Joint press conference

Well, good afternoon.

Prime Minister Støre, dear Jonas, welcome back to NATO. And it's always a pleasure to see you. We last met in March before I travelled to the Norwegian Arctic during exercise Cold Response. There, more than 30,000 personnel from 14 Allies - including 4,000 US troops - trained together in demanding conditions above the Arctic Circle, demonstrating Allies' ability to work together, through NATO, to defend every part of our territory. But exercises are only one example of Norway's important role in our Alliance and your longstanding commitment to NATO's collective defence.

Norway has highly capable armed forces, and Norwegian personnel serve in NATO activities across all domains. You contribute to NATO's Forward Land Forces in Lithuania - and I know you will be supporting Forward Land Forces Finland as well, which was established just a few days ago. Norwegian aircraft regularly support NATO's air policing missions across the Alliance, and have helped safeguard Polish airspace, protecting key supply lines to Ukraine.

The Arctic and the High North are of growing strategic importance to our security. Norway's expertise and leadership are essential to NATO's posture in the region. Norway's core defence spending rose to over 3% of GDP in 2025, up from just over 2% in the previous year, and this is truly impressive and exactly what we need to see across the Alliance. I welcome your commitment to continue increasing investment in the coming years.

Next week, in this building, NATO Defence Ministers will meet to finalise preparations for our upcoming Summit in Ankara. This includes reviewing progress on increasing investment in defence, meeting our ambitious capability targets, and ensuring that our plans and policies are continually adapted to support our deterrence and defence. In Ankara, Allies will also demonstrate how we are strengthening defence industrial production on both sides of the Atlantic, and building a stronger, fairer, and more capable NATO.

Of course, we cannot think about our own security without attention to Ukraine. And in Ankara we will showcase that our support continues, and that the responsibility for this support is more fairly shared by all Allies. Last week, I was with NATO Ambassadors for a historic NATO-Ukraine Council meeting in Kyiv. There, Allies sent a strong message of support to Ukraine, as Russia's senseless aggression continues. Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Norway has consistently been one of Ukraine's strongest supporters.

Norway was one of the first Allies to contribute to the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List - or PURL - helping deliver urgently needed US equipment to Ukraine. You are a leading contributor to this initiative, including your most recent additional contribution of over 300 million US dollars. I welcome the agreement between Norway and Ukraine to deepen defensive security cooperation, including support for the production of drones. This will help strengthen Ukraine's ability to defend itself and sustain its fight against Russian aggression.

Prime Minister Støre, dear Jonas. From the High North, to NATO's eastern flank, Norway makes the Alliance stronger. Thank you for your leadership, your support to Ukraine, and your unwavering commitment to our transatlantic Alliance.