JUST IN: Sec. Antony Blinken Announces F-16 Jets Are Being Sent To Ukraine From Denmark, Netherlands

well thank you so much Amanda and Marie Doha um warmest of welcomes to you secretary blinken and good morning NATO public forum you and I have an awesome responsibility here you and I are sort of like the pace car for this two-day race of the public form I'm counting on you Heather well I'm counting on you so I guess we have to say let's start our NATO engines and let's get going um and we have a lot of news to talk about uh a lot of the most pressing issues on the agenda but I just want to take a moment I want to take a moment and honor this historic moment so I looked back at those transcripts from 1949 and I discovered what the 51st Secretary of State said at the signing secretary Dean ainson he said for those who participated in the drafting of this treaty the Washington treaty must leave to others the Judgment of the significance and the value of that act so I just want to ask you very personally no talking points from one europeanist to another europeanist what does this moment mean to you very personally well first good morning everyone it's great to be with you today I don't think we've seen this kind of assemblage of we heard we heard the term use it Nat nerds you're all here we celebrate this we celebrate it and I I proudly count myself among you and have for more than 30 years now yes sir um the moment means a lot of things the moment means 75 years Yen stoltenberg said it yesterday this is now the longest enduring Alliance in history that in and of itself is remarkable but I think it's evidence that country after country Government after government representing now a billion people has seen the extraordinary value of this Alliance and I think it really boils down to this uh when you think about it because when when Dean aeson uh was here uh when our predecessors were here they were coming off two world wars and the absolute priority for them was trying to put in place the understandings the arrangements the structures to prevent another Global configuration and NATO was at the heart of that and what is at the heart of NATO this extraordinary commitment that an attack on one is an attack on all is the strongest possible deterrent to conflict the best possible way to avoid war because any would be aggressor contemplating an attack knows that if they take on one of us they have to take on all of us and what we've seen over 75 years is a defensive Alliance that's kept the peace for the citizens that it represents and that in turn enables something else because ultimately NATO is is not an end in itself uh the end in itself is is to make sure that citizens of the countries that bring uh that come together in NATO are able to lead their lives freely securely to try to make progress to try to hand down a better life to their children than one they had and it starts with the security if you have that everything else becomes possible absolutely thank you well one of the pressing priorities at this 75th year is of course Ukraine um last evening we heard President Biden make some announcements uh about a new air defense package in Ukraine so Mr secretary I I actually want to start with that news I hope you can help us unpack that and tell us a little bit more about the the Ukraine package that we can expect at the summit well you heard the President yesterday uh talk about the work that we've done and other allies have done to put together more air defense systems for Ukraine notably Patriots but also many other systems because we know that's the key to so many things it's a key to defend Ukraine's infrastructure it's a key to defending its people it's a key to defending its forces it's also key to making sure that we're unlocking the private sector and economic investment in Ukraine that will also be essential to Ukraine's success going forward but people need to make investments in Secure environments so these air defense systems we know have been job number one for Ukraine and as a result for the alliance that's supporting it but this is just part of a comprehensive package that we're putting in place that we've actually put in place since before day one to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself when it needs it and I'm also pleased to announce that as we speak the transfer of F-16 Jets is underway coming from Denmark coming from the Netherlands and those Jets those Jets will be flying in the skies of Ukraine this summer to make sure that Ukraine can continue to effectively defend itself against the Russian aggression so we also stand coming out of the summit we'll have uh announcements that there will be a new NATO Command right in V spoten that will be very focused building on the extraordinary work of the Ramstein defense contact group to sustain capabilities for Ukraine operations maintenance we'll have a NATO uh lezon officer that's right uh in Kei I mean this is a pretty robust package that you're talking about I want to you said something when you last were in keev on I believe May 14 and you said our strategy is that Ukraine must win is that package and this is robust but are the packages that that NATO is putting forward is it enough to fulfill that vision for Ukraine to win yeah I believe it is and let's let's talk about two things let's talk about what what winning means what success is for Ukraine and in my estimation at least success is a strong independent Ukraine increasingly integrated with your Atlantic institutions like the European Union like NATO and that is able to stand on its own feet militarily economically democratically and what we see is Ukraine on a trajectory to do just that militarily we have an incredibly robust package that will be unveiled over the next couple of days at NATO that builds a very clear strong robust well-lit bridge to Nato membership for Ukraine including his you mentioned the first time NATO's dedicated a command to helping an aspiring