NATO Secretary General at Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) conference, 6 SEP 2021

so now it's my great privilege to uh introduce jens stoltenberg the secretary general of nato secretary general it's an honor to hear from you today this is the third consecutive weapons of mass destruction conference at which you are providing a keynote address it demonstrates the highly priority that this alliance as well as you personally according to arms control disarmament and nonproliferation as well as an essential component to our security with that may i pass the floor to you secretary general thank you so much irini and good afternoon to you all and many many thanks to minister kufut yepa for your remarks and uh to denmark to to denmark for organizing this year's nato conference on arms control disarmament and non-proliferation let me also thank denmark for your long-standing commitment to our alliance you provide high-end capabilities to our collected events you contribute to the nato forward presence in the baltic region and you play an important role in the high north denmark also leads our training mission in iraq and for 20 years you have made significant contributions and sacrifices in afghanistan we went into afghanistan to deny terrorists a safe haven from where they could conduct attacks against us and for 20 years no terrorist attacks against nato countries have been organized from afghanistan now we have ended our military presence there but the efforts of the danish and other nato soldiers were not in vain our task now is to preserve the gains in the fight against terrorism and remain vigilant we must also do our utmost to ensure that afghans at risk who wish to leave are given safe passage we will continue to prioritize this effort working with allies and partners the crisis in afghanistan does not change the fundamental need for europe and north america to continue to stand strong together in nato our unity is crucial to tackle the rising challenges in a more competitive world including to deal with arms control disarmament and non-proliferation and we are determined to continue to play our part at the nato summit in june lee disagreed to further strengthen our efforts in this field to preserve euro-atlantic security uphold and strengthen international rules-based order and help ensure strategic stability worldwide this is no easy task and we must be clear-eyed about the challenges before us russia continues to ignore and bend the rules it undermines key treaties russia is also modernizing its dual capable and nuclear capabilities including intercontinental ballistic missiles its hypersonic glide vehicle is now operational and it has tested a new air-launched ballistic missile and a nuclear-powered cruise missile meanwhile china's nuclear arsenal is rapidly expanding with more warheads and more sophisticated delivery systems moreover china is building a large number of missile silos which can significantly increase its nuclear capability all of this is happening without any limitation or constraints and with a complete lack of transparency there are also other players fielding nuclear weapons and advanced missile systems north korea and iran for example are blatantly ignoring or breaking the global rules and spreading dangerous technology so the world is rapidly becoming more unpredictable more competitive and more dangerous nato is adapting to this changing world at the brussels summit last june we agreed nato 2030 a transatlantic agenda for our future security this means using nato even more as a unique platform for dialogue and on arms control disarmament and non-reflection bring allies and other countries together to advance these critical issues i see three goals that require us to continue to work closely first we must preserve the npt this treaty remains the cornerstone of global nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament architecture nato allies remains strongly committed to its full implementation and to a meaningful outcome at the upcoming 10th review conference this will be a major opportunity for the international community to strengthen the npt we must all seize this opportunity nato's aim is a world free of nuclear weapons and we are ready to take further steps to create the conditions for nuclear disarmament negotiations but any meaningful disarmament must be balanced and verifiable the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons does not fill any of these requirements a world where nato allies have given up their nuclear deterrent while russia china or countries like north korea retain their nuclear weapons is simply not a safer world second we must strengthen and modernize arms control at nato we welcome and fully support the agreement between the united states and russia to extend new start for five years this treaty limits the number of strategic nuclear weapons for both countries and contributes to everyone's stability at the same time we need to include more systems in future arms control for instance to cover non-strategic weapons we should also address the impact on arms control of emerging and disruptive technologies such as autonomous platforms and artificial intelligence they can all be weaponized so we need to consider how to develop new rules and standards for these technologies and we also need to include more countries in future arms control in particular china as a global power china has global responsibilities in arms control and beijing too would benefit from mutual limits on numbers increased transparency and more predictability these are the foundations for international stability third we need to continue to respond together when treaties are violated russia's repeated violation led to the the mice of the inf treaty moscow's continued development of new missiles poses challenges to our security we must remain ready to address them this is why nato allies agreed a balanced coordinated and defensive package of measures in response to russian missile threat and we will continue to respond in a measured and responsible way at the same time we keep the door open for a meaningful dialogue with moscow to hopefully lay the groundwork for renewed progress on arms control ladies and gentlemen nato has a long track record in arms control and we are determined to continue to play our part i expect this to be reflected in nato's next strategic concept next to our founding washington treaty this is the most important guiding document for our alliance and we will develop it in time for the nato summit in madrid next year we have seen in the past that arms control works it is our collective responsibility to ensure it also works in the future disarmament can progress proliferation can stop but it will take patience and political