NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, at the start of the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland (8-9 July), gave the following speech:
"Good morning,
The Warsaw Summit will be a land mark summit. We meet at a time which is decisive for our shared security. And NATO will once again send a very clear message that we are here to protect and defend all Allies in a new and more challenging security environment. The two main themes of the Summit are deterrence, defence and projecting stability to our neighbourhood. Strong defence and strong deterrence is the core task of NATO. And we are adapting the Alliance to new threats and new challenges. We will make important decisions at the Summit on how to strengthen our defence and deterrence. We will decide to increase our forward presence in the eastern part of the Alliance with four new battalions, multinational robust battalions and they will send a clear message that an attack on one Ally will be an attack on the whole Alliance. And we will also increase our presence in the south-eastern part of the Alliance, with tailored multinational presence. NATO doesn’t seek confrontation, we don’t want a new Cold War. The Cold War is history, and it should remain history. But we have to be able also in a more challenging security environment to defend and protect all our Allies.
We will continue to strive for a meaningful and constructive dialogue with Russia. That is important to reduce risks, to increase predictability and to enhance transparency and that is particularly important in times like these.
We will also address how we can project stability to our neighbourhood. Because if our neighbours are stable we are secure. We will step up our support for the international coalition fighting ISIL. I expect the Heads of State and Government to make decisions on support of NATO AWACS surveillance planes. Make decisions on training of Iraqi officers. And also to expand our presence in the Meditarranean, building on our success we have in the Aegean Sea working with the EU, Turkey and Greece.
We will also address many other issues like Afghanistan, Ukraine, but I will also mention that here in Warsaw I will singn later on today a declaration with the two Presidents of the European Union. President Tusk and President Juncker and that is an important political platform for further strengthening the cooperation between NATO and the EU. That has been important for a long time, but it is increasingly important when we see the challenges evolving around us so we are looking into how we can step up the coopertion with the EU in areas like answers to hybrid threats, cyber threats and also maritime cooperation and building capacity.
So this will be a landmark summit and the decisions we are going to take together will once again confirm that Europe and North-America stand together, act together, to protect all Allies against any threats."
"Good morning,
The Warsaw Summit will be a land mark summit. We meet at a time which is decisive for our shared security. And NATO will once again send a very clear message that we are here to protect and defend all Allies in a new and more challenging security environment. The two main themes of the Summit are deterrence, defence and projecting stability to our neighbourhood. Strong defence and strong deterrence is the core task of NATO. And we are adapting the Alliance to new threats and new challenges. We will make important decisions at the Summit on how to strengthen our defence and deterrence. We will decide to increase our forward presence in the eastern part of the Alliance with four new battalions, multinational robust battalions and they will send a clear message that an attack on one Ally will be an attack on the whole Alliance. And we will also increase our presence in the south-eastern part of the Alliance, with tailored multinational presence. NATO doesn’t seek confrontation, we don’t want a new Cold War. The Cold War is history, and it should remain history. But we have to be able also in a more challenging security environment to defend and protect all our Allies.
We will continue to strive for a meaningful and constructive dialogue with Russia. That is important to reduce risks, to increase predictability and to enhance transparency and that is particularly important in times like these.
We will also address how we can project stability to our neighbourhood. Because if our neighbours are stable we are secure. We will step up our support for the international coalition fighting ISIL. I expect the Heads of State and Government to make decisions on support of NATO AWACS surveillance planes. Make decisions on training of Iraqi officers. And also to expand our presence in the Meditarranean, building on our success we have in the Aegean Sea working with the EU, Turkey and Greece.
We will also address many other issues like Afghanistan, Ukraine, but I will also mention that here in Warsaw I will singn later on today a declaration with the two Presidents of the European Union. President Tusk and President Juncker and that is an important political platform for further strengthening the cooperation between NATO and the EU. That has been important for a long time, but it is increasingly important when we see the challenges evolving around us so we are looking into how we can step up the coopertion with the EU in areas like answers to hybrid threats, cyber threats and also maritime cooperation and building capacity.
So this will be a landmark summit and the decisions we are going to take together will once again confirm that Europe and North-America stand together, act together, to protect all Allies against any threats."
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| Arriving at the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg set out an ambitious agenda. (Photo: NATO) |