country join the alliance this in and of itself is extraordinary just a few weeks ago President Biden signed our bilateral security agreement with Ukraine uh at the last NATO Summit on on its margins President Biden brought together more than 30 countries to uh negotiate and now sign these bilateral security agreements what does that mean it means that for the next decade country after country has vowed to help Ukraine build its deterrent and defense capacity that sends the strongest possible message to Vladimir Putin that he can't Outlast Ukraine he can't Outlast Ukraine's Partners so the military trajectory is clear the economic trajectory is critical making sure that private sector investment is being driven into Ukraine uh our former Secretary of Commerce penny pritzer has been leading our efforts with so many other allies and partners we just had a very strong reconstruction conference in Germany uh but all of this is about making sure that investment is driven to Ukraine I'm convinced that Ukraine has tremendous capacity first to develop a strong defense industrial base for itself and for other countries but also because of the extraordinary innovation of Ukrainian entrepreneurs the Ukrainian economy to develop a strong robust economy of course the air defenses are critical to make sure as I said before that uh Investments that are being made physical Investments that are being made are protected and then finally Democratic uh deeping the fact that the EU opened a succession process with Ukraine the fact that NATO also requires as Ukraine moves irreversibly along the path to membership that it continue reforms that's the strongest guarantee that the reforms that the Ukrainian people so strongly support will continue and will deepen and that results in a Ukraine that is strong that is independent uh and that is the best possible rebuke to Vladimir Putin Mr secretary I'm so glad you talked about the well-lit bridge because I think an enormous amount of energy is being expended upon verbal gymnastics in some ways the irreversible path the well-lit bridge all of these terms but what you've been talking about the actions the robustness that speaks louder than that's the relationship with with NATO but why are we so caught up why can't there be greater Simplicity and clarity about this incredibly close relationship that Ukraine will join NATO I help me understand why we're using all of these very creative words well we have a lot of very talented people who have to spend a lot of time writing NATO declarations we want to make sure they're fully employed so that's the secret as someone who's uh done that myself in the past okay in in all seriousness by the way please um our colleagues are doing extraordinary work because look we have 32 allies this is a democratic Alliance an alliance of democratic countries different countries have slightly different views on some of these issues and part of our our our respons possibility is to proceed with consensus the greatest strength that we have um the most valuable currency we have as an alliance is our Unity but that Unity doesn't just happen it's the product of conversation it's the product of listening it's the product of talking it's the product of building that consensus and it gets reflected uh in these documents but you're Heather you're exactly right I think it's important to look at the words but it's even more important to look at the actions as I said a moment ago the first time NATO has had a dedicated command to help an aspiring country join the alliance and that has very practical components to it that will I think speed uh Ukraine's accession to the to the alliance and we talk about a bridge it's nice to have an image a metaphor um as my my colleague Jim O'Brien likes to say it's a bridge that's going to be strong well lit and with this uh command I think it'll be a short bridge too so uh I'm going to sminkle another uh historical quote and this was by uh President Truman the year following the signing of the Washington treaty at his inaugural address he said and I thought this is a good good definition not quite that word salad that we were talking about the main objective of the North Atlantic Treaty is to erase any possible doubt and uncertainty that may be lurking in the minds of Prof uh potential aggressors is that package enough to deter Vladimir Putin on Ukraine that's the question does that provide sufficient uh certainty well first President Truman had the remarkable gift of speaking clearly speaking directly and uh we'll try to live up to that example as best we can um but look the proof will be in the pudding uh I believe that uh I believe it it should uh but at the end of the day uh what is so important is delivering these practical results showing uh that Ukraine has the the capacity that its Partners have the capacity I mentioned a moment ago the fact that the f-16s are on their way the transfer is happening as we speak uh they'll be flying in the skies of Ukraine this summer that's another very important proof point because again uh it concentrates Vladimir Putin's mind on the fact that he will not Outlast Ukraine he will not Outlast us and if he persists the damage that will continue to be done to Russia and its interests will only deepen the the fastest way the quickest way to get to peace is through a strong Ukraine absolutely to sort of twist President Truman's words a bit I'm wondering if the aggressor is starting to put doubts in the mind of some NATO members and what I'm speaking about is these Brazen hybrid attacks we've seen a series of them in fact quite extraordinarily us bases across Europe had to go on high alert this last week I this is starting to to be of Greater concern what does NATO have to do to try to get to that problem because that is you know undermining NATO Unity uh it has to do and it is doing what it's always done which is to adapt when we came into office one of the most important things to do from the outset