00:00We're going to go live now to Norway to listen to Mark Rutte, the NATO chief, who is just starting
00:06to speak there, talking for the moment about NATO's operations in Norway.
00:11He may, though, speak a little later on about the conflict in the Middle East.
00:14Regardless of the direction from which the challenges may come, our armed forces are ready to operate in extreme conditions.
00:21And Cold Response 26 is taking that readiness even further.
00:26I want to thank you as our hosts for your leadership during this exercise.
00:31Working together, we will continue to guarantee safety and security for our 1 billion citizens.
00:38And now over to Norway's foreign minister, please.
00:42Thank you, Mark. This is Arctic security.
00:45This is NATO at its best, 32,000 soldiers, 14 countries exercising together in an Arctic environment, land, air, sea,
00:55three combined operations, demonstrating our incredible capacity to plan and conduct complex operations.
01:03So we're really happy to see all our friends here, all our allies working together with us in this exercise.
01:09And, of course, Tora and I are particularly proud to welcome the Secretary General, to welcome you, Mark, to see
01:16what we're doing here.
01:17Norway has been eager to strengthen the Arctic outlook of NATO for a long time, and we're so happy that
01:23that is now happening.
01:25We recognize that we are living in maybe the most dramatic security environment since the Second World War.
01:31That's exactly why NATO was formed after the Second World War.
01:37That's exactly why we keep NATO front and center in our security outlook today.
01:42We have an ongoing war in Ukraine.
01:44We have increasing issues also elsewhere, and we have this heightened alert and awareness of what is going in our
01:52immediate neighborhood here.
01:53But then it's good to know that of the eight countries that are in the Arctic, seven are NATO countries.
01:59And if anybody is eager to strengthen the capacity to defend and secure the Arctic, there's a one-stop shop,
02:06there's one place to go, that is NATO.
02:09And NATO is really demonstrating its Arctic capabilities.
02:12And I've heard from many people that have come from afar and from close exercising in this cold response and
02:19in previous cold responses that the good thing about exercising here is that you can say, as in the song,
02:26if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.
02:28So this is really a good place to try not only to conduct military operations, but also to survive and
02:35be good and take care of your troops while you're doing it.
02:38So this is one of the reasons that we are here.
02:40So very happy to have Mark Rutte, the Secretary General, but also very happy to have our 32,000 soldiers
02:48working here and in Finland and in the oceans around us in this very important exercise.
02:55Okay, thank you, Secretary General, Foreign Minister and Defence Minister.
02:59Now we'll open up for some questions from Norwegian media.
03:02First is Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
03:08Hello, Mr. Rutte.
03:10Is Norway's military build-up happening fast enough?
03:14What is your thoughts on that?
03:15Yes, I think it is.
03:17Norway is absolutely investing in its military capabilities.
03:23You have a clear path to do more over the coming years.
03:26You are, when it comes to Ukraine, you are really one of the leaders in NATO, the support for Ukraine.
03:32When it comes to defense spending, when it comes to defending the eastern flank, defending the Arctic, on all these
03:38issues, Norway is clearly taking a leadership role.
03:41You're not the biggest nation, but you can say that you are punching heavily above your weight.
03:46And that's exactly what we need.
03:50If you do.
03:52Donald Trump has voiced strong frustration over NATO allies' reluctance to take part in efforts to reopen the Strait of
03:59Hormuz.
04:00And has once again hinted that the United States could consider withdrawing from the alliance.
04:04How do you respond to that?
04:06And does this prompt you to reconsider NATO's role and involvement in the Middle East?
04:12Well, let me first of all state and say that when it comes to Iran and the risk of Iran
04:18getting its hands on a nuclear capability or a ballistic missile capability,
04:25we have consistently said, as NATO, collectively, that that cannot happen.
04:29So it is really crucial that that capability of the ballistic missiles, of the nuclear capability, is severely degraded.
04:38When it comes to the Strait of Hormuz, I have been in contact with many allies.
04:42We all agree, of course, that Strait has to open up again.
04:45And what I know is that allies are working together, discussing how to do that.
04:51What is the best way to do it?
04:53They are working on that collectively to find a way forward.
04:59Then it's Forsvarets Forum.
05:02Hello, Mr. Rutte.
05:04How important is it with this exercise, with all these allied countries training together, not too far from Russia?
05:13It's vital.
05:14When we look at Russia and you look what Russia is doing now in Ukraine, and whilst they are fighting
05:20in Ukraine and against Ukraine,
05:22Ukraine bravely fighting back, and I'm really impressed what the Ukrainians are doing.
05:29But whilst Russia is doing that, at the same time they are still able to continue the output of the
05:34defense industrial base.
05:36They spend 40% of their budget on defense, of the state budget, which is 10% of the overall
05:42national income of Russia.
05:44And that means, and it's not there to organize parades in Moscow.
05:48It's there to be used.
05:49They use it now against Ukraine.
05:51And we know from open source what our intelligence services are telling and mentioning to the media over the last
05:5812 to 18 months,
06:01that we have to be ready for Russia to indeed mount a challenge to NATO.
06:05Can it be in 27?
06:06Could it be in 29?
06:08Could it be in 31?
06:10And that means that we have to be ready.
06:12And that is money.
06:13And we decided in The Hague to spend the money.
06:15This is a famous 5%, including the 3.5% core defense spending.
06:19It's about keeping Ukraine strong.
06:21And it is also about the defense industrial output.
06:23And one of the things Norway is doing is really getting its defense industry to produce more,
06:29to work with other industries, cross-Atlantic, not only in Europe, but also with the U.S.
06:33We are seeing many examples when it comes to this, also in this exercise, what Norway is capable of,
06:40but also the rest of the alliance.
06:42So I think we really have to be vigilant.
06:47And it's Nye Troms.
