NATO latest

 

NATO Secretary General visits Bulgaria On Thursday 19 December 2024, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Bulgaria. NATO Secretary General met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ivan Kondov, and the Minister of Defence, Mr Atanas Zapryanov. He also addressed the troops of the NATO multinational battlegroup Bulgaria at the Novo Selo Range Army Base. Click here to download the joint press statements by NATO Secretary General, Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Bulgarian Minister of Defence, and here for the address to the troops by NATO Secretary General.

NATO Secretary General meets the President of Ukraine On Wednesday, 18 December 2024, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at his official residence in Brussels. Click here to download the joint remarks by NATO Secretary General and the President of Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General meets the Chair of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, met with the Chair of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željka Cvijanović, today (18 December 2024), at NATO Headquarters. He reiterated the Atlantic Alliance’s firm commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina and to regional stability, and NATO’s readiness to further strengthen cooperation. Click here to download the joint remarks by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the Chair of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željka Cvijanović.

NATO update

 

NATO Secretary General meets Prime Minister of Montenegro Milojko Spajić On Monday 16 December 2024, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte welcomed Prime Minister of Montenegro Milojko Spajić to NATO Headquarters. NATO Secretary General thanked the Prime Minister for his country's support to NATO’s military presence in Latvia and Bulgaria, its peacekeeping mission in Kosovo and training mission in Iraq. He also praised Montenegro’s commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defence this year. Click here to download the joint press conference by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Prime Minister of Montenegro Milojko Spajić. The webstory is available on the NATO website.

NATO NEWS

 

13 December 2024 Update

NATO Secretary General calls on Allies to increase defence spending: to prevent war, NATO must spend more In his first major speech as NATO Secretary General, Mr Mark Rutte highlighted the critical need to ramp up defence spending and defence production in an increasingly turbulent security environment. Speaking at an event hosted by Carnegie Europe in Brussels on 12 December 2024, Mr Rutte called on Allies to “shift to a wartime mindset and turbo charge our defence production and defence spending.” READ MORE

NATO update

NATO naval forces protecting critical underwater infrastructure Undersea infrastructure, including data cables, electricity connectors and pipelines, is vital for our societies. During exercise Freezing Winds, NATO Allies exercised off the coast of Finland to enhance the surveillance and protection of critical underwater infrastructure. Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) trained in using uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUV) to survey the seabed and identify simulated threats to CUI. Click here to download the b-roll. Footage includes shots of the Finnish Navy preparing for the deployment of dummy sea mines, the deployment of UUVs and soundbites from Commander Beata Krol, Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One, Commander Thomas Rasmussen, Standing NATO Maritime Group One and a Mine Warfare Officer from the Finnish Navy.

NATO Foreign Ministers chart way forward in addressing Russian sabotage NATO Foreign Ministers wrapped up two days of meetings in Brussels on Wednesday (December 4) addressing Russia’s escalating campaign of hostile actions in NATO countries. During the two-day meeting NATO Allies also met with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan to discuss the situation in the Middle East and the importance of NATO cooperating even more closely with its partners in the region. NATO Ministers also met with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and with Kaja Kallas, the new EU High Representative, in the NATO-Ukraine Council. They discussed Ukraine’s most urgent needs, as well as what more Allies can do to provide critical ammunition and air defences. Click here to download the press conference by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The transcript is available here. All video content from the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs is available here. The programme of the meeting, with links to photos and transcripts is available here.

ΝΑΤΟ news

 

NATO Secretary General praises Greece for its crucial role in supporting collective defence NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens on Tuesday (26 November 2024) to discuss security challenges, support to Ukraine, and Greece’s “crucial role” in supporting NATO’s collective defence. Mr Rutte welcomed the fact that Greece invests 3 percent of its GDP in defence saying it had “long made security a priority”. He also commended the country for its “highly skilled military and increasingly advanced capabilities” and its efforts to modernise them further. Click here to download the joint press statements by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The webstory is available on the NATO website.

29 November 2024 Update NATO-Ukraine Council meets following Russia’s launch of intermediate-range ballistic missile Ambassadors met in the NATO-Ukraine Council on 26 November 2024 to discuss the security situation in Ukraine following Russia’s launch of an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) last week. Senior Ukrainian military officials briefed the Council via video link. READ MORE

NATO latest

UK troops train Ukrainian soldiers in disabling landmines UK troops have been teaching Ukrainian soldiers how to disable landmines, munitions and other explosive devices. The HALO Trust, a non-governmental organisation that works to clear landmines left behind by conflicts, estimates that up to two million landmines may have been laid in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, claiming the lives of many Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel and civilians.  The explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) training is part of Operation Interflex, a UK-led operation to train Ukrainian Armed Forces since July 2022. Other NATO Allies and partner countries providing trainers for Operation Interflex include Australia, Canada,​ Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, ​the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, ​Romania​ and Sweden. Personnel from Kosovo security organisations also participate in Operation Interflex. Click here to download the b-roll. Footage includes shots of Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel being briefed by instructors before taking part in a practical exercise plus soundbites from a British Army trainer and Ukrainian trainees.

22 November 2024 Update NATO marks 1,000 days of Russia’s war against Ukraine On 19 November 2024, Secretary General Mark Rutte marked the 1,000th day of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine in a video message to the people of Ukraine. “This war must end. Our support for Ukraine will not,” he affirmed, adding that “there can be no peace in Europe without peace for Ukraine”.

NATO update

 

8 November 2024 Update Statement by the North Atlantic Council on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea and Ukraine associate themselves with this statement NATO Allies strongly condemn the decisions by the leaders of the Russian Federation and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to dangerously expand Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. READ MORE NATO Secretary General meets with European leaders in Hungary On 7 November 2024, Secretary General Mark Rutte participated in a meeting of the European Political Community in Budapest, Hungary. The meeting was an opportunity for European leaders to discuss a broad range of security challenges and the importance of working together to address them. Read more NATO Secretary General congratulates US President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance I congratulate Donald Trump on his election as President of the United States. I look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength through NATO. Read more