
(As
delivered)
Good
evening.
We
have just finished a very productive meeting of Defence Ministers. Where we
took major decisions to modernise the NATO Command Structure. It is the
backbone of our Alliance. And it enables our twenty-nine nations to act as one.
It allows us to run our missions and operations. And to train and act in case
of crisis. With the right forces, in the right place, at the right time.
At
the end of the Cold War, NATO had 22,000 staff working in 33 commands. Today,
the command structure is reduced to fewer than 7,000 staff in 7 commands. But
the security environment in Europe has changed, and so NATO is responding. Last
November, Defence Ministers agreed in principle to the design for an adapted
NATO Command Structure. It will place greater focus on maritime security,
logistics and military mobility, and cyber defence.
And
today, we decided on the key elements of the new NATO Command Structure:
- We
will establish a new Joint Force Command for the Atlantic. To help
protect sea lines of communication between North America and Europe.
- We
will establish a new support Command for logistics, reinforcement and
military mobility. Improving the movement of troops and equipment is
essential to our collective deterrence and defence.
- We
will also designate some additional land component commands in Europe. To
further improve coordination and rapid response for our forces.
- We
will also set up a new Cyber Operations Centre at our military
headquarters in SHAPE, to further strengthen our defences.
In
June, Defence Ministers will decide on timelines, the locations of our new
commands, and the increased staff levels that will be required.
Earlier
today, we had a productive and forward looking discussion on burden sharing. We
all agreed that we have made great progress but there is still much work to be
done. In 2014, Allies agreed to move towards investing 2% of GDP on defence
within a decade. They also agreed to invest more in key military capabilities.
And to contribute to NATO missions and operations. In other words: more cash,
capabilities and contributions. Allies have decided to report annually on their
progress. And today, we took stock of the progress in implementing the Defence
Investment Pledge. After years of decline, since 2014 we have seen three years
of increasing defence spending across Europe and Canada. Amounting to an
additional 46 billion US dollars. And the national plans show that in the
coming years, we can expect further increases.
In
2014, only 3 Allies spent 2% of GDP or more on defence. This year, we expect 8
Allies to meet or exceed the target. And by 2024, we expect at least 15 Allies
will spend 2% of GDP or more on defence. This is an encouraging start. But we
have to do more.
On capabilities,
European Allies and Canada invested 19 billion US dollars more on major
equipment over the last three years. This will make our forces more
effective.
On contributions,
almost all Allies intend to maintain or increase their participation in
operations, missions and activities, both NATO and non-NATO.
So
we are moving in the right direction. And I look forward to even more progress
in the years ahead.
This
is about our credibility: delivering on what all Allies agreed in
2014.
It
is about fairness: with all Allies taking their fair share of
responsibility for our defence.
And
above all, it is about our security in a more complex and
unpredictable world.
And
with that, I’m ready to take your questions.
OANA
LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: Wall Street Journal.
QUESTION
[Wall Street Journal]: Mr Secretary General, on burden
sharing, what is your message specifically to Allies who are… do not have a
plan to get to 2%? Are you urging them to add more money to their
budgets? To revise their plans? What are you specifically asking
them to do? And secondly, on the sort of cash capabilities and
contributions, if you meet the 2% in cash, is that… does that sort of give you
a pass on capabilities? And if you're contributing to all NATO missions,
are you able to sort of say, OK, you can come under… a little bit under the 2%
on cash?
JENS
STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: My message is that they
had to do more. We all had to do more because we have to continue to
increase defence spending and move towards spending 2% of GDP on defence.
