Joint Expeditionary Force leaders meet for a summit in Tallinn

Описание: (17 Dec 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tallinn, Estonia - 17 December 2024
1. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal walking towards microphone
SOUNDBITE (English) Kristen Michal, Estonian Prime Minister:
"Good morning everybody. I will be brief because the schedule is quite tight already. Thank you for coming to Tallinn, thanks for everybody, all the leaders here. The JEF (Joint Expeditionary Force) meeting has already brought some results. Yesterday, we agreed to double down on Russia's shadow fleet, which is like a money train running, bringing them fresh cash to wage war to Ukraine and do harm to other democratic countries. Today's topics obviously will be Ukraine, how to assist more, how to put the Ukraine in the position of strength, to make Russia behind the table asking for the negotiations. And also, the topic about how to increase our defense capabilities, what can we do, what is the interoperability between the countries. So these will be the topics."
2. Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans arriving
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ruben Brekelmans, Dutch Defense Minister:
"We need to do more to bolster our defense and our deterrence. We see that Russia is only increasing its military production. And if you look at all the projections for the upcoming year, it is only going up. We know that Russia's imperial ambitions are going beyond Ukraine, are going beyond the territory that they conquered. And we know that this aggression will come back in the future - either Ukraine or directed at the NATO territory - so we need to further strengthen our defense and deterrence."
4. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre arriving
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonas Gahr Støre, Norwegian Prime Minister:
"This is an important venue for a group of countries that have a lot to achieve together, so I appreciate the Estonian government having brought us together in JEF. We have a lot to achieve together so I appreciate the Estonian government having brought us together in JEF. We have important discussions on how we as a group in NATO coordinate our defense efforts in this regional Baltic, northern European, Arctic setting. And at the same time, obviously it is Ukraine that is on the top of our agenda and we are likeminded countries in our support to Ukraine."
6. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer entering room
SOUNDBITE (English) Keir Starmer, U.K. Prime Minister:
"Good morning. Very good to see you and very good to be here for this important JEF meeting. JEF is now 10 years old and slightly bigger than when we started but it has more than proved its worth. And we have the chance today to have important strategic discussions on matters of mutual concern and interest, and Ukraine will be among those."
7. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda arriving
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Gitanas Nausėda, Lithuanian President:
"We have to push and to encourage our partners to do the same, to increase their floor for defense spending from 2% - we agreed on that in Vilnius summit. But taking into account the new situation, geopolitical realities - we have to increase the spending at least up to 3% of GDP."
++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++
STORYLINE:
The leaders a military alliance of northern European nations are discussing defense capabilities and support to Ukraine at a summit in Tallinn on Tuesday.

Leaders from the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) spoke with the media as they arrived for the summit that is held in the Estonian capital.

The participants will discuss ways to strengthen Ukraine's position and increase defense capabilities, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal told reporters.




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