(19 Feb 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
AGENCY POOL
Kirkenes, Norway – 19 February 2025
1. SOUNDBITE (English) John Healey, U.K. Defense Secretary:
(Reacting to U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments about Ukraine starting the war)
"Three years ago, one country illegally invaded another. And since then the Ukrainians have been fighting for their freedom, they’ve been fighting for their future and they still are. So whilst all the focus may be on talks, not even negotiations, our concern as defense ministers is that we’re not jeopardizing the peace by forgetting about the war. And our job as defense ministers is to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position going into any talks. And that means continuing to step up the military aid that we in Europe – alongside we argue to the states – needs to be maintained. Because the maximum pressure on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is going to mean the maximum chance that he will negotiate seriously."
++BLACK FRAMES++
2. SOUNDBITE (English) John Healey, U.K. Defense Secretary:
"This is NATO’s front line. It’s Norway’s border with Russia, but what you and we have done as nations over the decades is to stand together defending NATO’s northern flank. And at this time when our partnership is growing closer and deeper with everyday. This visit, this region reminds us that Russia is a threat well beyond Ukraine and reminds us that Russian aggression is not confined to Ukraine."
++BLACK FRAMES++
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Tore Sandvik, Norwegian Defense Secretary:
"Russia has suffered a lot in Ukraine – lost a lot of young people – but still The nukes and the northern fleet is intact and it’s still a threat towards our societies and our countries. So bringing John up here is also an opportunity for himself to see the eyes and the ears (of NATO) and the capacities. We have here to look after the Russians. And as John also mentioned, we are going to cooperate wider and deeper together, and also together with the Americans, because NATO in the north is a topic for all the three of us."
++BLACK FRAMES++
4. SOUNDBITE (English) John Healey, U.K. Defense Secretary:
"We work together in this area of the high north and the North Atlantic and we also work together supporting Ukraine. So together our two countries lead the maritime capability coalition, putting some of the maritime weaponry into the hands of the Ukrainians and building up importantly their strength to guarantee their own security in the future."
STORYLINE:
U.K. Defense Secretary reacted to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent comments about Ukraine starting the war, saying that Ukrainians have been "fighting for their freedom" and that "maximum pressure" must to be applied to Russia.
His comments came as a response to relations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump deteriorating rapidly Wednesday as Zelenskyy said Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space".
Trump called Zelenskyy “a dictator without elections” in comments that were sure to complicate efforts to end the war.
The Trump administration has started charting a new course, reaching out to Russia and pushing for a peace deal.
A shaken Europe is grappling with the new U.S. course under Trump and worrying about Washington’s longstanding security guarantees to the continent.
Speaking during a visit to Kirkenes, Norway, near the Russian Border, Healey stressed that Norway is "NATO’s front line" and the region serves as a reminder that Russia is a "threat well beyond Ukraine".
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