Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s end of year message to NATO troops & veterans | 2023

Hello to all our service members, from across the Alliance. We live in a more dangerous world. There is a fully fledged war in Europe. A new war in the Middle East. Tensions in the Western Balkans. Brutal terrorism persists. And climate change is driving conflicts. There can be no security without strong defences. And no strong defences without capable armed forces. That is why this past year, we took significant steps to further bolster NATO’s deterrence and defence. With more troops on high readiness and increased defence spending. This is not to provoke war. It is to prevent conflict and preserve peace. This past year, I had the privilege to meet many of you. I met with troops who are part of the NATO battlegroup in Estonia. I saw you exercising in Lithuania. And met with sailors patrolling the Mediterranean and protecting critical infrastructure in the North Sea. And met the troops supporting those made homele