https://tube.home.franssen.xyz/videos/watch/26640c37-4989-4134-92ae-44424b6d57c0 Opening remarks by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the press conference following the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Defence Ministers session, 08 October 2015. 🗣 | NATO Secretary General: We have just taken steps to make NATO’s collective defence stronger. We have given the green light to the completed plan for our enhanced NATO Response Force, including its command and control arrangements. We now have everything in place to make the Response Force stronger, faster and more capable. This force will count up to 40,000 troops. That’s twice as many troops as the current level of troops in the NATO Response Force. And the ‘Spearhead Force’ will be able to start deploying in as little as 48 hours. This force will be able to go wherever it is needed to deter and defend against threats. We have already set up six force integration units in Eastern Europe. These small headquarters in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania will make it easier for our forces to deploy. Whether it is to conduct an exercise or to confront a threat. Today, we approved plans to establish two more NATO force integration units, in Hungary and in Slovakia. We have increased our presence in the eastern part of our Alliance. Allies are working on the required infrastructure to support prepositioning and storage of military equipment and supplies. This is essential to enhance our ability to reinforce allies in the East quickly and effectively, if needed. I welcome Germany’s decision and announcement to lead our Spearhead Force in 2019. This means that we will have lead nations for the Very High Readiness Force, or the Spearhead force, up to 2022. I also welcome the United Kingdom’s contribution, to provide more troops and to rotate to the Baltic countries and to Poland. Our work on countering hybrid warfare is on track and should be endorsed by Foreign Ministers in their meeting in December. All of this sends a clear message to all NATO citizens: NATO will defend you. NATO is on the ground. NATO is ready. This is not just about the east. We face threats from many directions, and in many different forms. Our military commanders have confirmed that we already have what we need to deploy the NATO Response Force to the South. We have the capabilities and infrastructure to sustain it there. In the coming months, we will also consider further needs along our southern borders. At the same time, our troops will be practising to increase their readiness. To make sure that they can work seamlessly together. Later this month, we will hold Exercise Trident Juncture - the biggest and most ambitious NATO exercise in more than a decade. This exercise will bring together more than 30,000 troops. From more than 30 nations. With forces by land, sea and air. Across Spain, Portugal and Italy. Exercise Trident Juncture shows that NATO can go wherever we are needed. Whenever we are needed. And to do whatever job we are needed for. That has always been our mission. And we will continue to live up to it. This morning, we also discussed the situation in Syria and in Afghanistan. We see an escalation of Russian military activity in Syria. And the ministers agreed that Russia’s military escalation in Syria raises serious concerns. I call on Russia to play a constructive role in the fight against ISIL. But Russian actions and the support to the regime are not helpful. The recent violations of Turkish airspace are unacceptable. NATO will continue to follow the developments closely. And we stand in strong solidarity with Turkey. A political solution to the crisis in Syria is more needed than ever. And NATO supports the efforts by the UN and others to try and find a political negotiated solution to the crisis. Ministers also discussed the latest developments in Afghanistan. We addressed the situation in Kunduz, including the tragic loss of lives in the Doctors Without Borders hospital. We underlined the importance of a full and thorough and transparent investigation. We need to have all the facts on the table. The security situation in Afghanistan remains challenging. Afghan security forces are leading security efforts across the country. And we continue to support them. We will further assess the security situation as we prepare to take decisions on the future of the Resolute Support Mission. Later this year, we will decide on the troop levels and where they will be based. This will be done on the basis of a detailed security assessment, which we expect in the coming weeks. And with that I’m ready to take your questions. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ SUBSCRIBE to this channel http://bit.ly/NATOsubscribe SUBSCRIBE to NATO News http://bit.ly/NATONewsSubscribe SUBSCRIBE to NATO History http://bit.ly/NATOHistorySubscribe Connect with NATO online: Visit the Official NATO Homepage: http://bit.ly/NATOhomepage Follow NATO on Instagram: http://bit.ly/NATOinstagram Find NATO on Flickr: http://bit.ly/NATOflickr Tue, 09 Jun 2026 08:21:30 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://tube.home.franssen.xyz https://tube.home.franssen.xyz/client/assets/images/icons/icon-1500x1500.png https://tube.home.franssen.xyz/videos/watch/26640c37-4989-4134-92ae-44424b6d57c0 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://tube.home.franssen.xyz/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.