Speech by Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul at the Kiel Security Conference

The Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic differ fundamentally in their geography, as well as in their water characteristics.

What unites them is the same threat: Russia.

This threat today is not punctual or selective.

Like a channel, it runs through Europe and beyond, along the Russian border up to the North.

From the Black Sea to the Arctic, Russia seeks to assert alleged historical claims and project a sphere of influence.

It is trying to build up political pressure, spread fear and divide our alliance.

But Russia will not prevail.

Because Europe and NATO are united against the threat.

Here in Kiel, the Baltic Sea is the most obvious theatre of conflict.

Over the past years, it has become a security hotspot. We all know: It is of paramount importance to our collective security.

It forms the eastern end of NATO's Sea Lines of Communication, which stretch across the North Atlantic all the way to the eastern coast of North America.

Russia's illegal war against Ukraine, which began in 2014, has demonstrated with complete clarity that Putin's Russia poses a threat to freedom and security in Europe and against NATO.

In particular to particularly to those states that share a border with Russia.

Our Baltic Allies had been warning of this danger for many years.

Most of the European countries remained deaf to these warnings until Russia illegally occupied Crimea by force and brought war back to Europe.

Beginning in 2016, NATO started adapting its force posture along the northeastern flank in response.

Because we understood that the Baltic Republics' borders with Russia and Belarus are a weak spot on NATO's northeastern flank.

Today, nobody would call it a weak spot anymore.

NATO's presence has developed from the "tripwire" into a transatlantic stronghold.

It is, by the way, also an area where European NATO members already have taken on the full responsibility of ensuring our security, supported by strong allies from the other side of the North Atlantic, like Canada.

When we speak about transatlantic relations these days, we must not forget that our Canadian allies are strongly committed as NATO framework nation in Latvia.

Because we all have understood that the Baltic Sea itself is central to defence for the whole alliance.

It serves as a strategic route for reinforcement and resupply.

Sweden and Finland, our newest NATO members, heavily rely on these supply-routes via the Baltic Sea.

And militarily, the Baltic Sea is the maritime gateway to central Europe.

Russia knows this.

That is why Russia increasingly sees the Baltic Sea as a zone of confrontation.

We have witnessed acts of sabotage, espionage activities, GPS jamming, incursions by drones and fighter jets into NATO airspace, the transit of Russia's shadow fleet, and the repeated appearance of Russian research vessels near critical infrastructure.

This is precisely why it is so important that BALTOPS, now in its 55th year, continues to be held as a major multinational maritime exercise in the Baltic Sea.

BALTOPS is led by the US Sixth Fleet.

Later today, we will have the opportunity to welcome its commander, Vice Admiral Anderson, to one of the panel discussions.

At a time when many debates are taking place on the future of NATO, it is always useful to look at operational reality.

And what we see right in front of us, here in Kiel, is clear.

While some have prematurely declared transatlantic cooperation to be weakening or even dying, the US Sixth Fleet has consistently conducted this exercise for fifty-five years.

Our ally, the US, expects European countries to stand up for their own security.

And they are right to do so.

But make no mistake: This idea did not originate with the current administration.

Long before, the US appealed to Europe to take deterrence and defence seriously.

We didn't want to hear it.

Times have changed significantly.

Today, most of the European countries are investing in their armed forces in a sustainable way.

And for the German Armed Forces I can admit: we are not yet where we want to be.

But we are becoming stronger day by day.

For the last two weeks, our naval forces trained alongside fourteen other nations' navies.

Especially in times like these, BALTOPS sends a powerful message to those who would like to see the transatlantic bond weakened or broken.

Russia is one of those states.

Obviously, Putin has miscalculated.

Today, in the Baltic Sea region and beyond, Russia faces significantly stronger NATO forces than it did only a few years ago.

This is the result of increasing investment in our armed forces.

Across NATO, these investments must continue moving toward the agreed target of five percent.

It is quite simple: NATO is Europe's security provider.

Therefore, the 5% target is in Europe's security interest.

If we invest in NATO, we invest in Europe.

And Germany is committed to being among the leading countries in this effort.

Yet here in Kiel, with all the impressive naval vessels in the harbour, another lesson becomes clear.

Building up our capabilities and enhancing defence readiness is one of the most pressing but also most difficult challenges for all of our armed forces today.

Investing more money in our security is an undeniable necessity - however, transforming budgets into real military capabilities is just as important.

Only then will our actions match our words.

One country that demonstrates every day how to do this is Ukraine.

The heroic defence of Ukraine is the most modern conventional war of our time.

It has already shaped the way wars will be fought.

And while most observers focus on land fight, it is also the maritime dimension where Russia is being successfully repelled.

Ukraine broke Russia's presumed maritime dominance in the Black Sea through innovation, advanced technology and a steadfast will to fight.

When Russia illegally occupied and annexed Crimea in 2014, Putin in part justified his actions by claiming that otherwise "NATO ships would dock in the city of Russian naval glory, Sevastopol."

NATO never had such an interest in Sevastopol.

Yet as a consequence of his own actions, Putin has had to watch Ukrainian drones repeatedly strike the port of Sevastopol, sink the "Moskva", significantly reduce the Russian Black Sea Fleet, and deprive it of operational freedom of manoeuvre.

Today, thanks to Ukraine's naval way of war, much of that fleet is no longer based in Sevastopol but in Novorossiysk.

Instead of dominating the Black Sea, Putin has lost large parts of Russia's maritime influence.

Russian naval glory is gone.

But something even more significant has happened from Russian perspective.

The Black Sea has returned to the strategic map of Western countries.

Last year, the European Union adopted its first-ever strategy for a stable and secure Black Sea region.

It is a first important step, bringing the Black Sea back to the centre of European strategic thinking.

The implementation of this strategy is now a task for all of us.

The Black Sea is of utmost importance, both today and as we look to the future.

Because any future peace settlement for Ukraine must also address the maritime dimension of the war.

And the difficult and fragile balance between all Black Sea littoral states.

But for the time being, it is a contested battlespace.

Ukraine has succeeded in keeping open a corridor for the vital economic route that connects Ukraine with global markets.

Through this route, it can continue the grain exports that are essential for global food security.

This also highlights the different geopolitical roles Ukraine now plays.

We support Ukraine financially and through military assistance.

Particularly in the maritime domain, we provide Ukrainian naval forces with hardware and expertise - and we will continue to do so.

I'm grateful for the German Navy's tremendous efforts in this regard.

But through its military excellence, Ukraine has evolved from a mere security receiver into a security provider and a strong strategic partner.

Our recent bilateral government consultations in Berlin in April underlined this.

We expanded our cooperation into a strategic partnership between Germany and Ukraine.

It is an obligation for Germany as a leading country in Europe.

It is also in our national interest to do so.

Ukrainian expertise has become a benchmark for armed forces and defence industries around the world.

Ladies and gentlemen,

If we ask ourselves how we should defend the Baltic Sea region, we must look to the Black Sea.

We must look to the North Atlantic and our strategic supply routes.

We must look to the Arctic and the increasing challenges in the High North, where Russia's nuclear submarines pose a threat to NATO-interests.

And where China increases its presence and influence.

For the time being, there is no shortage of geostrategic conflicts.

Luckily, representatives from every theatre I just mentioned are gathered here today.

Let us, together and now, draw the right conclusions.

Thank you very much.