NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made a statement before the NATO Defense Ministers Meeting. Referring to the war in Ukraine, Stoltenberg said, “NATO Defense Ministers are meeting at a critical time for our security. Next week will be the first year of the terrible war in Ukraine, the full-fledged invasion of Russia against Ukraine. We see no signs that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for peace. What we see is the opposite, it is preparing for new attacks, new attacks. “So this makes it even more important for NATO allies and partners to give Ukraine more support.”
Stating that the U.S.-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting will be held after the Defense Ministers' meeting, Stoltenberg said, "We will address the urgent needs for Ukraine."
Stating that they will agree on new and long-term plans to further strengthen NATO's deterrence and defense at the meeting, Stoltenberg said, “The Allies will also begin to discuss the new defense investment commitment. We will also consider the protection of critical infrastructure, particularly subsea infrastructure. “Because we saw that these subsea cables and pipelines are vulnerable, it is important that we further coordinate our efforts to protect critical infrastructure.”
“The balance sheet caused by the earthquakes in Turkey scared us all”
Stoltenberg also touched upon the earthquakes that took place in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, in which 31,643 people lost their lives so far. Stoltenberg said, “The balance sheet caused by the earthquakes in Turkey scared us all. NATO allies provide significant support to Turkey. We need to continue this support and be in solidarity, and we need to continue our support for Turkey,” he said.