That was what 28 Allies, because that was the number of members in 2014, agreed
back in 2014, and I expect of course all Allies to make good on that
pledge. The good thing is that, according to the national plans, all
Allies are committed to increase defence spending as a share of GDP. And
the number of Allies meeting the 2% guideline has increased from three in 2014,
to eight this year, and at least 15 in 2024. But this is the first round
with national plans and I expect more plans, I expect them to be adjusted and
we will discuss them every year in the years to come, and it will be one of the
major… main topics at the Summit in July. Then, it's not the… then, we
have to remember that we decided on spending; cash, capabilities and
contributions. It's not either cash or capabilities or contributions,
it's and, meaning that you cannot choose between either one or the other, we
have to deliver all three of them. And they are also interlinked, because
to be able to deliver the capabilities we have promised and to deliver the
necessary contributions, we need more investments in defence budgets, and all
Allies agreed today on the importance of continued investment in defence and I
also refer to the fact that, for many of them, they have decreased defence
spending for many, many years, for 25 years, since the end of the Cold
War. So, just the fact that they have stopped the cuts and started to
increase is a turn… turning a corner and is… and means that the direction of
travel is clear, but we have to continue to move in that direction.
OANA
LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: OK, we'll go to the back,
gentleman in the back.
QUESTION
[Polish Defence 24]: Secretary General, you’ve mentioned land
component commands, what is the role of this commands and what will they do in
the future command structure of NATO?
JENS
STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: The land component
commands will be part of NATO's force structure and they are addressed as we
now adapt and change our command structure. We have not made any firm
decisions on where to locate the new land component commands, that is part of
the process which is going on now, but we have decided that we need some more…
or some new land component commands. I know that several nations have put
forward proposals that they are ready to host new land component
commands. Of course they will be important because they will command land
forces, be key in the force structure and part… so, will be important for NATO
and NATO Allies, but as I said, what we decide today is the structure, then we
will, as we move towards the meeting of Defence Ministers in June, decide the
geographical footprint, where to locate the new commands, and also the exact
manning level in the new command.
OANA
LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: Jane's.
QUESTION
[Jane's Defence]: Yes, Brooke Tigner, Jane's Defence.
Coming back to defence spending and tracking how capabilities are developed,
you’ve made several previous references to the CARD, these upcoming Coordinated
Annual Review and Defence. That, if it takes off as expected, that could
be a very powerful tool for tracking and shaping capabilities on the European
side, one main reason being that it will be every 12 months. So, I'm
wondering if NATO should not consider shortening its on DPP process in order to
better track capability development at the individual Ally level. Thank
you.
JENS
STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: The NATO Defence Planning
Process is a well established process. It's a two year cycle and it has
worked very well, and especially now, because actually all nations have agreed
to the capability targets and the fact that nations are now investing more in
defence means also that they have more money for meeting the capability
targets. So, it's a close link between what we decided on spending and on
capabilities. We cannot achieve new capabilities, or the necessary
capabilities, we cannot meet the NATO capability targets without spending
more. That’s obvious. So, that's one of the reasons why we have
decided to spend more, to provide more capabilities. The NATO Defence
Planning Process is a well established process. It has served the
Alliance very well for many years and I think that’s one of the key reasons why
NATO is working so well, because we have many small- or medium-sized Allies,
which cannot provide all the different capabilities you need to provide a
credible deterrence and defence. But together we can, and the way we
achieve that they're working together, that they have the different
capabilities that can fit together, is to the Defence Planning Process.
QUESTION: But
should that be shortened?
JENS
STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: Well, we have no plans of
changing that process, but what we have stated very clearly is that it has to
be coherence between the NATO Defence Planning Process and the EU capability
planning efforts, because we cannot end up with two competing lists. We
cannot end up with NATO presenting one list of capabilities, of brigades,
divisions, drones, planes, ships, and then the EU ending up with a different competing
list, to the same nations. That will not work. And more than 90% of
the people living in the EU, they live in a NATO country and we share 22 of the
same members, so this has to be a coherent approach, and I'm absolutely certain
that that will be the case because the EU members of NATO have clearly stated
that they don’t want competition between NATO and the European Union.
