00:00Good morning all of you. It's early hour. Looking forward today to host the foreign ministers of
00:11NATO. Of course we'll be discussing the historic The Hague summit and to make sure that we implement
00:18all the decisions when it comes to someone's phone is ringing. And so to discuss the implementation
00:23of that summit, particularly when it comes to defense spending, ramping up to 5% on a credible
00:29path, defense industrial production. We have to do much more. We are doing better, but still a lot to be done.
00:35And of course keeping Ukraine as strong as possible in the fight today, but also to be in the strongest
00:41possible position when peace talks really start to happen in a way where this could lead to a result.
00:47And then we will also have the NATO Ukraine Council later today, the lunch, with Andrey Sibia, the
00:54Prime Minister and Kaya Callas, the EU High Representative. They are discussing again Ukraine.
01:00How do we make sure that Ukraine stays as strong as possible? The peace talks are ongoing. That's good.
01:05But at the same time we have to make sure that whilst they take place and we are not sure when they will end,
01:11that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going, to fight back against the
01:17Russians, but also in the strongest possible position when peace talks really get to a point
01:22where they sit at table. Having said that, I'm open to a few questions and then of course we will see each other
01:28later at a full presser after the foreign minister's meeting. Who wants to start?
01:32One at a time, one at a time, yes.
01:34Yesterday Putin was threatening Europe with war again, so what would be your message for him
01:39today after these threats?
01:40I'm not going to react to everything Putin is saying. We have seen him in military clothes,
01:47dressed like a soldier at the front, but not at the front, it was quite far from the front,
01:52the day before yesterday, so I'm not going to react to everything.
01:55How did you get to the new PURL pledges by Norway, the Netherlands, Germany?
02:00Yes, that's really great news. So a lot of pledges have come in and I hope I can make a few announcements
02:05later today, pledges made today. And when you look at the overall numbers as I said yesterday,
02:10we are now at 4 billion, so that means we are really on track for the 1 billion a month,
02:14August, September, October, November. And I'm cautiously optimistic that we will reach the 5 billion for the full year.
02:21And then for next year, we need for the full year again a lot of money, at least 1 billion,
02:26maybe even a little bit more than 1 billion a month. It might be around 50, maybe a little bit more for the whole year.
02:32When it comes to this crucial U.S. gear, so this is offensive and defensive, including interceptors for the air defense systems,
02:41crucial to keep Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure safe. So it is really good that this flow is there,
02:48that Europeans are stepping up, and Canada, by the way, also doing a lot here. So really, really glad that this is working.
02:55Sir.
02:57How do you make a difference in Moscow last night?
02:58Well, as you know, I'm really glad that the U.S. President brought the deadlock with Putin,
03:03started this whole peace process. It was only the U.S. under the leadership of President Trump who could do this.
03:10But I don't want to comment on every step. So last night was, of course, important. There will be more steps.
03:16But you will not hear me commenting on every in-between step. We closely coordinate with the Americans what's happening,
03:22but not commenting on every step.
03:25What do you make of the rare absence of the U.S. Secretary of State? And do you have the impression that the U.S. are consulting enough for European allies?
03:32Oh, they are absolutely consulting enough. The teams here at NATO and Marco Rubio's team in constant contact. I myself in constant contact with the Secretary of State.
03:44Of course, he is working very hard when it comes to the peace process on Ukraine, but also when it comes to Sudan, Gaza, and all the other issues the Americans are working on.
03:54So I find it totally acceptable that he is not here. Chris Landau is here, the Deputy Secretary. I had dinner with him last night, and he will be really great at the table.
04:05So let's not look into more than anything there is there.
04:10Mr. Secretary General, how would you comment on corruption cases and scandals in Ukraine?
04:15Kaya Callas this week said that trust is important, even important during wartimes, but nothing should tint the European way of Ukraine. So what is your position about it?
04:27No, no, I mean, I commented before that, of course, when corruption takes place, that it is important, and these corruption cases emerge, that the Ukrainians deal with it. And they are dealing with it.
04:37I think the Ukrainian president is taking all the necessary steps to root out corruption.
04:42Mr. Secretary General, how to push Russia to compromise something during these peace negotiations? And does these peace negotiations even make sense, because Russia doesn't want to compromise anything?
04:54Again, the process is taking place. We had successful meetings in Geneva and in Miami, between the American and Ukrainian teams. Last night, there was the meeting in Moscow.
05:03Again, I'm not going to comment on every step on the way. It's important that the peace process is there. Hopefully, it will lead to results.
05:11And if it takes too long, or it is not leading to results, the best way to put pressure on the Russians is by doing two things. One is making sure that the Russians understand that the weapon flow into Ukraine will keep on going.
05:23That's exactly what's happening today. Thanks to the U.S., thanks to the Europeans. U.S. sending its crucial gear to Ukraine, paid for by Canada and European allies.
05:32But also, Europe and Canada doing a lot bilaterally. And secondly, making sure that the economic sanctions bite, that they are effective. That's also exactly what is happening.
05:41The U.S. and Europe working in conjunction to have the maximum impact through sanctions on the Russian economy. That's the best way to change Putin's calculus.
05:50And in the meantime, of course, we hope that this will end sooner than later. Because, as the President of the United States has said, the meat grind has got to stop. And I agree fully with him.
06:00Final question, then.
06:01Talking about financing and supporting Ukraine, how important are the Russian frozen assets in context to keep this weapon flow you were talking about going?
06:10What's important is that the weapon flow and all the other supports keeps on flowing, including the Danish Lithuanian initiative of investing in the defense industrial base in Ukraine, including the Czech ammunition initiative, including all the bilateral support going into Ukraine.
06:25I commend what the Irish have announced yesterday. So I think this is all important. Of course, Ireland, not the NATO, but still supporting supporting Ukraine.
06:35Of course, the way to fund it is a debate. And I'm not going into that because this is really up to the EU. And I know the European Union is working hard at solving that issue.
06:46So thank you so much. And we'll meet again after all the meetings. Thanks.
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