will working together we can shape the national security environment for the better i count on your continued engagement and you can count on nato's commitment to security and stability thank you very much and i wish you a very good conference thank you very much secretary general for your remarks um i can't think of a better way to frame our discussion at this conference then to lay out nato's ambition in the arms control the way you have just done with three very clear goals you've laid out your commitment to arms control reflects that of the whole of the alliance and the importance of keeping arms control at the heart of our security as we move forward with the nato 2030 agenda ladies and gentlemen now we have an opportunity for questions from those joining us in person and maybe those also joining us the few colleagues for joining us online and we have explained a little bit the system of how we can ask questions so i will now like to open the floor for questions may i is there are there any questions coming ambassador would you like to take the floor okay sorry no somebody has to break the ice i suppose so let me perhaps um first of all thank the secretary general for his opening you must proceed minister for your remarks earlier today and also now this afternoon and you know that we're going to embark in nato now in the next as the section has set in the next year more or less on a major exercise which is the update or the next if you wish strategic concept of nato which is going to set up the political basis for nato as how we see the world in the next i hate to say 10 years because it's not 10 years but at least for some years to come so and in today's world it's fair to say that the challenges on the adn side are very they say or very much present with us we have seen some of them this morning um the main focus of nato since 2014 has due to the events that we know has been played on deterrence and defense how to beef up nato's one of nato's in particular core tasks but we're wondering uh as to how both of you perhaps you minister but also the secretary see the relation between the agenda which was in a way forced upon us by the events since 2014 and which actually have not not decreased since and the continuing need for having a robust um engagement of nato and allies in particular some of us are very much engaged in that on the adn side how to in a way merge or marry if you wish those two concepts of returns and defense with indeed the other one which is adm for us that doesn't mean there is any sort of contradiction but perhaps uh it is a complicated matter for some of us it might be more problematic than for others so i i don't know how you from your vantage point is danish for me how you see that and perhaps section if he wishes to add what it would also be good to hear thank you well um thank you for for that question comment of course um you alluded to 2014 and and the events there we of course we we need to continue to have deterrence and defense and especially against the aggression obviously from russia but i think at the same time the other track we hear you know with arms control and how important it is to overall security but also i would say to serve as a frame to for confident confidence building for transparency for um avoiding unintended consequences unintended episodes to happen i think it's really important and therefore i was very encouraged i have to say uh my government was encouraged by the um by the talks that president biden and putin had that you know led to a strategic dialogue i think that's very important and i think for us we're a small country but for us we are very much uh rely we rely on on on on a whole structure of of agreements that can ensure of course uh weapons control control of of proliferation and armament but also transparency uh confidence building all of that so i think we could do both things well knowing that that some of our adversaries are having a a very uh brutal way of acting at the moment so i think we but i think we're on the right track but for so far it's good to take this discussion and and in the world uh secretary also alluded to it where there are more weapons more sophisticated weapons new technology more actors that are possessing this technology we see china on the rise we see the new weapon systems developed by russia uh we see risk of proliferation i think it's really really important for our overall security that we that we come back to a track where we can have agreements and and and and and structures that can take care of this so that is our idea i very much agree we should and i thank you to jens for mentioning that that we should work hard on the next strategic concept of nato to ensure that this has a very important role for our security thank you secretary general first of all i'd like to say that the question erased by ambassador ayman is extremely important and actually a pinpoints or addresses uh the core issue related to arms control uh disarmament and non-proliferation because it is about how can we reconcile arms control with deterrence and defense and the only way to do that is to recognize that arms control is in our own national security interest sometimes when you read the uh um the articles or or follow the media you get the impression that arms control is something we do to be kind or nice uh no it's not about that it is it is because it is in our interest to be part of a verifiable balanced arms control non-proliferation and disarmament agreements because we are safer with them than without them and therefore we can also deliver a credible deterrence on defense with lower number of uh for instance nuclear weapons uh uh than if we didn't have this kind of agreements in place in one way this is obvious but i think it's important to remind us all about that because uh that strength the motivation uh in all capitals to really engage in these issues because this is about increasing our security through uh arms control uh uh disarmament and on uh proliferation um second um so that's that's kind of the the fundamental message the second message is that this is not only kind of a theoretical concept it has actually worked we have to remember that during the the coldest period the cold war at least during the 1960s and the 70s and 80s the soviet union and russia and the soviet union and united states were able to engage in constructive talks and actually make agreements on arms control so so so this is not only a theoretical concept uh during the cold war we were able the world was able uh to reach agreement on uh important treaties uh reducing the number of nuclear weapons uh the npt and so on um and if they were and and and since this was possible to do during the cold war of course it should be possible to do today and