WEBVTT 00:01.540 --> 00:03.596 Thank you . Minister Law Adriana and 00:03.596 --> 00:07.120 Minister Polly share jean Yves and 00:07.120 --> 00:09.342 shared Florence . It's great to be back 00:09.342 --> 00:12.060 in paris great to see you both again 00:12.540 --> 00:16.230 and France's strong ally And Allah 00:16.230 --> 00:18.420 that contribute to our shared security 00:18.420 --> 00:20.830 in many different ways with high end 00:20.830 --> 00:24.250 capabilities . And you invest more than 00:24.250 --> 00:28.190 2% of GDP on defense . Your 00:28.200 --> 00:30.830 strategic nuclear forces contributed 00:30.830 --> 00:33.450 significantly to the overall security 00:33.450 --> 00:35.620 of the alliance . And you are strongly 00:35.620 --> 00:37.520 committed to the fight against 00:37.530 --> 00:40.030 terrorism with thousands of troops in 00:40.030 --> 00:43.660 the Sahara . You also contribute to 00:43.660 --> 00:47.530 NATO's Baltic air policing mission and 00:47.530 --> 00:49.890 to NATO's multinational battle group in 00:49.890 --> 00:52.112 Estonia . One of the four battle groups 00:52.112 --> 00:54.490 led by Canada Germany , the U . S . And 00:54.490 --> 00:57.440 the U . K . Which NATO deployed to the 00:57.450 --> 01:00.440 east of our alliance in response to 01:00.450 --> 01:02.760 Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea 01:03.040 --> 01:06.890 in 2014 . At the same time we set 01:06.890 --> 01:10.180 up NATO's very high redness joint task 01:10.180 --> 01:13.440 force and next year the french german 01:13.440 --> 01:17.060 brigade will lead that joint task force 01:17.740 --> 01:20.010 today . In our meeting , we addressed 01:20.020 --> 01:22.870 Russia's renewed military build up in 01:22.870 --> 01:25.330 and around Ukraine . This raises 01:25.330 --> 01:28.250 tensions and undermines security in 01:28.260 --> 01:32.150 europe . Russia must deescalate 01:32.160 --> 01:34.450 respect Ukraine's sovereignty and 01:34.450 --> 01:37.490 territorial integrity and return to 01:37.500 --> 01:40.830 diplomacy . This crisis requires a 01:40.830 --> 01:43.620 political and diplomatic solution . So 01:43.620 --> 01:45.420 we welcome the dialogue between 01:45.430 --> 01:48.010 President biden and President Putin as 01:48.010 --> 01:50.280 well as the efforts to convene a new 01:50.280 --> 01:53.110 meeting in the Normandy format because 01:53.110 --> 01:55.680 dialogue is even more important when 01:55.680 --> 01:58.940 tensions are high NATO allies 01:58.950 --> 02:02.400 will continue to consult closely and we 02:02.400 --> 02:06.190 will remain vigilant and our offer of a 02:06.190 --> 02:09.630 meaningful dialogue in the NATO Russia 02:09.640 --> 02:12.760 Council with Russia still stands 02:13.340 --> 02:15.780 today . We also discussed the 02:15.780 --> 02:17.990 importance of working together with 02:17.990 --> 02:20.212 like minded partners in the world which 02:20.212 --> 02:21.879 is increasingly dangerous and 02:21.879 --> 02:25.450 competitive . The european union is a 02:25.450 --> 02:29.040 strategic partner for NATO and we have 02:29.040 --> 02:31.260 already raised our cooperation to 02:31.270 --> 02:34.480 unprecedented levels . We discussed 02:34.490 --> 02:36.760 France's priorities for its presidency 02:37.340 --> 02:40.190 of the european council next year and I 02:40.190 --> 02:42.940 count on France's support as we develop 02:42.940 --> 02:46.860 a new joint NATO EU declaration . As I 02:46.860 --> 02:49.630 have reiterated many times , I strongly 02:49.630 --> 02:52.740 welcome EU efforts on defense . NATO 02:52.740 --> 02:54.629 has been calling for more defense 02:54.629 --> 02:56.960 spending for many years . I welcome 02:56.960 --> 02:59.780 that all european allies have increased 02:59.780 --> 03:01.669 their defense budgets . But it is 03:01.669 --> 03:03.960 important that we keep up this momentum 03:04.940 --> 03:08.150 so what we need is more resources and 03:08.160 --> 03:10.500 better capabilities that can be used by 03:10.500 --> 03:13.470 both NATO and the EU rather than new 03:13.470 --> 03:15.637 structures which risk duplicating what 03:15.637 --> 03:18.920 we already have . It is also important 03:18.930 --> 03:21.110 to recognize the role played by non EU 03:21.110 --> 03:23.770 allies in the defense of europe . And 03:23.770 --> 03:25.992 the major commitment that United States 03:25.992 --> 03:28.290 continues to make through NATO to 03:28.290 --> 03:30.970 defending our continent . In the last 03:30.970 --> 03:33.350 years , the United States has increased 03:33.350 --> 03:35.390 its military presence in europe and 03:35.390 --> 03:38.690 this benefits all of us . Our 03:38.690 --> 03:40.634 transatlantic alliance remains the 03:40.634 --> 03:42.790 cornerstone of european security 03:42.800 --> 03:45.170 because the challenges we face are too 03:45.170 --> 03:47.980 big for europe or America to tackle 03:47.980 --> 03:51.350 alone . So ministers jean Yves Florence , 03:51.360 --> 03:54.610 thank you for your excellent for our 03:54.610 --> 03:56.499 excellent discussion and for your 03:56.500 --> 03:58.740 strong support to our alliance And I 03:58.740 --> 04:00.880 look forward to continuing to working 04:00.880 --> 04:01.960 with both of you . Thank you .