NATO Secretary General’s joint press conference at the B9 and Nordic countries Summit, 02 JUN 2025

Joint press conference by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte with the Presidents of Lithuania, Poland and Romania, the Prime Minister of Denmark, and the President of Ukraine at the B9-Nordic Summit in Vilnius, 2 June 2025.

▶️ 00:49 President of Lithuania 🇱🇹 Gitanas Nausėda
▶️ 05:02 President of Poland 🇵🇱 Andrzej Duda
▶️ 10:05 President of Ukraine 🇺🇦 Volodymyr Zelenskyy
▶️ 14:30 President of Romania 🇷🇴 Nicușor Dan
▶️ 18:13 Prime Minister of Denmark 🇩🇰 Mette Frederiksen
▶️ 22:23 NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
▶️ 25:00 Q&A

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte participated in the B9 and Nordic Summit in Vilnius on Monday (2 June 2025), hosted by President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, at which Allied leaders were joined by President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. Discussions focused on preparing the NATO Summit in The Hague and strengthening support for Ukraine.

The Secretary General thanked President Nausėda for hosting the meeting and commended Lithuania’s leadership and commitment to NATO. “Lithuania is a staunch Ally, and continues to lead by example,” said Mr Rutte, highlighting Lithuania’s current investment of over 4% of GDP in defence and its plans to increase this to between 5-6% in 2026. “This sends an incredibly powerful message of commitment to our collective defence, and it also sets an example for our other Allies. On this stage, and in our meetings today, it is clear that the commitment to collective defence is strong,” he said.

During their meeting, leaders discussed how to further strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defence. “We are facing the most dangerous security environment in decades,” said Mr Rutte. “We are not at war – but we are not at peace either.” He stressed the need to pivot to warfighting readiness, including significantly more forces that are well-trained, well-equipped, fully supported and sustainable. Mr Rutte said he expects the Summit in The Hague to demonstrate Allies’ enduring commitment to collective defence – through increased defence investment and defence industrial production, and agreement on ambitious new capability targets. “We continue to count on the B9 and our Nordic Allies to play a key role in these important efforts,” he said.

Support for Ukraine will also be a priority for the Summit in The Hague. The Secretary General commended Ukraine’s efforts, and the role of Baltic and Nordic countries in providing persistent military and financial assistance. “A strong, sovereign Ukraine is essential for Euro-Atlantic security,” said Mr Rutte.

The B9 format brings together Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. This summit was held jointly with Nordic Allies Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. President Zelenskyy of Ukraine attended elements of the meeting.

🗣 | NATO Secretary General:

Thank you President Nausėda, dear Gitanas,
Thank you for hosting the B9-Nordic Summit here in Vilnius. It is a pleasure, always a pleasure, to be back here in Lithuania.
Lithuania is a staunch Ally, and continues to lead by example.
You invest more than 4% of GDP in defence this year, and I welcome your plans to spend between 5 and 6 per cent starting from next year.
I think this sends an incredibly powerful message of commitment to our collective defence, and it also sets an example for our other Allies.
On this stage, and in our meetings today, it is clear that the commitment to collective defence is strong.

We have had a productive day of meetings, as we continue to prepare for our Summit in The Hague.
We are facing the most dangerous security environment in decades.
Russia’s war of aggression continues. Terrorist threats persist.
We are not at war – but we are not at peace either.
So we must continue to strengthen our deterrence and defence.
And that means pivoting towards a full warfighting readiness.
Providing significantly more forces that are well-trained, well-equipped, and supported with logistics, sustainment and ammunition.
We continue to count on the B9 and our Nordic Allies to play a key role in these important efforts.

Transcript continues: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/na....tohq/opinions_235759

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