That will be the same as competing with themselves. Why should they start
to compete with themselves? They are members of both organisations and
they will really be the losers if they end up with two competing structures,
with two competing capability targets and lists. So, this has to be
coherent and not only is it necessary that the capability development processes
are coherent, meaning that we ask for the same capabilities, but also we need
to make sure that the capabilities that are the result of this process are
available for NATO, because we don’t have two sets of forces, we only have one
set of forces. But given that we have a coherent capability development
and given that new capabilities developed in European, EU, or the EU member
countries, are available for NATO, then this is good because then this will
strengthen the European pillar inside NATO. And that's exactly the
message from European leaders, that this is not an alternative to NATO, not
something that will compete with NATO, but this is complementary to NATO, it
will strengthen the European pillar inside NATO. That has been expressed
by me, but it has also been strongly impressed… expressed by European leaders,
so I am absolutely certain that we will be able to coordinate the efforts of
the European Union and NATO.
OANA
LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: We've got a couple of
questions in the front row. We'll start in the middle and then we'll go
to the other two ladies.
QUESTION
[Kommersant Publishing House]: Thank you.
Kommersant Publishing House, Russia. My question is not about money, I am
sorry. Recently, there were some reports that China is building now a
military base in the northeast of Afghanistan, in order to control Uyghur
militants in this area. So, do you know anything about that plans and is
there any coordination between NATO command in Afghanistan, and China?
Thank you.
JENS
STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: NATO supports the National
Unity Government in Afghanistan and this is a sovereign nation with a sovereign
government, and we support and encourage that government to also work with
partners in the region. Actually, we think it's impossible to solve the
crisis in Afghanistan without close cooperation with also the other countries
in the region, and China is one of them. But it's not for NATO to decide
on whether China is going to have any kind of military presence in Afghanistan,
that’s for Afghanistans to decide. And therefore, as long as we support
the government, respect the decisions of the Afghan government, then I think
the important message is that this is up for… it's for the Afghan government to
decide. We have seen the reports, but it's not for me, in a way, to have any…
to give advice on that, it's for the Afghan government to decide.
OANA
LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: OK, lady over there.
QUESTION
[Russian radio]: On 5th February, the
Lithuanian Defence Minister made a statement about the Iskander permanent
deployment in Kaliningrad and Rose Gottemoeller, which was visiting at this
time, Lithuania said that this important information should be checked.
So, did the NATO check this information and how it will react to it?
Thank you.
JENS
STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: Well, Russia has stated
many years ago that they planned to deploy Iskanders permanently to
Kaliningrad, or in Kaliningrad. We have seen some deployments there
before, but they had then been taken back, so no permanent deployment have we
seen so far. What we have seen is that they have stated that they will do
so and we have seen that they are investing in infrastructure and that they are
strengthening their military presence in Kaliningrad, but whether they have now
deployed Iskanders is something I won't comment on, that’s intelligence and I
will not comment on our intelligence on these issues, but I will only call on
Russia to be transparent. And that’s one of the reasons why we also think
that the NATO-Russia Council is useful, because we use the NATO-Russia Council
to brief on military exercises, but also military posture. So, we call on
Russia to be transparent. We have seen what they have stated
earlier. They are investing in infrastructure and they are militarising
Kaliningrad. But on the specific question of Iskander, I will not
comment.
OANA
LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: Lady over there.
QUESTION
[LETA News Agency, Latvia]: I wanted to ask about NATO's command
structure organisation and how, in your view, it could affect or help NATO's
enhanced forward presence in Baltics.
JENS
STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: The command structure will
help their Enhanced Forward Presence in a way that the command structure
strengthens our… NATO's ability to reinforce, to move forces, because the
adaptation of the command structure is very much focused on military mobility
and logistics, both when it comes to the Atlantic, the ability to move forces
and equipment across the Atlantic, but also within Europe. Because there
are two new Joint Force Commands, a Joint Force Command for the Atlantic and a
Joint Force Command for logistics enablement. And of course, both of
these commands are relevant for the Enhanced Forward Presence for the Baltic
countries because if there is a need we will have to reinforce and then we need
a proper command structure, to do that in an effective way.