besides re-engaging the alliance re-energizing it and as necessary reimagining it was to put forward a new strategic concept the first one in a decade to take account for the fact that we're in a dramatically changed security environment with not only uh new actors posing challenges but also new means new methods that strategic concept reflects the fact that we have these hybrid threats since we put out the Strategic concept we've been working to turn it into real plans real programs that demonstrate that NATO is capable uh and effective in dealing with exactly these kind of challenges that's going to be carried forward at this Summit more to be said about that in the next couple of days but I can tell you from the the meetings that we've had to prepare for this Summit every Ally is acutely aware of this every alies is acutely focused on this the fact that we've seen attacks in recent months our attacks sabotage attacks attempted assassinations misinformation disinformation cyber uh threats this is not these are not one-offs this is part of a deliberate strategy by Russia uh to try to undermine our security and undermine the cohesion of the alliance it's not going to work because we see it and we're acting on it I think we need to start acting on it it this it's so concerning that these are increasing for sure let me turn a little bit um to the the broader elements of the summit and working with our indopacific partners the largest land war in Europe since the second world war is not simply a concern to the euro Atlantic Community um we now this week have Chinese military exercising with the Bellar Russian military we have reports of North Korean trainers coming into Russia this is now a global alignment of our adversaries from Russia to China Iran and North Korea can NATO play that bridge between the Indo Pacific and the Euro Atlantic this is the third Summit where our four indopacific Prime Ministers are here their commitment is getting stronger can NATO play that role yes and we are seeing it play exactly that role you mentioned this is the third Summit in a row that we've had indopacific Partners here uh at NATO Australia New Zealand Japan Korea and it's a reflection of the fact of exactly what you said that uh these challenges are linked that our our theaters of uh of work together are linked um and maybe this was crystallized by Ukraine uh when Prime Minister kashid of Japan said that what's happening in Europe today could be happening in East Asia tomorrow when Russia committed its aggression its renewed aggression against Ukraine and Japan stood up South Korea stood up Australia New Zealand this was a reflection of that recognition that these challenges are linked and when democracies stand together whether they're in Europe Asia or elsewhere we're going to be stronger more effective so as we're Gathering here in Washington with our indopacific partners what this means is we are breaking down the silos between Europe Asia and the United States and this has been a very deliberate objective of President Biden from day one uh not only building convergence with our allies stronger convergence when it comes to how to approach Russia and in a different way how to approach China but also breaking down uh the barriers the walls between European partners and asan partners and of course what's happened just in the last year year and a half has only reinforced the imperative Ukraine we see unfortunately uh China not providing weapons uh to Russia to pursue its aggression but being the major contributor to Russia's defense industrial base 70% of the machine tools that Russia's importing are coming from China 90% of the microelectronics that Russia is importing coming from China That's enabled it to sustain its aggression against Ukraine uh we've seen a massive uh buildup of it its Weaponry over the last year and a half tanks missiles Munitions that's the product of the defense industrial base being fueled by China as a result European allies understand the challenge posed by China to Europe's security uh and of course China can't have it both ways it can't be all at once or claim to be for peace and want to have better relations with Europe while at the same time fueling what is arguably the most significant threat to European security since the end of the Cold War we see in the Rel relationship between Russia and North Korea uh that's abundantly clear and in all of these areas uh as well as some of the hybrid threats that you alluded to before the connections are clearer and clearer the alliance is one place and maybe I would argue a central place where we can bring everyone together so that we're acting together so Mr secretary you're talking about strengthening This Global Alliance which the United States has built over the last 75 years you have some very vocal American National Security analysts saying there's one thing we have to focus on China everything else is a waste let our allies deal with everything else we have to focus on China what is your answer to that criticism or critique of what you're trying to build here well my answer is first of all of course we are focusing on China we're doing it uh in two ways one we're making the investments in ourselves at home to make sure that we're approaching China from a position of domestic strength when you look at everything that's happened over the last three and a half years with the incredible investments in our own infrastructure our roads our bridges our Communications through the infrastructure act when you look at our commitment to make sure that we maintain our leadership our world leadership on microelectronics and chips uh through the chips and science act when you look at the Investments that have been made in climate technology which is going to be a critical part of the 21st century economy that puts the United States in a position of strength European allies are doing exactly the same thing thing but the other aspect of this is not only as we've