WEBVTT

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Good afternoon . The Secretary General

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will preview the meeting of the foreign

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ministers and then he'll be happy to

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take your questions . Secretary General .

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Good afternoon . This is a historic

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week tomorrow . We will welcome

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Finland as the 31st member

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of NATO making Finland

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safer and our alliance stronger .

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We will raise the finish flag for the

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first time here at the NATO

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headquarters . It will be a good day

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for Finland security for Nordic

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security and for NATO as a whole ,

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Sweden will also be safer as a result .

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Last year , allies made an historic

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decision to invite Finland and Sweden

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to become members of . Since then ,

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we have seen the fastest ratification

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process in nato's modern history

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and all allies agree that Sweden's

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succession should be completed quickly .

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Foreign ministers meet at an important

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moment for our security tomorrow . We

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will hold the NATO Ukraine Commission

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with Foreign Minister Klebba to address

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Russia's war aggression and our support

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to . We do not know

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when this war will end , but when it

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does , we will need to put in place

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arrangements so that Ukraine can deter

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future aggression and history

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does not repeat itself . We cannot

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allow Russia to continue to chip away

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at European security . I

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welcome President Zelensky S peace plan

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which upholds the principles at the

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heart of the UN Charter . It provides

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the foundation for a just and

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sustainable peace , but there are no

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signs that President Putin is preparing

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for peace . He is preparing for more

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war . That is why we are united in our

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determination to stay the course and

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support Ukraine for as long as it takes .

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Allies have delivered €65 billion

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of military aid . And I welcome that

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modern battle tanks and other armored

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vehicles have started to arrive in

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Ukraine . This can make a real

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difference on the front lines and allow

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the Ukrainian forces to liberate more

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territory . We will discuss how we can

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step up our support including by

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continuing to strengthen Ukraine's

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armed forces and supporting the

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transition from Soviet era to NATO

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equipment and doctrine . Our

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support is for the long haul . So I

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expect that businesses will agree to

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start work on developing a multi year

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program for Ukraine allies will also

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discuss threats and challenges in the

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South including instability , terrorism

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and the growing influence of Iran ,

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Russia and China to address all these

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challenges . It is essential that we

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invest more in defense at the vi summit .

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I expect allies to agree an ambitious

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new defense investment pledge with two

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per cent of GDP for defense

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as a floor , not a ceiling on

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Wednesday . S Indo Pacific

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partners Australia , Japan New Zealand

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and the Republic of Korea will join us

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together with the European Union . The

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consequences of Russia's war against

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Ukraine are global . What is happening

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in Europe today could happen in East

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Asia tomorrow . So I welcome our

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partners strong support to Ukraine

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including Japan's recent announcement

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of contributions to s assistance fund

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for Ukraine . We will discuss

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deepening cooperation in areas such as

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cyber defense , new technologies and

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countering this information . We will

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also address China's growing alignment

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with Russia . Any provision of lethal

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aid by China to Russia would be a major

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mistake at the time

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when Russia and China are challenging

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the international order and democratic

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values , it is even more important that

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we stand together as allies and with

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like-minded partners . And with that ,

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I am ready to take your questions .