As delivered

Mr. President, dear Alex, I agree with your words of summing up our talks. Let me just pay attention to what we have done today. Being in Helsinki, we’ve had the opportunity to focus also on the situation awareness around this inner part of the Baltic Sea, because it is ‘a big geography’ in the JEF; ranging from the High North and the Arctic, through the geography of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland geography, and then into the Baltic Sea.

And part of this partnership is JEF, as you said, Alex, correctly, which is kind of between what we do as nation states and what we do in NATO, ‘the big NATO’ I mean, where we now have this regional layer in the middle. And – in order to be effective here, we need to know about each other's environments and concerns and opportunities.

So today, being with your Coast Guard, seeing their professional approach to managing the very intense traffic area in the Baltic, that has been very useful. Finnish professionalism – an updated situation awareness – which I think has gained a lot. So that's my one add-on to the others’ comments. I think the meeting was very useful.

And then I'd just like to reiterate what both of my colleagues said; that we need to stay focused on Ukraine. They are under attack. They are resisting well. In many ways, as we say when we visit Ukraine, they are at a better place now than a year ago because they have been able to resist. They have been able to stand at the front line. But they are under constant attack. And I think the countries around us here, especially the Nordic-Baltic, are Ukraine's best friends. And, also with the Netherlands and the UK, we agreed to stand up for that, to help procure what they need, in terms of defending themselves and also politically towards a fair and just peace.

JEF and NATO

I was hosting the JEF Summit last May, 2025. I’d again like to thank President Stub for convening us here. This is our neighborhood. The JEF has developed over the years to be a very important way for the Northern European and the Baltics to come together and share analysis on our deep cooperation on security.

And by moving around in the region, we are also exposed to realities which are different – according to our geographies. So, when we were meeting in Norway last time, we were able to talk about the Arctic, the maritime challenges in the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea and the Arctic Sea. And now we've been exposed to the challenges here in the Baltic Sea, and all that is very useful.

I believe JEF is not an alternative to NATO. It's basically just how Northern European countries come together to deepen their cooperation inside NATO. And if we look at the bigger picture, it is Europe's responsibility to strengthen the European pilar of NATO. This is not due to the current American administration. In fact, it is a historic responsibility that we need to take. And that's why what I call neighborhood security is so important. And that's why JEF is important for Norway, and I'm very happy to be here. 

Ukraine

We know that the G7 foreign ministers will meet today. Ukraine will be on their agenda. I made it clear to Secretary Rubio (telephone call) that the Ukraine war is a drama for Ukraine, with refugees and destructions and daily attacks on their civil infrastructure. And that our support for Ukraine is very steadfast. We are now the number one country in supporting them, financially. And this is so because we support Ukraine and their right to defend themselves.

And this has implications for European security. We cannot sit still and see that military means are used to change geography and change borders. And we made it very clear to the Americans that we encourage them to play their role. I think there is no progress now in the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia – with the American role. But don't give up on that. We have to keep the focus.

But at the same time, I believe we need to increase the pressure on Russia, which is the aggressor. And this conflict, if you go back to February 22, has been an escalation. I think at some stage, there also need to be a diplomatic process that can give a fair and lasting peace to Ukraine. 

We need to support Ukraine's right to defend itself. That's why we have been providing from our stocks of basic military equipment to defend themselves. That has basically given out now, you know, we have not much more in our stocks. But we support their own ability to produce what they need for air defense, for drones. And we have now, I think, all Nordic and Baltic countries established a mutual relationship with Ukraine. What they learn at the front is important for us.

I visited earlier this week, in the middle of Norway, in Trondheim, where we have a training site for Ukrainian troops. We have trained 11,000 troops. And when they come to Norway, they also bring a lot of expertise and experience that we need. So that's the first point.

Then, we have to step up the pressure. I believe, you know, we've had eighteen packages of sanctions from the European Union now, which Norway supports. I want to see us live side-by-side with Russia in peace. I want to see that we have tranquility and security. But, under these circumstances, I believe that pressure has to be built up. We are not an aggressive alliance. We are doing this to preserve and protect our peace.

And again, as I say, the maritime transport here in the Baltic Sea, the role that Finland is playing to keep order and secure the ships that are sailing in the shadow fleet, is something we monitor and track very, very precisely. I think that is an important way of, I think, coming closer to a negotiated solution.

Now, it is basically Europe that is supporting Ukraine, in funding. Norway is in a position where we see we have responsibility and the financial ability to support. So, we do that. But – I think we have to talk to all our European partners and say that this is really a European matter. We need to explain again that the fate and the outcome of this war will have implications for all of us. So, we have to work on that, and we also have to work on the American administration, so that they are forthcoming. – Thank you very much.