Ukraine is closer to NATO than ever before, alliance chief says in farewell talk

Outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged Member States to uphold the alliance’s founding values in a speech reflecting on his ten-year tenure on Thursday. 

“Since I took up my past as secretary general in 2014, the world around us has changed profoundly,” he said in his farewell speech. 

Speaking about Ukraine, he emphasised that the country is closer to NATO than ever before - saying the alliance's door was open and Ukraine would join.

“Today, President Putin believes he can achieve his goals on the battlefield. And he believes that he can wait us out. That is why he continues to wage his brutal war.

I do not believe that we can change Putin's mind. But I do believe that we can change his calculus.

By giving Ukraine more weapons, we can make Putin realise he cannot get what he wants by force and make it so costly that he will have to accept Ukraine has the sovereign democratic right to exist as a sovereign democratic nation.”

During Stoltenberg’s tenure, NATO strengthened its defences from having zero to tens of thousands of combat-ready NATO soldiers on its eastern flank. 

Stoltenberg will step down from his role as Secretary General at the end of this month after a decade at NATO’s helm. 

NATO will welcome former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte as its new Secretary General on October 1. 

The Dutch leader is the longest-serving prime minister in the Netherlands and has a track record of avoiding scandal during his time in office.