that also makes the agreement between russia and the united states to extend the new start agreement so important because as yep just alluded to the agreement to extend the new start came after a series of negative events decisions that have taken place over several years we saw the demise not least of the inf treaty but also uh uh the many other uh treaties and agreements were actually undermined or or weakened and then we were all afraid at the last really big arms control agreement then new start uh was um at risk and and uh and jeopardized and and there was a risk that was going to uh to also uh uh that we're going on going to see the the end of the new start so the fact that um the russia and and the united states were able to agree on the extension was important in itself but it was also extremely important because it sent a signal that despite the deteriorating overall relationship between nato russia the united states and russia all the problems we see in in in in ukraine in in other places where we see the consequence of russia's aggressive behavior actually we are still able uh to sit down and have meaningful dialogue with russia on such an important issue as the extension of the new start so so um yeah it is possible we have proven before uh to to reconcile the terence defense and uh and the arms control and that is simply because it is in our but also in russia's or china's or any other country's interest to have verifiable nuclear disarmament and arms control thank you very much secretary general thank you very much minister and also for the point you raised about the the fact that it's we should stop portraying arms control for the good and deterrence and defenses for the bad i think that was a point that we heard also this morning uh they have a next question from mr john michael stardoll and um i have a question to to both of you to your points about technology do you foresee that we are moving in direction of a new technological quote cold war with the west and on one side and china and russia on the other side and that we have to look back to a new version of the kokom rules limiting the export of technology and especially critical technologies to countries outside what can i say the sphere of like-minded nations to nato and if this is necessary to preserve our technological edge that we have relied on for almost 70 years thank you secretary general would you like to start i think it's extremely important to be aware of the technological dimension related to arms control uh and on the development of many in new weapon systems and as i also mentioned in one way or another we need to to address the consequences of new disruptive technologies artificial intelligence facial recognition autonomous systems and especially when they are merged together in new weapon systems the consequences they have for uh for arms control but of course also for our overall security um um at the nato summit and as part of the the nato 2030 agenda we actually made technology a very important task because we as as was also referred to in the question our technological edge has always helped to keep us safe and nato allies and nato evolved has always had that technology technological edge and this uh edge is now challenged uh not least by the fact that that that china is investing so heavily in new technologies that also can be weaponized used in new uh different weapon systems and we have seen for instance the new hypersonic glide vehicle system of russia as an example also how new technologies are are are used um so so first of all we need to make sure that we maintain our technological edge that we invest together develop together as nato allies technologies and that's exactly what we do also with the initiative agreed at the nato summit to develop a new mechanism to promote support uh technological development among nato allied countries we call it diana it's a it's a transatlantic institution that should help to further strengthen what we do together uh on technology but we also need to address resilience our societies and we had a very important discussion i think uh on uh 5g and we have seen there were differences between nato allies but we have seen a significant convergence of you uh on the importance of actually understanding uh the importance of resilience when it comes to uh critical infrastructure in in including technology and then the question of uh that we need to at least prevent or avoid ending up in the situation where we invest heavily in new advanced technologies and then just uh what should i say uh uh make them easily available for other countries which are using these technologies to develop weapon systems which are a threat to us i i i don't suggest that we should re-establish cocom but of course there were reasons to have uh that discussion during the cold war and have the uh um that tool uh as a way to prevent the free flow of technologies from from from the west to the soviet union and we need to be aware of the same challenges now and i think that nato is a perfect platform for addressing these issues because we are the only place where north america and europe meet every day of course there are important discussions within on resilience technology within the european union within uh different nato allied countries but nato is the framework the the big foundational platform where all these countries in north america and europe can come together and try to develop some kind of common understanding on technology policies on technology but also on how to make sure that we actually keep the technological edge and that means also not sharing everything uh with other countries without also assessing the consequences for uh the development of new novel uh weapon systems minister well i just briefly to to add what dean's already has uh stated very clearly i mean first of all the on the last part of the resilience of our society due to new technologies and and and how they can be used um to compromise our security i think it's very important i mean it's a collective responsibility i mean eating eating our countries are now of course adapting also legislation also in denmark that protect ourselves against against taking over of essential technology in society for example in the in the chile market if that can compromise our security but i think we're not safe in that area before we all are living up to the standards that we see is needed so we have a collective responsibility to to help and assist other countries to to come there in the nato alliance very importantly also in the eu for that matter um on on the first question just to say that instead i mean technological edge is is the fundament for also deterring other to challenge our nato alliance so so not only is important to maintain a