OANA
LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: OK, we'll go to Europa Press.
QUESTION
[Europa Press]: Thank you. Ana Pisonero from the
Spanish news agency, Europa Press. Considering the new command structure
for the South specifically, do we have anything else, other than the hub?
How will the new command structure specifically deal with the Jihadi strikes
from the South? By when do you think the hub will be fully
operational? I know that certain Allies, like Italy and Spain, are really
pushing for it. I also understand that the way how to calculate the
contributions to missions, inside the cash capabilities and the contributions
packet, is not decided yet, so I'd like to know by when do you think that
decision will be done?
JENS
STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: Which decision?
QUESTION
[Europa Press]: The decision to see how to calculate the
input of the contributions to missions. And I think that in your latest
visit to Madrid you mentioned that the CAOC in Madrid could possibly be
reinforced in the new command structure and take up new functions. I don’t
know if there's any details that you could give us there. I understand
that the… to have standing air command capabilities is going to be also a
capability that we need in the future. Thank you.
JENS
STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: The adaptation of the NATO
command structure is absolutely relevant for the South and the threats and the
challenges we see emanating from the South. Because the focus on how can
we make sure that the lines of communications across the Atlantic, including
infrastructure cables, are safe, is of course also important for the
South. And both when I visited Madrid, but also Portugal a couple of
weeks ago, this was one of the issues we discussed, the importance of the
Atlantic linking Europe, and I mean the whole of Europe, the North and the
South of Europe, to North America. So, the new Atlantic Command is
relevant also for the southern part of our Alliance. The same with the
new command for logistics and enablement, that is also relevant because if
there is a crisis, if there is a need, we will also deploy … move forces to the
southern part of our Alliance. So, this is a 360º, it's a command
structure which is ready, able to respond to threats/challenges for… from all…
from any direction. Then we have the new cyber centre, which is also of
course relevant for the South. So, I think it's… we make a mistake if we
think that the some of the new components are in anyway earmarked for a
specific direction. They are 360º, if needed we will use them, regardless
of from where the threat is coming. Second, we have the hub for the
South. It's not fully manned, so we are now working on making sure that
it's fully manned as soon as possible. And for instance, that we will be
also more focused on maritime issues, is highly relevant for the South, both
with the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, and also parts of the Atlantic.
And then the CAOC, I don’t have anything more to add there than what I said in
Madrid.
OANA
LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: OK. Deutsche Welle.
QUESTION
[Teri Schultz, Deutsche Welle & NPR]: Teri Schultz for
Deutsche Welle and NPR. You had a meeting with the Turkish Defence
Minister today, did you get any clarification, did you ask for any, on the
S-400 deal? And also, can you update us on Turkish plans in Northern Syria
and whether they see the tensions declining? Thanks.
JENS
STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: So, we discussed the
Turkish air defences and we discussed the different elements. We
discussed the fact that NATO is augmenting Turkish air defences with our
Patriot batteries and SAMP/T batteries, which are deployed there by Turkey… no
sorry, by Italy and by Spain, part of the NATO presence in Turkey. We
also addressed the development of the procurement of the S-400, but we spent
most of the time when we discussed Turkish air defences, to address the
progress they are making when it comes to a deal, or agreement, with the
Italian and French consortiums, Eurosam, or SAMP/T, to procure air defence
systems from European NATO Allies. They have signed a memorandum of
understanding. They have started to work together. I welcome
that. It's a national decision, what kind of air defence system Turkey
wants to buy. But what matters for NATO is, of course, whether it's going
to be integrated into NATO's Integrated Air Defence System. And it’s
obvious that Eurosam, a French/Italian system, is easy to integrate.