06:51Question to Mr. Rutte, also the ministers can answer if they want to.
06:56What's the importance of railways in a NATO setting to transport personnel and military equipment?
07:03And should Norway, Sweden and Finland be equally equipped?
07:07Well, military mobility, to use the buzzword for this, is crucial.
07:12Because what you want for a bridge, not only to hold my 18-year-old Saab,
07:17but also to be able to hold a tank if it needs to cross that bridge.
07:20And we know there are too many examples in Europe where we need to do more to make sure
07:24that all these bridges are able, when they have to be used in wartime,
07:27to also hold our heavy military equipment.
07:30But it's more than bridges.
07:31It is the whole issue of logistics moving from one part to the other.
07:37When you look at Norway, I will not go into all the details.
07:40Maybe some of it is classified.
07:41But you can, when you look at the map of Norway,
07:43you will easily find the spots on the map where Norway plays a vital role
07:48to make sure that when reinforcements are necessary,
07:52they can be pumped through Norway into Europe.
07:55But also when it comes to my country, the Netherlands, the port of Rotterdam,
07:58I can mention that because it is open source again.
08:01Other ports in Europe playing a vital role.
08:04Military mobility playing a vital role.
08:05Our railways playing a vital role.
08:08So we are working on this day in, day out.
08:11We do this with Norway, the UK, Turkey, working with the European Union,
08:16when it comes to the European Union countries, of course, also EU,
08:20and then working again with Norway, the UK, and Turkey,
08:25and other countries not in the EU, because this is really a joint endeavor.
08:29Because it is great to have the investments,
08:31it is great to have the defense industry output,
08:32the men and women in uniform, well trained,
08:35but we need to get them to the place where we need them.
08:39If I may add to that question, to Nia Troms,
08:42that for more than 70 years we were alone up here in NATO.
08:47Our dear friends, Finland and Sweden, were good friends, but not allies.
08:51Now that they became allies, we are not only thinking north-south any longer,
08:55but also east-west.
08:56Then there's tremendous opportunities for military cooperation,
09:00and also the new needs for military mobility in that north of what we call the Nord i Norden,
09:07the north in the north cooperation across Finland, Sweden and Norway.
09:12And this is also something we are demonstrating with this exercise.
09:16So we see that that has strengthened our strategic depth,
09:19and also our ability to combine forces that previously could not combine.
09:23And so, you know, having this exercise now also gives us an opportunity
09:28to demonstrate that.
09:32Then we finish this plan-nimri session,
09:35and we go start with the one-to-one interviews,
09:39NRK with the defense minister,
09:41and TV2 with the minister of foreign affairs.
09:44Thank you so much.
09:49All right, you are listening live there to Mark Rutter,
09:52the Secretary-General of NATO, speaking in Norway,
09:56answering questions there about NATO's role in the Arctic.
10:00That's why he's in Norway today.
10:02But also one question on the Strait of Hormuz.
10:06And with me, Angela Diffley, who is listening to a little of those questions.
10:11And Angela, let's talk then about the Strait of Hormuz,
10:14the question he was asked about that.
10:17And not a particularly clear answer has to be said from Mark Rutter.
10:21He said, look, we're discussing collectively how the Strait can be reopened,
10:26but nothing tangible there from him.
10:29Couldn't be more vague.
10:30You know, they are working on a plan.
10:32You know, Mark Rutter's job, of course,
10:34is to try and hold this NATO alliance together.
10:37That is what he is there for.
10:39And it is extremely difficult work at the moment.
10:43Trump, of course, has not stopped berating his European and Canada allies in NATO
10:49for their wholesale refusal to come to his aid in unblocking the Straits of Hormuz.
10:58The Europeans in Canada have all pointed out that, number one,
11:01they were not consulted about this beforehand,
11:03that they see NATO as a defensive alliance,
11:07that the United States was not attacked.
11:09It chose to start this war.
11:12And also, from Europe's point of view,
11:15that they are at the moment dealing with a real, actual nuclear power,
11:20rather than a power like Iran,
11:23which might well have been on the way to being a dangerous nuclear power.
11:27And so they have made their position very clear.
11:29Trump said, I told you so.
11:31I knew they would not come to our help.
11:33We don't need it anyway, but I will remember.
11:36And it is possible that, you know,
11:38this short-term, you know, attitude from Europe,
11:43that you insulted us in Davos,
11:45that you have not looked after this relationship,
11:48that Europe might regret it.
11:50Trump might remember it.
11:53He might let that feed back into his attitude towards Ukraine.
11:57We've already seen that he issued a 30-day waiver
12:02to sanctions on Russian oil, benefiting Russia.
12:07And these things are actually all connected.
12:10Zelensky, on the other hand,
12:12has rushed to say, can we help out?
12:17We have cheap anti-drone interceptors.
12:21We can help you use them.
12:22This is all a very messy mix.
12:24You know, Trump has reaped the reward of his attitude towards the other allies in NATO.
12:31And they do not want to get involved in what could be a very messy war.
12:36Its objective is not clear.
12:39It looks very much like it might end up as the Iraq war did.
12:42And so there are very strong reasons that each European capital has decided
12:46it is not in their country's interests to come to the aid of the United States.
12:51But these things are connected.
12:53It should be hoped in Europe that this can all be repaired once Donald Trump is removed from the scene.
12:59He is so difficult to read.
13:01His motives are so difficult to read.
13:02His attitude is so difficult to read.
13:04But perhaps the idea is that both sides of the alliance will hold on.
13:08And once Donald Trump is not there, things will look a bit better.
13:12But this Iran war is yet another illustration of the strains between the Trump administration and the rest of NATO.
13:20All right.
13:21Thank you very much for your thoughts on that.
13:22Angela Diffley.
13:23Thank you very much.
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