NATO Secretary General with the President of Slovakia 🇸🇰 Peter Pellegrini, 20 FEB 2025

Описание: Joint press point by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the President of the Slovak Republic, Peter Pellegrini, 20 February 2025.

🗣 | NATO Secretary General:

Mr President, dear Peter,

It is wonderful to be with you here in Bratislava. It is good to be back.
Slovakia has been a valued Ally now for over 20 years. And you are still that Ally. You are very much involved and committed to NATO.

You host one of NATO’s multinational Forward Land Forces. And indeed I visited the troops there this morning, and it was very impressive.

This presence is a vital part of how we collectively deter aggression and defend our eastern flank.
Slovakia is also the framework nation for the Headquarters Multinational Division Centre in Hungary, which became fully operational last week.

Alongside Hungary and Croatia, you have worked hard to deliver this project, demonstrating that we are adapting to new challenges. And showcasing how working together in NATO bolsters deterrence and defence for us all.
Over the past week, Europe has seen an extraordinary level of engagement by the new US Administration, at NATO Headquarters, in Munich, and now in Washington where your Prime Minister Robert Fico is today.
The US has made crystal clear its commitment to a strong NATO. This should not be in doubt.
And that commitment comes with an expectation that all NATO Allies are contributing their fair share.
Defence spending across the Alliance is on an upward trajectory. Last year it increased by 20% for Europe and Canada.
Slovakia spends 2% of GDP on defence – and this is crucially important.
But growing threats will require greater investment. This is part of what we discussed today.
We know that the target, the 2014 target of 2%, will not keep us safe in the years ahead. Allies must invest more.

Today we also discussed the Russian war against Ukraine.
Eleven years ago, Russia invaded Crimea.
Three years ago, Putin began his full-scale invasion.
He thought it would be over in just a few days.
But he underestimated Ukrainian resilience.
And he underestimated Allied resolve.

Ukraine is not just our partner; it is your neighbour.
We all want to see an end to the terrible aggression against Ukraine. And it is vital that any deal reached brings an enduring peace. That Russia will never again try to take one more square kilometre of Ukrainian land.
This will require robust, as you said, security guarantees – and NATO Allies are actively discussing what that might entail.
While there is much that still needs to be decided, there is no question that Europe has a vital role to play in securing peace in Ukraine.
We have been in close touch with the US administration on this at every level. And we all agree that we need an enduring peace in Ukraine.
As US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said last week in Brussels – no Minsk 3, it has to be an enduring and lasting peace deal.
And the White House special envoy consulted with Allies in the North Atlantic Council on Monday. That was a very successful meeting, in advance of the meeting with Russian officials this week. And of course, he is now himself traveling to Ukraine, and is now in Ukraine, discussing with Ukrainian leadership.
At the same time, we should continue to strengthen Ukraine’s hand.
So that, they can come to the negotiating table from a position of strength.
As an Alliance, we are delivering on commitments made at the Washington Summit.
We have surpassed our financial pledge – providing more than 50 billion euros of security assistance in the past year.
The command in Wiesbaden is also now operational coordinating the delivery of training and equipment for Ukraine.
Even so, as the full-scale invasion enters in its fourth year, we must dig deeper.

The world is becoming more dangerous,
But NATO remains ready to deter and defend.
To tackle the range of challenges we face together.

So, again thank you – dear Peter.
Together, NATO is stronger because of Slovakia.
And Slovakia is safer because of NATO.
Thank you so much.

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