done re-energize our alliances and Partnerships starting with with Europe but also make sure that there is greater and greater convergence in our approach to some of the challenges posed by China I think if you look at what NATO has said in the Strategic concept if you look at what key Europeans have said what the European Union has said it is abundantly clear that we have more convergence now when it comes to how to approach China than we've ever had and that's a source of tremendous strength it means that instead of having one country having to deal with the challenges alone the United States representing maybe 20% of world GDP suddenly we've aligned 40 50 and with our Asian Partners 60% of world GDP that makes a huge difference uh and so precisely because these challenges are joined um dealing with some of the uh problems posed by China requires this work with alignment with conver con with Europe as well as with Asia I believe I I would say maybe using a little bit that Truman Simplicity the adversary has a vote and they are aligning we have not the luxury of of uh focusing on on what that's correct and this is I think it's a really important point this is not simply a reflection of our choices it's a reflection of the choices the policies that China has chosen to pursue uh and of course that Russia is pursuing in Ukraine right now and I think you're right it does pose for all NATO members a structural challenge of how do you work in those multiple theaters when you're dealing with their alignment versus how we are organizing our alliances Mr secretary I wanted to turn because you raised it and I'm I'm really glad you did talking about Alliance Unity we know that is the center of gravity we know how important that is and we also know that sacrifices sometimes have to be made to keep that Unity you hear mutterings of the least common denominator we're not getting exactly what we want because we have to ensure uh that Alliance Unity but I think over the last week we're crossing a threshold where accepting Unity we're sacrificing or jeopardizing NATO security you had one NATO member who has now visited Moscow and Beijing it's talked about Beijing as being a strategic partner um has op has received by NATO and the EU an opt out of support for Ukraine you had another member this week suggest that they would like to be welcomed into a security organization that is also uh it participated with Russia and China what is NATO's message has to be clear does it not I think this is getting to a point of straining Unity NATO's message is very clear it's very clear in what's happening here in Washington over these couple of days it's very clear in the entire trajectory of the alliance over the last three and a half years an alliance that's now 32 members strong with Finland and Sweden of course joining an alliance that is better budgeted and resourced than it's ever been uh when we started out nine members of The Alliance were meeting the 2% of GDP uh for defense uh threshold that was set at the whales Summit uh we're now at 23 NATO allies so uh NATO is speaking loudly and clearly with its actions as I mentioned before we have a strategic concept agreed among all the Allies that very well reflects the challenges and threats that we face today and will be facing uh tomorrow so I see NATO speaking not only with unity uh but Unity that's actually raising uh the floor raising the floor on what NATO partners are contributing raising the floor on an understanding of the threats that uh we Face raising the floor on our commitment to take action together to deal with those threats so far from a a race to the bottom just for the sake of consensus or Unity what I'm seeing is a race to the top by this Alliance again it's uh let's let's be very simple about it NATO is stronger than it's ever been it's bigger than it's ever been it's more fit for purpose than it's ever been I think Mr secretary it's not about necessarily the 2% and I think I'm I think we're going to be raising that bar don't you think it's going to be the new 2.5 maybe even the new 3% if we're heading into this uh this era of tremendous instability no but I'm saying even a a NATO member can spend 2% but still be working to undermine the security of the alliance itself so it's not just 2% how do we get back to again that core of the Washington treaty the Preamble we defend democracy we defend end a certain set of values when allies don't profess necessarily to uphold those values what's the answer I mean this is about us it's not about the adversary it's about who we are of course allies as we speak for the last two and a half years now have been defending those values defending our democracy that's at stake uh in Ukraine they know uh that it's not only about Ukraine it's not only about the Ukrainian people it's actually about the values that unite us and the basic principles that all of us have agreed on together with so many other countries around the world that were designed to try to keep the peace and protect against aggression and NATO countries are standing up day after day to defend those principles to defend those values now look communicating with uh adversaries uh with enemies that's fine uh Communications are important you want to make sure that at least you're not misunderstanding each other but of course what's communicated is really important as well I would hope that anyone for example uh going to Moscow now makes very clear to Vladimir Putin that NATO's not going anywhere Ukraine's not going anywhere the European Union is not going anywhere and that what we just saw the other day a horrific attack on a children's hospital is totally totally totally unacceptable and Russia will continue to be ostracized as long as it engages in those kinds of actions I would hope and expect that anyone going to Beijing makes clear what I said a moment ago that continuing to fuel Russia's defense Industrial base continuing to allow the greatest thre of European security