NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte response to Israel’s strikes on Iranian nuclear targets at a press briefing in Stockholm, Sweden, alongside Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
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00:00You're too early!
00:07You're too early!
00:08You're too early!
00:09Maybe we can have some touristic
00:10that will make this list!
00:11Okay!
00:12You're too early!
00:19Come here!
00:25Thank you, Mark!
00:26Thank you!
00:32Okay!
00:34But you're already making major contributions across the alliance.
00:38Your forces strengthen our posture in the High North
00:42and in the Baltic region.
00:44As you said, you contribute to foreign land forces in Latvia
00:48and you will lead NATO's newly established foreign land forces in Finland.
00:53Indeed, your Gripen fighter jets help patrol the skies over Poland
00:58and your ships contribute to our enhanced military presence in the Baltic Sea
01:03through Baltic sentry.
01:05Sweden is also one of NATO's seven Arctic allies
01:09and your expertise in the region has enhanced our posture in the High North
01:14and strengthens our ability to reinforce our Baltic allies.
01:19Last week in Brussels, NATO defence ministers agreed on an ambitious new set of capability targets.
01:26These targets describe what capabilities allies need to invest in over the coming years.
01:33From our air defence and fighter jets to tanks, drones, logistics and, of course, personnel.
01:39And this is what it takes to keep our 1 billion citizens safe
01:43and to keep our deterrence and defence strong against a rapidly reconstituting Russia.
01:49So these targets, these capability targets, are the foundation for a new defence investment plan,
01:55a key priority which we will take forward during the NATO summit in The Hague.
02:01Last year, Sweden invested already 2.66% of your GDP on defence.
02:09And indeed, I welcome your government's strong determination to go much and much further.
02:14This is a clear demonstration of Sweden's commitment to collective defence.
02:19Boosting defence industrial production is another key priority for the summit in The Hague.
02:25And Sweden also here is playing a leading role.
02:29Because you have a world-class defence sector.
02:32With companies like Saab, the leading supplier to the Swedish Armed Forces,
02:38and Volvo Defence, Sweden is helping to drive forward the modernisation and resilience
02:43of our collective NATO defence industry.
02:47Sweden is also a hub of advanced research on defence industrial capabilities.
02:52Sweden is a strong supporter of Ukraine.
02:55Since 2022, you have provided over 7 billion euros in military assistance to Ukraine,
03:02including 1.25 billion in the first four months of this year alone.
03:07In terms of GDP, this places Sweden among the top contributors to Ukraine.
03:13And I also welcome your investment in the Ukrainian defence industry.
03:17You are truly leading by example.
03:20We are now less than two weeks away from the NATO summit in The Hague.
03:24And there, I expect leaders to make bold decisions to further strengthen our deterrence in defence,
03:31including a green, a new defence investment plan that will bring our defence investment to 5% of GDP over the next several years.
03:40This will ensure that allies have the forces, the capabilities and also the industrial base required to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.
03:50So, dear Ulf, thank you once again for your hospitality, your leadership and your commitment to our Transatlantic Alliance.
03:59Thank you so much, thank you so much Martin.
04:02Thank you so much.
04:03...looting the United States to work as we speak to de-escalate. I know they are doing that.
04:08And I think that is now the first order of the day.
04:12To state the obvious, this could escalate, that's quite obvious.
04:17We don't need an escalation in a region which is already so heated in so many ways.
04:24Yes, and on the cyberattacks, of course, these are facts at the moment that they take place.
04:30And they are part of the hybrid threats NATO is facing.
04:36And cyberattacks, but of course also in some cases even the jamming of commercial airplanes in the Baltic region.
04:43So we see many versions of these hybrid threats and the cyberattacks are of course a big worry.
04:48It's impossible for me to assess whether there is a direct link between these attacks and now Sweden being a member of NATO.
04:57Of course Sweden always had an impressive defence industrial base and an impressive defence system itself.
05:04So I guess also in the past our adversaries would also have an interest in Sweden even before you joined NATO.
05:11But what we have to do collectively, and this is what NATO is getting better and better at,
05:16is to make sure generally when it comes to these hybrid threats to make sure that we collectively assess what is happening,
05:23that we collectively decide on what is the best way to protect ourselves.
05:28Of course we are not going to make our adversaries any wiser by going into all the details,
05:34but you can be assured that we navigators very closely together and that Sweden plays a big role there.
05:40That the Americans on average spend 3.4, 3.5, 3.6 percent on defence
05:47and that here on the European and Canadian side we are somewhere at 1.9 percent.
05:53Because we are very rich countries. Of course the US is rich, but we are also very rich.
05:57So I said that commitment comes with an expectation that we will somehow equalise with what the US is spending.
06:04Now, to your question and trying to give an answer.
06:08This whole process is not about an audience of one. It is about keeping one billion people safe.
06:14And to keep one billion people safe, we have assessed together these capability targets, the gaps we have,
06:21what do we need to do in terms of long-range missiles, land formations, command and control, air defence systems,
06:28times five from what we have now. So this is a huge, huge investment in people, in equipment,
06:34newest technology, AI, etc. To keep ourselves safe.
06:39And yes, coming to 3.5 percent will also more or less equalise with the US.
06:44And I totally understand the US position that after even Eisenhower, when he was president,
06:49complaining about the fact that the Europeans and Canada were not paying what the US was spending on defence,
06:56that they want this settled now. So they are totally committed because the US knows that for their security,
07:02a secure Atlantic, a secure Arctic and a secure Europe is key.
07:09Jonas Steure, the Norwegian Prime Minister, was in the White House and he showed the American President
07:13this map of the biggest port in Russia which has these huge submarines which are able to fire nuclear missiles onto the US.
07:26And he said these submarines are not there to attack Norway, they are there to attack the United States.
07:31And it is Europe which prevents these submarines to ever get to a position where they could successfully do this.
07:36And this shows you that our collective defence, our collective security is totally interconnected and therefore the US is totally committed to NATO.
07:46But this irritant is there and we have to solve this because otherwise it might eat away at the commitment.
07:55And therefore I am so happy that it seems in the Hague that we can agree.
07:58And again, not to only satisfy the audience of one, but we need this to keep one billion people safe.
08:05But what will happen if the Congress doesn't...
08:07But I'm...
08:08When I'm...
08:09Listen to the Swedish Prime Minister just a minute ago, saying Sweden, I was even understanding when he was speaking in Swedish.
08:17And the beslut is...
08:18Decision.
08:19Decision.
08:20Exactly.
08:21Quite right.
08:22And the beslut is clear.
08:25And these besluts are now being taken not only here in Sweden, but all over NATO.
08:31There is a big commitment and of course we will follow what is happening, we will make sure that where necessary we encourage allies alone to do more than necessary.
08:41But I'm pretty much convinced that people understand this is directly connected to the threat of Russia.
08:48The German Chief of Defence stating the other day that between three and five years, I think he said about four years from now, Russia might be able to launch a successful attack at NATO territory.
09:00So let's not kid ourselves.
09:02This is a real risk.
09:03And four years is now.
09:05It's not in four years.
09:06Basically if you say four years, yes, four years, but obviously you have to prepare for that.
09:10So the preparations have to start now.
09:13And not only Russia, also China building up its military.
09:16Working together with Iran, with North Korea, supporting Russia's war effort in Ukraine.
09:22So this world is totally different from five to ten years ago.
09:26Peace.
09:28And with that, time is unfortunately up.
09:30So we'll have to end this presentation.
09:33Thank you so much.
09:42Bye.