In his farewell after leading NATO for a decade, Jens Stoltenberg warned against “isolationism” among members of the military alliance, saying its 32 members must be "willing to pay the price for peace" in the face of an emboldened Russia.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
Speaking from NATO headquarters in Brussels on September 19, Stoltenberg highlighted the achievements since he assumed office in 2014, as well as ongoing challenges at a time when its relevance is "more important than ever."
“The good news is that we have delivered on the pledge we made 10 years ago [for individual members to spend 2 percent of GDP on defense], but the bad news is that this is no longer enough to keep us safe,” Stoltenberg said, suggesting that the spending target will not be enough to protect the alliance in the face of an increasingly assertive Russia.
"We have to be willing to pay the price for peace. The more money, the stronger our defenses, the more effective our deterrence, the greater our security," he said.
The 65-year-old Norwegian warned alliance members not to “trade short-term economic interests for long-term security needs,” saying that “protectionism against allies does not protect our security.”
Turning to Russia's war against Ukraine, which has become a contentious issue among some members who have questioned NATO’s strong support for Kyiv, Stoltenberg said that “Ukraine has to engage with Russia from a position of strength.”
Any future peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, he said, “must be backed by strong and sustained military support, not just pieces of paper.”
He also warned that “military power has its limits,” saying that “the purpose of any future military operation outside NATO territory must be clearly defined.”
“We need to be honest about what we can and cannot achieve,” he said of the grouping of two North American and 30 European states.
Addressing “voices” on both sides of the Atlantic calling for a parting of ways, he said that “investing in the transatlantic relationship is the only winning way forward” and that “isolationism will not keep anyone safe.”
Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway who will return to his homeland to become central bank chief, will hand the reins over to former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on October 1.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5
Exclusive: Ukrainians Use Captured Russian Artillery To Defend Donbas Town
In his last months in office, Stoltenberg has tried to unify NATO members, with member Hungary presenting obstacles to the alliance’s support for Ukraine and Prime Minister Viktor Orban saying it would not provide funds or military equipment to aid Kyiv.
Stoltenberg has also tried to calm nerves over suggestions that former U.S. President Donald Trump would attempt -- if reelected in November -- to withdraw Washington from NATO.
At the NATO summit in Washington in July, he stressed that it was in the interests of all members to remain united and downplayed Trump’s desire to leave, saying that his main concern during his first term was to get members to reach their defense-spending targets.
Stoltenberg has also said that NATO could have done more to prevent the war in Ukraine had its members provided military equipment to Kyiv before Russia’s all-out invasion in February 2022.
He lamented that NATO had not provided the weaponry that Kyiv requested because of fears that doing so would escalate tensions with Moscow.
During the July summit, he strongly backed Ukraine’s irreversible path to NATO membership, saying that its “future is in NATO.”
With Ukraine strongly lobbying its partners to permit its military to use donated weapons to strike deeper into Russia, Stoltenberg weighed in on the controversial subject by saying in an interview with The Times this weak that granting permission would not be a red line for Moscow.
The Kremlin on September 18 called the comments by the outgoing NATO secretary-general “dangerous."