While S-400, there has been no request for integration and it's obvious that
that will be a difficult issue. … [inaudible] we discussed also that of
course, and Turkey expresses strongly their concerns about the situation in
Northern Syria. I reiterate that NATO sees that, or recognises that
Turkey has legitimate security concerns. No other NATO Ally has suffered
more terrorist attacks than Turkey. They are also hosting hundreds of
thousands of refugees, but we expect them to act in a measured and a
proportionate way. We discussed how NATO can contribute to the fight
against terrorism. We addressed NATO’s support for the Coalition to
defeat ISIS, our AWACS planes, which are actually based in Turkey, and also the
different assurance measures we have delivered to Turkey, and the training of
Iraqi officers. But NATO is not present on the ground in Northern
Syria. Turkey briefed the North Atlantic Council a week ago on the
military operation in Afrin, and I expect them to continue to brief us and I
also welcome the fact that Turkey and the United States are also talking
directly to each other, to address the challenges we see in Northern Syria.
OANA
LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: Polish News Agency.
QUESTION
[Polish Press Agency]: I would like just to clarify the
procedure of assigning the new command centres geographically. So, I
understand the decision has already been made on the military and political level,
you just wait with the announcing that. And how would you comment to the
information issued by Deutsche Press Agency last week that one of the commands
will be near Cologne or… Cologne or Bonn?
JENS
STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: We have decided today on
the structure, meaning that we will… there are many, many elements, it's a big
document, but some of the main elements are that we will have a new Atlantic
Command, focusing on the sea lines of communications across the Atlantic,
important for NATO since we are a transatlantic alliance. And we will
also have a new Joint Force Command for what we call logistics, support and
enablement, which will focus on logistics, military mobility, in Europe.
The location of the two new commands, we have decided to have them, to
establish them, but we have not decided where they… where we will locate
them. That will be a decision that we'll take as we move towards the next
Defence Ministerial meeting in June. Germany has offered to host the new
support command and United States has offered to host the new Atlantic Command,
but we have not taken any final decision as an alliance - that will be the next
phase of our adaptation.
OANA
LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: Last question goes to the
front row.
QUESTION
[Daily Press Montenegro]: Serbia recently criticised decision
of Montenegro to send troops to KFOR mission in Kosovo, saying that it should
have asked Belgrade before taking that decision that will hurt regional
security. So, my question is, Serbia is a partner of NATO and it claims
that it respects the decision of Montenegro to be a member of NATO. So,
in this case, what is your message to Belgrade? And also a quick
question, this is fourth ministerial after joining NATO, so I would like to hear
from you how satisfied are you with Montenegro's contribution to the
NATO? Thank you.
JENS
STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: We are very satisfied with
Montenegro's contributions to the Alliance and it's good to have Montenegro at
our table and I really welcome them. And to have Montenegro at the table
shows the strength of the Alliance, we are now 29 Allies, and to have
Montenegro there is also a contribution to stability and peace in that part of
Europe, in the Western Balkans. And I have also had the pleasure of
visiting Montenegro several times and I really welcome to have them as an
Ally. Montenegro decides, and Montenegro has decided, to send troops to
our KFOR mission in Kosovo. I welcome that. We have a close
partnership with Serbia, I welcome also that. I think that for NATO to
have a close partnership with Serbia is important. We have welcomed
Aleksandar Vučić, the President, here to the NATO
Headquarters, I've met him in Belgrade, and we continue to strengthen the
partnership with Serbia. And for
me, there is absolutely no contradiction between having Montenegro as a full
member and at the same time developing a strong partnership with Serbia.
We respect of course the decision of Serbia not to aspire for membership in
NATO, but we welcome the decision of Serbia to work for an even closer
partnership with NATO. So, this is something we welcome.
OANA
LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: Thank you very much.
We'll see you tomorrow.
JENS
STOLTENBERG [NATO Secretary General]: Thank you.
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