Stoltenberg's Blink at the conference delivers a message to Putin

Secretary Blinken and Mr. Stoltenberg informed that at the upcoming NATO summit to be held in Madrid in a few weeks, the alliance will adopt a new strategic concept to ensure it faces today's and future challenges. The current NATO strategy was adopted in 2010.

The new strategy will include every aspect, from malicious cyber activities, the rapid militarism of China, and of course Russia's early efforts to weaken international order based on rules that serve as the foundation of world peace and security.

Secretary Blinken vowed to boost NATO's budget, to renew alliances in the field of defence and preventive capacities. He welcomed the extraordinary courage and skills of the Ukrainian people backed by the help of the United States and almost all NATO member states, committed to defending Ukraine's sovereignty, democracy and independence.

Secretary - General NATO also voiced support for the future membership of Finland and Sweden in the alliance, as well as for increasing NATO's presence in Eastern European countries. He said he maintains close contacts with Turkish President Erdogan and the leaders of Finland and Sweden, and that he will organise a meeting among new officials in Brussels during the coming days.

Mr. Stoltenberg welcomed the new package of military aid to Ukraine that President Biden announced this morning and thanked the United States for increasing military presence throughout Europe, with over 100,000 deployed forces supported by air and sea units. He said the only way to avoid escalation is for Russia to stop the aggression and war that started in Ukraine, while condemning the threatening rhetoric from Russia for using nuclear weapons.