Press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the Minister of Defence of Germany, Boris Pistorius

Dear Minister Pistorius,
Dear Boris,

Thank you so much for the warm welcome, And thank you for the very good meeting. Congratulations on your appointment.

You have a member of NATO Parliamentary Assembly for many, many years. So I know that you are a staunch supporter of the Alliance.

And I very much look forward to working with you.

You are taking up your position at a time when we again see full-fledged war in Europe.
Creating the greatest danger to our security in generations.

That is why German leadership is more important than ever.

The bravery of the Ukrainian forces has inspired the whole world.
At the same time, we should not underestimate Russia.

President Putin has proved that he is willing to pay a high price for this unjust war.
He has mobilized over 200,000 troops.
And is acquiring new weapons from other authoritarian regimes, such as Iran and North-Korea.

But most importantly we have no indication that President Putin has changed his goals.
He wants to control Ukraine.
And is planning new offensives.

The only way to lasting peace is to make it clear to Putin that he will not win on the battlefield.

Therefore, we must provide heavier and more advanced systems so that the Ukrainian forces are able to repel the Russian forces.
Not only to survive.
But to win, take back territory and prevail as a sovereign, independent state in Europe.

Germany is among the Allies providing the most military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

This includes air defence systems such as Gepard and IRIS-T, artillery and ammunition.
You have recently also announced the delivery of advanced Patriot systems, and modern infantry fighting vehicles.

Weapons from Germany are saving lives in Ukraine every day.
Protecting homes, schools and hospitals from Russian missile strikes.

Other NATO Allies are also stepping up.
The United States announced in Ramstein on Friday, another substantial package of 2.5 billion US dollars.
Including many Bradley and Stryker infantry fighting vehicles, and more long-range fires and modern air defence systems.

And France, the United Kingdom and other Allies have announced that they will deliver tanks.
I welcome these announcements.

At this pivotal moment in the war, we must provide heavier and more advanced systems to Ukraine.
And we must do it faster.

Therefore I welcome our discussions today.
We discussed the issue of battle tanks.
Consultations among Allies will continue and I am confident that we will have a solution soon.

Germany plays a key role in our Alliance.
The Zeitenwende announced by Chancellor Scholz is historic.
With a special 100 billion Euro defence fund for fifth-generation aircraft, new helicopters, ships, tanks and ammunition.

You are already one of the biggest troop contributors to NATO's missions and operations.

You lead NATO forces in Lithuania.
Your jets patrol Allied skies.
And 15,000 German troops are committed to NATO's rapid response forces.
This significantly contributes to strengthen our deterrence and defence.

So Minister Pistorius,
Thank you again for our excellent meeting and for very fruitful discussions.
I look forward to welcoming you to our Defence Ministers' meeting in Brussels next month.
Thank you.

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