Monthly press conference by the NATO Secretary General

Good morning. Obviously you are following the news from Libya with great attention. So am I.  However, what we can say at this moment is very limited. 

I am watching developments very closely and with great concern. It is important that the situation is clarified as soon as possible. If it is confirmed that Prime Minister Zeidan has been abducted, I call for the Prime Minister’s immediate release. Stability and rule of law are critically important.

Now, turning to NATO.

Next year, NATO heads of state and government will meet in the United Kingdom.

I warmly welcome the UK offer to host the Summit, which has been welcomed and accepted by Allies.

This will be a critical opportunity to take stock of our ongoing work, including in Afghanistan, and to look to the future.

2014 will be a turning-point, as we complete NATO’s longest and biggest operation. At our last summit in Chicago, we agreed that this year we would reach a milestone when Afghan forces would take the lead across the country.

In June, I was in Kabul to mark that milestone. Since then, we have seen the resilience and the growing professionalism of Afghan forces. And by the end of 2014, Afghan soldiers and police will be fully in charge of securing their own country.

Thanks to the immense efforts and the solemn sacrifices of the troops and civilians from ISAF contributing nations, Afghanistan has come a long way in the past decade. The changes have been remarkable, and our investment in lives and resources has been unprecedented. Nobody can deny that. And this effort should be respected.

Afghanistan is now preparing to hold next year’s elections, which will be fully Afghan-led and managed. The registration of candidates has just been completed. The presidential tickets are multi-ethnic. There’s significant participation from women, as voters, election workers, and candidates. There’s at least one woman candidate competing in each provincial council election. And six months before the polls, preparations are more advanced than for any other elections in Afghanistan’s modern history. 

It is crucial that these elections are transparent, inclusive and credible. That their results are acceptable to the Afghan people.  So that the political process provides the certainty and predictability that both Afghans and the international community expect.    

Next year’s NATO Summit will be an opportunity to review the progress made by the Afghan forces in preparing for their responsibilities.  To reaffirm our commitment to an enduring partnership with Afghanistan, including through efforts to train, advise, and assist the Afghan forces after 2014. And to recognize, as I noted, the tremendous contributions and sacrifice of so many men and women from all ISAF contributing nations.  

With over 20 years of operations experience, our forces are now the most capable and connected in NATO history. The summit will also ensure that we continue to build on the lessons we have learned, to strengthen the Alliance and keep it ready to deal with modern security challenges. It will reaffirm the vital transatlantic bond on which NATO was founded. And it will further enhance our partnerships, which are key to our future success in a world where risks cross borders and we are all interconnected. 

As we prepare for the summit, we will have more to report on each of these areas.  Today, I would like to focus on the last one I mentioned, NATO’s partnerships.

Let me give you some recent examples how our partnerships produce real results. On operations. In training and exercises. And in the reform and management of democratic defence institutions.

In addition to the broad level of cooperation with partners NATO has benefitted from in Kosovo and Afghanistan, we continue to expand our efforts with partners in operational theatres.

Just today, a Ukrainian frigate is joining Operation Ocean Shield, fighting piracy off the Horn of Africa.

This is the first time any partner nation has joined this important mission. And I warmly welcome Ukraine’s commitment. By working together, NATO and our partners are making a real contribution to dealing with today’s security threats, including outside the Euro-Atlantic area. Recently, NATO Allies also approved an offer by the Republic of Moldova to join our mission in Kosovo.

And this is another first: the first time that Moldova has contributed any NATO-led operation.

Also last week, the countries in South Eastern Europe, both NATO Allies and partners, came together to work on an initiative, led by NATO, which aims at improving governance and democratic oversight in the defence sector.

NATO has immense experience in this field: promoting reforms and transparency. Making defence institutions more effective and better-run. And anchoring democratic standards.

And we have immense experience of working with partners. Indeed, right now, one partner, Austria, is co-leading the NATO project to support the defence education system in another partner, Serbia.

And looking ahead, our cooperation with partners continues to grow.

Next month, NATO will conduct a major exercise in Poland and the Baltic States, called Steadfast Jazz. The purpose of this exercise is to make sure that our rapid-reaction force, the NATO Response Force, is ready to defend any Ally, deploy anywhere and deal with any threat.

NATO’s partners, Ukraine and Finland, have offered to join the exercise, and been accepted by Allies. Others have also shown active interest in taking part.  So they will train alongside us – and will then have met the requirements to deploy with next year’s NATO Response Force.

Moreover, another partner, Georgia, has offered to join the Response Force in the future, and been accepted. I would therefore anticipate that Georgian troops would be made available for the force as of 2015.

This, again, would be a first: the first time Georgia has joined NATO’s rapid-reaction team.

So this shows that our partnerships are already diverse. And they are already delivering.

Next year we mark a number of significant anniversaries. It will be twenty years since we founded the Partnership for Peace, to strengthen security and cooperation across the Euro-Atlantic area. Twenty years since we initiated the Mediterranean Dialogue, forging ties with countries around the Mediterranean. And ten years since we launched the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, opening up to the countries of the Gulf region.

All these initiatives have borne fruit. But there is more that they can do.

So I will look to our next summit to take the next step. To build greater cooperation with partners on operations. On exercises. And on the reform and reinforcement of democratic, accountable and transparent security institutions.

So that we all work together to build security for the future.

And with that, I am ready to take your questions.