Press conference by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the release of his Annual Report 2022, 21 March 2023.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg launched his annual report for 2022, covering all aspects of the Alliance’s work over the past year.

As Russia’s war on Ukraine enters its second year, Mr Stoltenberg praised the “steely resistance of the Ukrainian people” and NATO Allies’ “unprecedented support for Ukraine”. He said that President Putin “wanted less NATO, but he has got exactly the opposite: more NATO”, underlining that Finland and Sweden’s accession “will make them safer, our Alliance stronger, and demonstrate that NATO’s door remains open” .

“Putin’s invasion was a shock, but it was not a surprise”, Mr. Stoltenberg said, calling it “the culmination of a pattern of aggressive action”. He added that since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, NATO has implemented the largest reinforcement of our collective defence in a generation. “So when Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, we were ready,” he said. “Within hours, we activated our defence plans from the Baltic to the Black Sea. We put 40,000 troops under NATO command, with a significant air and maritime presence, and doubled the number of NATO battlegroups from four to eight.” Mr Stoltenberg added that NATO Allies have provided Ukraine with significant support, including advanced weapons systems and ammunition.

To maintain support for Ukraine while protecting the Alliance, Allies are also in the process of agreeing new capability targets for the production of battle-decisive ammunition, and engaging with industry to ramp up production. NATO is also increasing protection of critical national infrastructure, including undersea cables and pipelines, notably through the establishment of an Undersea Infrastructure Coordination Cell and a joint NATO-EU Task Force.

Mr Stoltenberg underlined that at the 2022 Madrid Summit, Allies adopted a new Strategic Concept, which identifies Russia as the most significant threat to security, alongside terrorism, and makes clear the challenges that China poses to the Alliance.

The Secretary General welcomed that 2022 was the eighth consecutive year of increased defence spending across Europe and Canada, amounting to a 2.2% rise in real terms and a total of $350 billion extra since 2014. “We are moving in the right direction, but we are not moving as fast as the dangerous world we live in demands,” he said, adding that “it is obvious that we need to do more, and we need to do it faster.” Mr Stoltenberg said he expected Allied to agree an ambitious new defence investment pledge at the Vilnius Summit in July, with 2% of GDP as a minimum to be invested in defence.

🗣 | NATO Secretary General:

Good afternoon.
Today, I am presenting my Annual Report for 2022.
This report sums up the main activities of our Alliance in the last year.
2022 was a pivotal year for our security.
Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine is now entering its second year.

President Putin made a big strategic mistake when he invaded Ukraine.
He expected Kyiv would fall within days, and the whole of Ukraine within weeks.
But he underestimated the steely resistance of the Ukrainian people.

He thought he could break NATO unity.
But NATO Allies are standing strong and united, and providing unprecedented support for Ukraine.

And he wanted less NATO.
But he has got exactly the opposite.
More NATO.

In response to Russia’s illegal war, Finland and Sweden decided to apply for NATO membership.
Which will double the length of NATO’s border with Russia.

At the NATO Summit in Madrid last June,
all Allies took the historic decision to invite Finland and Sweden to join.

Both countries have addressed Türkiye’s legitimate security concerns.
And delivered on their commitments under the Trilateral Memorandum, agreed in Madrid.

Türkiye is now ready to ratify Finland’s membership of NATO.
I welcome that decision.
And I look forward to the Grand National Assembly ratifying Finland’s accession before the upcoming Turkish general election.
I also welcome that the Hungarian parliament will vote on Finland next week.

The most important thing is that both Finland and Sweden become full members of NATO quickly.
Not whether they join at exactly the same time.

Transcript continues: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_212998.htm
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