since the end of Cold War to go forward is something that is unacceptable to Europe and that means unacceptable as a word actions follow that including as necessary sanctions including as necessary um not allowing relations that Beijing might seek to improve to actually improve so what we're focused on is what allies and partners are doing and I can tell you as an alliance what we're doing uh is evidencing greater strength and commitment to the principles the values that are at the heartest in lines that I've seen are you confident those messages are being sent I have uh I have confidence those messes are being sent right but again we uh we come together as 32 countries from the perspective of the United States it's so important that we listen to each other that we communicate clearly with each other and yes we develop consensus but what I'm seeing again is a consensus that is moving us up not holding us back so we've welcomed uh this is Sweden's first uh NATO Summit great to come in uh we've got this bolt of energy I feel it uh with Sweden Finland joining there's an energy in the Nordic Baltic quadrant of of NATO how has it been to welcome those new they're seeing what's behind the curtain how have you introduced your two new colleagues now into NATO tell us some good stories well of course Sweden and Finland have been NATO partners for a long time they've contributed tremendously to to the alliance to our common Endeavors for a long time but to have them at the table um is something I I think I suspect most people in this room three years ago I doubt anyone really would have imagined that if you would have read a lot of Think Tank reports 15 years ago you would have known this would have been the case that's okay I might have let it s I might have written one or two of those reports back in the day see um but in all seriousness you're right I think it has added um a jolt of of energy uh they're both remarkable Partners they bring so much to the alliance they change the Strategic equation in a very powerful way uh but it's also a reflection of new realities that the entire Alliance is facing um new aggression new forms of aggression a new determination to stand up together uh to uh to combat it but look we have a you know a little uh kept secret uh for the alliances there's a pretty strong Nordic and Scandinavian component to this Alliance as as as evidence by Yen Stenberg um President Biden gave him the medal of freedom last night um and that was a very powerful reflection of the extraordinary leadership that he's demonstrated over a decade a decade of incredible change for NATO but a decade that he's managed with Brilliance well he's really had a unique talent of communicating um with some of those allies that don't see eye to eye always with the consensus was incredibly important in resolving some the difficulties in the run up to uh welcoming Sweden and Finland uh any advice for his successor about how to manage the diplomacy of maintaining Alliance un well I know Mark Ruta I think many in this room knew as well I have tremendous confidence in his abilities to uh take the torch from Yen and to do what Yen did so brilliantly which was actually to listen to all of our partners to build that consensus to demonstrate through our actions that Unity really is our most valuable currency uh and to build it uh every single day but it again it doesn't just happen it's the product of being engaged every single day not pulling back not isolating ourselves actually leaning in leaning forward I know Mark is going to do that brilliantly um and I think the trajectory we're on with all of our member states is to continue to do exactly that so Mr secretary I'm going to end my last question is going to be a historical question but moving forward so as Dean ainon asked you know it is for others to judge and the 71st Secretary of State just rendered judgment on the 51st Secretary of State's judgment so let's look forward uh when NATO celebrates its 150th anniversary next 75 look forward to seeing you all there by the way exactly we'll be in our wheelchairs exactly um what judgment would you like your successor to render about what you have done here on the 75th Anniversary to keep a billion people safe will they know that we've done enough to advance the cause of Freedom the the proof will be in the tests that are in front of us and how we meet them but I hope that when we look back on this period in time um one of the conclusions that people will reach is that the United States was lean in we re-engaged our alliance we helped to re-energize our alliance we helped to reimagine our alliance so that even as we celebrate 75 years of the most successful defensive Alliance in history we were resolutely focused on the future and doing everything that we could in our time to make sure that that success for 75 years would continue and that the alliance would be adapted focused fit for purpose for our time and for the years ahead because because again I come back to what I started with Heather um this Alliance is a reflection of a commitment that leaders in all of our countries make to the people we represent a commitment we do that we do everything possible to keep them secure to prevent Wars to deter conflict so that they can move on with their lives in Freedom in security um and so if we manage as the result of the actions that we've taken over these last years and in this period to do that in the years ahead we will have succeeded we will know we will do enough if Ukraine wins that's right thank you Mr secretary this has been a great kickoff I hope we've started things off we've revved up our engines I know you've provided a lot of food for thought thank you so much I know you have to get back to start your summit but first will everyone please join me in warm Applause thank you secetary

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Length: 30min 54sec (1854 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 10 2024