NATO chief calls on members ‘to step up’
Canada is playing a “leading role” in NATO’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the head of the alliance said Wednesday, while urging all allies to step up, including by increasing defence spending.
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also reiterated that a cyberattack against a NATO member could trigger the requirement that all NATO members retaliate.
Stoltenberg was virtually addressing the Ottawa Defence Conference in a session dominated by the war in Ukraine and as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues his tour of Europe to meet with allies.
Trudeau announced Tuesday in Latvia that Canada will extend indefinitely its contribution of troops as part of NATO’s deterrence mission in central and eastern Europe.
Stoltenberg said he also welcomed Trudeau’s suggestion this week that the government would look at increasing defence spending. Canada currently spends about 1.4 per cent of GDP on defence, below the two per cent NATO members pledged to spend by 2024.
“So Canada is contributing in many ways and I welcome the announcements of further support and the Canadian contributions,” Stoltenberg said, in conversation with former Canadian ambassador to NATO Kerry Buck. “But then of course I would like to see all allies to do even more, and therefore I call on all allies to step up.”
It is a “dark time” for collective security, Stoltenberg said, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent rhetoric on nuclear weapons “reckless and dangerous.”
“Russia has shattered peace in Europe,” he said. “President Putin has instigated a brutal war against a peaceful, sovereign Ukraine, simply because it dares to choose its own path, the path of democracy and freedom.”
The invasion has meant that NATO must do a “serious assessment” of its long-term posture and presence in Eastern Europe, “and also how we can strengthen our ability to reinforce quickly,” Stoltenberg said.
It will be a topic for discussion at a NATO defence ministers’ meeting next week, though Stoltenberg doesn’t expect any decisions until the NATO summit in June.
He said Canada has been playing a “leading role” in NATO’s response, by training members of the Ukrainian armed forces over the years and sending military equipment and millions of dollars in loans to the country.
Stoltenberg doubled down on the alliance’s decision not to impose a no-fly zone over non-NATO member Ukraine, despite the worsening crisis. He pointed out it would require direct confrontation from NATO allies “massively attacking” Russian air defence systems.