NATO Secretary General, Press Conference at Foreign Ministers Meeting, 29 NOV 2023

Press conference by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg following the meetings of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs, 29 November 2023. NATO Foreign Ministers concluded two days of meetings in Brussels on Wednesday (29 November 2023), addressing support for Ukraine, preparations for the Washington Summit and pressing security challenges, including in the Western Balkans and NATO’s southern neighbourhood. The NATO-Ukraine Council met at the level of Foreign Ministers for the first time, joined by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Speaking after the meeting, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that Allies had approved an ambitious work programme for the next year, covering energy security, innovation and interoperability. He added: “we are now transforming NATO’s comprehensive assistance package into a multi-year programme of assistance, helping Ukraine to transition from Soviet-era to NATO equipment and standards and make their forces fully interoperable with ours”. Foreign Ministers also discussed Ukraine’s path to membership of the Alliance and provided recommendations on Ukraine’s priority reforms, including the fight against corruption, strengthening the rule of law, and supporting human rights and minority rights. The Secretary General said that “last year, Ukraine won the battles for Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson. This year they continue to inflict heavy losses on Russia… Most importantly, Ukraine has prevailed as a sovereign, independent, democratic nation. This is a major achievement – a big win.” He emphasised that “Ukraine is closer to NATO than ever before,” adding that “we will continue to support them on the path to membership”. Turning to the situation on the ground, Mr Stoltenberg underlined the substantial progress made by Ukraine this year, both on land and in the Black Sea. Meanwhile, he said that Russia is losing political influence in its near abroad, has incurred more than 300,000 casualties and lost a substantial part of its conventional forces, and is under economic pressure. Russia is now “weaker politically, militarily and economically… year by year, Moscow is mortgaging its future to Beijing” he said, concluding that “all of this underlines Putin’s strategic mistake in invading Ukraine”. 🗣 | NATO Secretary General: Good morning. We just had a productive meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. The first time we meet in this format, the first time we have a Foreign Ministerial Meeting as a NATO-Ukraine Council Meeting. Today, we approved an ambitious work programme for the next year. It includes energy security, innovation and interoperability. We also discussed the situation on the ground. Last year, Ukraine won the battles for Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson. This year, they continue to inflict heavy losses on Russia. Ukraine has recaptured 50 percent of the territory that Russia originally seized. In the Black Sea, the Ukrainians have pushed back the Russian fleet, and established routes for grain exports – bolstering global food security. Most importantly, Ukraine has prevailed as a sovereign, independent, democratic nation. This is a major achievement – a big win. As Ukraine has moved forward, Russia has fallen backward. It is now weaker politically, militarily, and economically. Politically, Russia is losing influence in its near abroad. Not only in Ukraine, but in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Russia is also becoming much more dependent on China. Year by year, Moscow is mortgaging its future to Beijing. Militarily, Russia has lost a substantial part of its conventional forces. Hundreds of aircraft. Thousands of tanks. And more than 300,000 casualties. Economically, Russia is also under pressure. Oil and gas revenues are dropping. Russian banking assets are under sanctions. Over 1,000 foreign companies have stopped or scaled down their operations in the country. And 1.3 million people left Russia last year. All of this underlines Putin’s strategic mistake in invading Ukraine. Transcript continues: ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ SUBSCRIBE to this channel SUBSCRIBE to NATO News SUBSCRIBE to NATO History Connect with NATO online: Visit the Official NATO Homepage: Receive NATO updates via email: Find NATO on FACEBOOK: Follow @NATO on TWITTER: Follow NATO on Instagram: Find NATO on LinkedIn: Find NATO on Flickr: #NATO #OTAN #ForMin