technological edge to our adversaries but also to prevent them from go in a direction where they start to think that they can challenge our our lines so therefore it's something that denmark also put a lot of support into that we should keep that in the world that we are in and very concerned about the different technologies both by russia and others china and others what that can mean for for our ability to deter others to to go in that direction so so it's a very very important point raised so i think we should continue that further thanks thank you very much for bringing the point of emerging disruptive technologies also in the discussion are there any questions from the floor secretary general may i ask one question and that's related i see no further questions from the floor but what role or what role do you foresee for arms control in the nato 2030 agenda you just mentioned the the role of emerging disruptive technologies but what role do you see in the in the very important agenda that you set forth in the heads of state and government a few months ago so fundamentally uh nato 2030 is about adapting nato and to strengthen the uh the transatlantic bond to go to make sure that europe and north america continues to stand strong together in nato and to to to do that we need nato to continue to adapt nato is the most successful alliance in history because we have been able to change uh uh when the world is changing um and therefore arms control of course is part of that picture uh because arms control is so critical to our security uh to our uh to our ability to prevent proliferation of of weapons of mass destruction uh we have seen some serious setbacks over the last years but at the same time we just have to uh to mobilize even more political uh will even more um uh efforts uh to make sure that we see progress and that is very much in line with the messages and the thinking in nato 2030 not least because we also need europe and north america to to work on these issues together many of the arms control agreements uh inf new start um and also of course the the strategic dialogue between russia and the united states are actually taking place between russia and united states but the matters for all of us they matter the matter for for for all european allies and of course also for canada and therefore nato plays a key role and we are looking for how to strengthen that key role uh uh as a as a political alliance uh to to coordinate to consult on all issues related to arms control um for instance at the nato summit i welcome very much that president biden spent some time with nato leaders nato allies um to discuss arms control issues and also before he met president putin a few days after uh and and and we had the agreement on extending new start now when we have so based on that window uh five years extension uh we then have the strategic dialogue and of course the importance of addressing also non-strategic weapons intermediate short-range weapon systems and so on noble missile systems then again nato proves to be an extremely important tool to bring allies together uh and to enter and to continue uh the work uh and uh and based on the fact that nato has been on the forefront of these negotiations for years back in the 70s and 80s when we agreed the inf every time they went to the meetings with the soviet union they stopped in brussels the united states consulted the allies negotiated with the soviet union came back consulted with allies and and and so on so maybe we should not do exactly the same but the thinking of using nato as the platform is uh is actually one of the main messages in nato 2013 to strengthen political consultations to strengthen the political dimension of nato also when it comes to arms control if we can just add one more thing on technology is that i don't think that we fully have realized how much these new disruptive technologies are changing the nature warfare and living in belgium i've i've learned a lot about the first world war and how the world underestimated the consequences of the industrial revolution or uh on on warfare um uh uh and i just must avoid doing the same mistake that that that that even if we in theory knows that uh all these new technologies would totally change how wars are fought and how weapons are uh are working that we realize those dangers before we end up in a situation where we really get this um tested for for real and then of of course also some serious challenges for arms control because as long as we arms control was very much about counting warheads i think it was as i said relatively easy uh to agree but now when we need to uh to in a way deal with algorithms uh artificial intelligence total different systems we haven't really developed the the the the tools the the parameters to decide what is verifiable and balanced arms control in cyberspace and with all these new disruptive technologies i'm absolutely certain it's possible but we need then the experts we need we need the political will we need this combination of uh really experts on these different technologies combined with the political leadership and to sit down and and and to find a way forward as we did back in the 50s and the 60s when he started the real work on nuclear arms control um and and at the end by saying that in in this field i think denmark and uh and also yep they are really a strong voice on all the issues related to arms control and and the need to reconcile the need for deterrence and defense and effective arms control and therefore i also like to thank yep once again for his leadership on all these issues thank you very much uh secretary general minister uh yepukofud for your answers to the questions raised in this forum today you have now posed a number of interesting ideas to us to launch our discussions um we're very grateful for hosting us here today secretary general we are very grateful for giving us your time again to raise your ideas and share with us your thoughts on this important agenda we're really grateful ladies and gentlemen this will conclude the public portion of this year's weapons of mass destruction conference and we will take a few minutes to close the public side thank you very much thank you secretary general bye

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Keywords: NATO, Press, Press Conference, News, NATO News, Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, Breaking News, World Affairs, Politics, Geopolitics, International Relations, conference, speech, presser, weapons of mass destruction, arms control and disarmament, arms control, stoltenberg speech on arms control and disarmament, disarmament, proliferation, nuclear arms control

Id: 2wMfDqxw5F8

Length: 35min 13sec (2113 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 06 2021