Kalniete: NATO Secretary General confirms - we are all part of the Eastern Flank!

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte answered questions from MEPs at a joint meeting of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs (AFET)and Security and Defence (SEDE) Committees on Monday, 13 January. In response to a question from Sandra Kalniete MEP on NATO security guarantees for the Eastern Flank countries, he made it clear that the collective defence of the Alliance is a non-negotiable value.

Sandra Kalniete, MEP, EPP Group: "At the joint meeting of the Committees, I asked the Secretary General of NATO: what do you see as the way forward to protect the Baltics and NATO's Eastern flank from possible Russian aggression? What will you do during your term as NATO Secretary General to achieve this goal?"

In his reply, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said: "First, I am pleased with the deployment of ground forces in the Eastern Flank region and the other initiatives we have so far to ensure the security of eight countries, including Finland. At the same time, let us not forget that we must constantly send a clear signal to the Russians: if you decide to attack us, it will not only be the Latvian armed forces that will confront you, but the entire NATO alliance, including our mighty navy, our mighty ground forces, our fighters. So do not even dare to come within one square kilometre of Latvia! And when you say that you are on the eastern flank, remember that there is The Hague, London and New York. Latvia is there geographically, but we are all on the eastern flank. We are all together. There are no first- or second-class citizens in NATO and the EU. It is very important to realise that our collective defence is really common and we are connected."

Video here.