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Good afternoon.  

It is good to be here. This is the first time we have the Coalition of the Willing in the format of defence ministers.

I think it is important that we have the different formats to really show the support and what more can we do.

On the European Union side, we are the biggest provider of training. We have the [EUMAM] training mission where we have already trained over 73,000 Ukrainian soldiers. We also have the civilian mission - the mission could also do more.

Then we are also the biggest supporter of Ukrainian defence industry. Of course, as a whole, Europe is the biggest provider also of military aid. And we are constantly pushing what more can we do. Because we see the situation is such, that Ukraine even, it has been now four weeks ago, when they were very clear that they agreed to the unconditional ceasefire and Russia still has not agreed to the ceasefire.

It is clear that Ukraine wants peace, but Russia so far does not. We need to do more on our side.  

Q&A

Q. It is the first meeting here at NATO HQ of the Coalition of the Willing. Does it mean that the NATO structures will also move closer to the Coalition of the Willing and that the reassurance force could potentially use NATO control systems, NATO intelligence systems as well?  

NATO has been involved in the discussions that we have in the Coalition of the Willing, and it is a spot where we have these discussions. I think everybody is thinking in terms of what more can we do in terms of the things that Ukraine really needs. That is also intelligence, that is also access to satellites, [and] that is also different capabilities.

Q. Could the EU contribute to a reassurance force or to some other elements that would be useful in terms of this planning? Could the training mission, for example, take place partly inside Ukraine?  

This is one of the topics that we are going to discuss today: bringing forward what more can the EU missions do? Should we expand the mandate? Should we include different things? Should we also discuss where this training is conducted? So far, we have managed to keep the mandate and really update the mission with the Ukrainian needs. So, they are constantly saying: “this works, this does not work, let us change this”. So, we are able to do that and, of course, also discuss. But when it comes to any reassurance force, then also we need to know what it is really about. Is it deterrence? Is it monitoring? Is it peacekeeping? Also, what is our goal? And that is very much related to whether we have peace or not. And so far, we do not have peace, what to keep.

Q. The US needs to support any long-term security, given that we are not even going to see the US Defence Secretary turn up to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group tomorrow, which they once chaired. Are you optimistic that the US will provide some kind of backstop if there was a ceasefire? 

We are constantly working with this. It is also in the interest of the United States that there is stability and peace in Europe, because what is happening in Ukraine and how this war ends also has an impact on other security theaters like Asia and the Pacific for example. So, it is also in the interest of the United States.  

Q. The French proposal for the reassurance force mentions troops between 10,000 and 25,000 soldiers. How many countries would need to provide actually to achieve that number?  

Of course, it is up to the Member States to provide concrete numbers, and we have these discussions. You know these discussions as well. Some Member States are willing to participate, some are not. These discussions are still ongoing. But I am coming back to the point where the question is, first, if there is peace, then what kind of troops or reassurance [do] we really need.  

Q. Could it also potentially be just a monitoring mission?

Potentially, it could be. The discussion is whether it is monitoring, it is a deterrence mission, it is a peacekeeping mission, it is a strengthening mission, or a defence mission. There are different options, and of course different countries that have different sensitivities also regarding this.

Q. Will it be possible at all to put a mission like that without the [inaudible] provided by the US?

We are not in that position yet. Of course, we have to map what we all can do. This is the position where we are. Like I said, we are trying to keep the United States on board.  

Thank you.

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