Doorstep statement

Good afternoon,

Let me start by saying that I had a call last night with Chancellor Scholz to share with him the sadness we all feel with the terrible attack happening in Munich yesterday. Thirty-six people wounded. Some of them seriously wounded.
So our thoughts are with them, with their families, with their friends. Of course, we hope that it will be clear what happened and that they will recover as soon as possible.

I'm open to questions. I could, if you want me to, just give a short introduction on my talks here.
They're very much focusing on, first of all, Ukraine. And I think there's a general agreement that on Ukraine we have to make sure that they are in the best possible position when peace talks start, for them to participate in those talks, and that means ongoing military support, ongoing in terms of weapon deliveries and ongoing training support to Ukraine.

But also there is a large scale agreement that whenever a deal is done, that deal is durable, is lasting. That Putin will never again try to catch a square mile of Ukraine. And that means for the European NATO Allies that I know they're thinking about what they can do now to make sure that the training and the military support is continuing, but also post a deal what Europeans can do together with others to make sure that that deal is indeed sustained.

Second big issue, of course, is industry production. We need to produce much more all over NATO, from the US up to and including the whole of NATO, here in European, the European side of NATO, and, of course, in Canada.

And the third is spending. We have to spend more. The European part of NATO has to spend more. If you do not spend enough, we have to bring it up to, as I said before, probably north of 3%. I cannot commit to a number now, because we will do it based on facts and figures, based on the capability targeting process, but it is absolutely clear if we stick with the current numbers, we will not get there. We will not be safe in four or five years.
So we not only have to do this because it is fair towards the Americans, who want us to do more, to take a bigger share of the burden, but also because we have to make sure that we can protect ourselves collectively.
So thank you.

James Bays, Aljazeera
Secretary General, James Bays from Al Jazeera, only eight months ago, you had a summit in Washington, DC. All 32 Allies agreed. And I know you know these words, but I read them to you, "we will continue to support Ukraine on its irreversible path to full Euro Atlantic integration, including NATO membership". Does NATO still stand by those words?

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Where, in those headlines, it says that it should be part of a peace deal? Now, where did you see that?

James Bays, Aljazeera
[replying] I'm asking you whether you stand, whether NATO stands by that word…

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
It was the conclusion by 32 leaders. But what we are talking about here is the debate, what is the best possible way to make sure that a peace deal is lasting, that a peace deal is enduring. And there are many ways to do that, but it has never been said before, and not even in that Washington Summit statement, that when a peace deal would be done on Ukraine, that in that peace deal it should be NATO full stop. That's not the case.

James Bays, Aljazeera
[replying] Do you agree with that commitment that one day [inaudible]

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
I was not in that summit. It was a summit by the 32 leaders, and clearly that was an outcome of that summit. But again, this is not about the peace deal. And I know that many think that part of a peace deal should be NATO, but it has never been promised to Ukraine that it will be part of the outcome. And I think we should take this step by step, get them in a position of strength, making sure that whenever a deal is done, that the deal will be such that Putin will not try again.

Rishi Iyengar, Foreign Policy
Rishi Iyengar, Foreign Policy magazine how real are the concerns from Europe about being left out of negotiations for a peace deal, like in your discussion [inaudible]

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Can I be very honest about my European friends? I really believe what Europeans have to do now is to come up with the concrete plans. One, to get more military aid into Ukraine. Secondly, to get more training into Ukraine. I know that many initiatives are be thought through are really already brought on board, but also to think through that whenever the peace deal is done, how European countries probably together with others, but how the Europeans countries can help there. So create the facts. Create the facts on the ground. Create the facts in terms of the plans you are making, and that is the best way to get your parts at a table. So I would say, do this. That's positive, much better than to think, "Okay, where are we?"

Question
Is 5% a realistic goal for NATO Allies to meet on defence spending? Or do you just see that as a Trump negotiating position?

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
What we are doing within NATO is establishing where we are at the moment, where we should be to keep ourselves safe. That is the so called – sorry for the lingo – the capability targeting process, from which we will see the gaps in how can we defend ourselves or not, country by country. That will deliver a sort of overall ballpark of a number, and my guess is that it will be at least over 3%.

Question
Do you fear that NATO could be split up because of this Trump administration?

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Not at all. We have seen that the Trump administration is completely committed to NATO. It has been said by all the senior officials we have here at this moment, almost a whole foreign policy team out of the US. So whenever Europeans are saying, "we want to be consulted", they are here, Munich, last time I checked, is in Europe. They are in Europe. They are consulting here with their European Allies. And to the European Allies, again, make sure that the training is there, the staff is there, the military gear, but also come up with the plans, create the facts, engage in the debate. Really, the Europeans can do that. This has been done before.

Question
There was a strike on the Chernobyl nuclear powerplant, this night just after the negotiations…

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
I saw the news. I have not had any more details other than what I saw on the press, so I'm not going to comment now, but clearly, of course, we follow those events very closely.

Question:
[Inaudible] Europeans at the negotiations table. Who should speak for Europe in this negotiation.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte:
I'm here from NATO, and NATO is US, Canada and the European part of NATO. But again, I'm absolutely convinced Europe is able to create effects in terms of what Europe is doing already - the training, the delivery of military equipment, etc. But, at the same time, now that the talks could start sooner than later, on peace in Ukraine, make sure as Europeans that it’s clear what the European side should offer in terms of making sure that the peace deal is lasting. And then you create facts, and by creating facts, you will be part of the conversation. No doubt.

Question:
On NATO, the 3% plus, or even the 5% target, is there any sort of ballpark timeline that you have in mind to meet those targets  in terms of [inaudible]?

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte:
Two things. Obviously, towards the Hague Summit in June, it will be very good to get to a conclusion on this, because the whole internal process on the capability targets process will be done by then. And obviously, when you commit to a new number, you have to have a timeline. We cannot have a repeat of 2014, where we said 2% and then nothing happens till Trump became president, and then all of a sudden we saw Europeans and Canadians spending more. So, we really have now to commit to a to a strong timetable. Thank you so much. We'll see each other.

Question:
History made this weekend regarding Ukraine. What do you say?

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte:
This is a good weekend, because we have the whole of the US Foreign Policy team here engaging with the Europeans, and that's good. And to the Europeans, I would say continue the training in Ukraine, continue delivering military stuff, but also start the process of thinking what the role of European nations could be in Ukraine post the peace deal. Thank you.