Press statements NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Annalena Baerbock | Dec. 9, 2021 |

Minister Baerbock, dear Annalena,


Welcome to NATO. It is great to see you again. 
It is great to have you here on the second day of your office as the new foreign minister of Germany.  Congratulations so much on your appointment.

I really look forward to working with you. Germany is a highly valued and very important Ally. Your visit today, just one day after taking office, is a clear sign of Germany's leading role in transatlantic security. 

I strongly welcome the clear commitment of the new government to NATO as the indispensable foundation of Germany's security. NATO needs a strong Germany, both politically and militarily. And your contributions really makes a difference for the Alliance and it helps to keep peace in Europe. 

Including German contributions to air and maritime deployments.

Your leadership of NATO's multinational battlegroup in Lithuania.

And your support for our peace-keeping mission in Kosovo.

Germany is also a strong voice advancing NATO's arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation agenda. 



Germany's contributions to our shared security matters even more now, as we face increasingly complex challenges. Including Russia's military build-up in and around Ukraine.

I welcome Germany's long-standing work in the Normandy format, to promote a peaceful solution to the conflict. 

And I welcome President Biden's engagement with President Putin earlier this week. 

Any future Russian aggression against Ukraine will be met with a strong response. And will have serious political and economic consequences for Russia.

In December Ukraine was in talks with Russia to extend the 2019 gas transit-deal into a long-term contract with Gazprom for the transit of gas destined for Europe.

The Russian security proposals were set aside as a non-starter. Remarkable for the European Union not to react to Russian proposals except by referring to the answer given by NATO Jens Stoltenberg.

Biden and Putin exchange warnings during phone call amid rising Ukraine tensions | The Guardian - Dec. 30, 2021 |

'Sapere aude'