Thank you so much, dear Nicușor! Thank you so much for the invitation!
Karol, friends,
Dear Presidents,
It is important that today we have this format that brings together Northern and Central Europe – the very part of Europe that is under direct Russian threat in every sense. This was clear even before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when Russia started demanding that NATO return to its 1997 borders. In other words, they demanded giving up all of you – all of us. It was a foolish and completely unacceptable Russian ultimatum, but they will definitely come back to it – if they get the chance.
So our shared task is to make sure the Russian leadership is never again able to make such ultimatums – try to dominate or destabilize its neighbors, or start wars without consequences. These are the basic elements of our common security – making sure Russia is stopped from waging war against all of us together and against each of us individually.
And we have already done a lot to contain Russia and to show it that war will never again bring victory or avoid devastating consequences for the aggressor itself. First of all, I want to thank all of you for your big support. Thank you so much! Thanks to you people, to your countries, to all of Europe, to the United States. We are very-very thankful for supporting Ukraine throughout these years of war. We in Ukraine truly feel it – your support and the way we all work together in defense and security, in energy cooperation, and in other economic and political areas. It’s vital to continue supporting Ukraine because this is the first and most important thing stopping Russia – our defense. So in this regard, we are counting on the European support package of 90 billion euros to start working no later than the beginning of June, with the first part of the funding going in particular to the production of critically needed drones.
And we need to open the first cluster and give a clear push to Ukraine’s EU membership. Everything is ready for the first cluster. And this political step would send the right, very right signal – about the strength of the EU and Russia’s political failure.
We must also make sure that July is not wasted for European security. Of course, it is difficult to say now what results the NATO summit in Türkiye will bring, given all the current difficulties and some not simple things in relations between the United States and Europe. But you are strong allies and we must do everything possible to make sure this summit sends positive signals to the whole Euro-Atlantic community. So July must prove that NATO is strong and is not going to fall apart, weaken, or fall behind.
At the same time, we should not be afraid to discuss more united and, in some areas, more self-reliant European military capabilities. Europe cannot depend on changing geopolitical moods. We need to unite and develop our resources, unite and develop our capabilities, and production in Europe as much as possible, so that we truly have a common defense policy and shared European defense capabilities that will strengthen both – all of us and alliances like NATO.
Recently, in Ukraine, we have taken very important steps to help our partners defend themselves against the biggest modern threats – drones and combined air attacks. Ukrainian security expertise is already working in the Gulf countries, helping in the Middle East and the South Caucasus – and it’s just the beginning, just the first steps. We’ve also started this work in Europe, though not yet with all European countries. And I proposed the Drone Deal for the EU – we discussed it with Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa. But of course, this must be developed both at the level of European institutions and at the level, of course, of countries. It has to be a multi-level system.
I believe all of us need bilateral Drone Deals – such deals that will help integrate every part of national defense so we can respond to modern threats, using Europe’s production capabilities and Ukrainian expertise – proven in real defense during a real war.
Right now, many may think that in modern warfare the main thing is simply to have the tools – interceptors, different types of drones, electronic warfare systems. But the reality of modern war is that military technology changes very quickly each day. It is not enough just to have the tools – you also need real expertise using them and the same speed of adaptation as the threat itself. Right now, only we have this experience, only our soldiers do. And that is why it is important not to waste time and money, but to build joint agreements and joint results. This should also be reflected in the SAFE program, to my mind, which gives Europe the opportunity to rearm now and adapt our European defense production to modern challenges. “Together” is the key word for Europe so that everyone is protected.
And several more points.
Of course, we’re not giving up on diplomatic efforts, and we hope that pressure on Russia, together with negotiations in different formats, will help bring peace. Sanctions are working, our long-range capabilities are working, and every form of your pressure is working. We are in constant contact with our American partners. We are thankful. And we expect the issue of ending Russia’s war against Ukraine to be raised now as well, while the President of the United States is in China.
But please do not forget that the most effective tools are those that can physically stop the Russians. This is especially true for the PURL program, which allows us, here and now – while Europe still lacks enough anti-ballistic missile production – to buy anti-ballistic missiles. Secretary, thank you so much for your leadership in this program. PURL is important, critically important.
And those who have the capability, please join our anti-ballistic coalition, which is now being formed. Yesterday, among other things, there was a meeting at the NSA level – a very good meeting, thanks to all partners.
And let us use these coming weeks to decide exactly how the Coalition of the Willing – which many of you are part of – will work, and what security guarantees can realistically be put in place with your participation, with the participation of all Europeans, and of the United States. This is very important to help move the situation toward peace.
And finally.
Some people try to present these as two opposite goals – improving people’s quality of life and lowering living costs on the one hand, and strengthening security and defense capabilities on the other. But we should remember that fuel prices, energy costs, and Europe’s competitiveness are targets for Russia just as much as our independence and the right of our peoples to choose their own future. Russia attacks Europeans’ wallets just as much as it attacks their rights. That is why the stronger we are, the more stability our people will have. We need more cooperation between all of us, and more joint results, of course, in defense.
Thank you so much.
