The Prime Minister's statement at the joint press conference in Kyiv after the talks with Ukraine’s president

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Mr. President, dear Volodymyr,

Thank you for receiving me today. I thank you for your warm regards on my birthday. For me, it was actually a great way of celebrating my birthday to come to you – the day after your Independence Day – and to go deep into our discussions on how we can support Ukraine obtaining a fair and lasting peace.

We stand by Ukraine – from the first day. You are right to defend yourself against brutal military action. Russia is our neighbour too. And it has attacked another neighbouring country.

So, what you are doing out there with your brave troops, with your brave civilians is of course defending Ukraine, but you are also defending critical principles on the European level, which is of very great importance to all of us.

That's why we feel this responsibility to stay in touch closely with you, Mr. President, and your administration. We know each other well now. I think – you know – you can trust Norway. I know that Ukraine wants peace; seeking peace at the right conditions. But it has to be on the right conditions and the right format.

I applaud what you’ve achieved in your talks in the United States with the American President, alongside your European partners. We were well coordinated on the European side for that visit. And we have a very firm will to work closely with the US in the follow-up and be very closely coordinated among Europeans. So, I'm happy to do my part of that job by coming here.

Today, Mr. President, I have announced that Norway's high level of support to Ukraine in 2025 will be continued into 2026. So, that means – translated into currency you understand: approximately 8.5 billion US dollars, in 2026 – which I will propose to Parliament. Parliament has in the past unanimously supported our Nansen programme. And I'm confident that we will be able to maintain that at a high level. But this has been determined by my government's budget proposal.

Then, on security guarantees. There are discussions among your partners on the reliable security guarantees that can enter into force after there is a fair and lasting peace – so that Ukraine can avoid having another aggression coming at its people. Norway has been part of those discussions since the beginning. We will continue to be there. And my conviction is that the biggest and most significant security guarantee we can provide, is strengthening Ukraine's defence capacity in all dimensions.

And Norway has, since the beginning, been guided by the following principle: responding to Ukrainian needs; delivering material that can be made operational immediately.

We have worked on air defence. NASAMS is a Norwegian production. I'm very pleased that together with Germany we are now able to facilitate two Patriot systems that we will co-found. What you experience night after night of attacks by drones and missiles is completely unacceptable, and we will do what we can to help you defend yourself against it.

We are – together with the UK – working on the maritime dimension. You have important maritime interests along the Black Sea. We are making progress on that.

And we take your clear signal, Mr. President, about the drone dimension. So, we are part of the drone coalition.

We are now investing in Ukrainian industry. And we will use this visit also to take that investment forward, so that the most effective way of producing military equipment that can be, is what you do according to your needs.

On energy, you are right. Norway has experience in energy as an energy nation. And we want to see to it that you can face a winter where your people, men and women of Ukraine, can face the cold winter without fearing running out of critical energy. We have been co-funding gas provisions, gas stocking, and we do that with European partners. And we have taken some of your messages back from this meeting, and we will follow up on that.

Let me finally touch briefly on children, Mr. President. – Because war is, after all, the biggest disaster for people. We talk a lot about territories and what happens in military terms. But the suffering that you take from your civilians, that is the most daunting thing. And among them, of course, children. – So, if there are thousands of children born in Ukraine who have been abducted to Russia; this brings out the right dimension of what this is all about; helping people. And Norway, together with Canada, is working also with Qatar and other countries, to facilitate the return.

And let me just say that there has to be – also underlined – that there is an element of accountability in this. Norway supports a sustainable peace agreement. And that means that holding pressure on Russia with sufficient sanctions, not only from Europe, but also – I believe – increasingly from the US, is important.

And the accountability means that we need to work on a Special tribunal for the crime of aggression, that can make a difference in the follow-up.

So, in sum, this has been a useful round of talks. I look forward to the rest of the day to meet with your Prime Minister. – To see some of the areas where Norway is providing specific support.

I have messages to take back home to our allies from our exchange, Mr. President, and I always will be available to you.

Norway stands by Ukraine. Slava Ukraini.