Pool Reports of June 7, 2021

In town pool report #1

Good morning from an already hot & steamy White House complex.

As a reminder, the press briefing is at 12:30 p.m. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is briefing with Jen Psaki.

At 4:30 p.m., Biden is meeting in the Oval with NATO Secretary General H. E. Jens Stoltenberg. The meeting is closed press.

Will update if the schedule changes.

In town pool report #2 -- lunch lid until 12:15 p.m.

We have a lid until 12:15 p.m.

In town pool report #3 -- 2 minute warning

We got a two-minute warning at 12:40 p.m.

In town pool report #4 -- lid

We have a travel/photo lid.

In town pool report #5 -- gaggle FPPO info

FPPO: H.E. Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO will gaggle at the stakeout location following his visit with the President at around 5:30 PM.

In town pool report #6 - gaggle with NATO secretary general

NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg gaggled after his meeting with POTUS.

He did not answer shouted questions at the beginning and end asking him to compare Biden with Trump.

Below is a rough transcript of his remarks. Happy to send a recording to anyone who wants to listen.

Good evening. I just finished a very good meeting with President Biden. We addressed a wide range of issues -- Russia and China, global terrorism, cyber threats, and also the security consequences of climate change. But we spent most of the time on preparing the upcoming NATO summit in Brussels next week where we will agree, forward looking, ambitious agenda on how to further strengthen our alliance. And I thanked the President for his powerful commitment to the transatlantic bond, to Article Five, and his personal leadership on all these issues.

We agree that in a more competitive world, we need to strengthen NATO. We face security challenges which no ally can face alone. So therefore, we need to stand together in NATO.

The NATO 2030 agenda, which NATO leaders will agree when we meet in Brussels at the NATO summit next week, is an ambitious agenda, and this is about strengthening our collective defense. It's about strengthening our resilience. It's about sharpening our technological edge. And it is also about working more closely with like- minded partners. To do all this, we need to invest more, and that's exactly what we are doing. Over the last seven years, we have seen that across Europe and Canada, all allies are now investing more and I think this demonstrates a commitment to stand together, North America and Europe . And Europe and allies and Canada have added 260 billion extra for their defense spending since 2014.

A strong NATO is good for Europe, but it's also good for the United States. No other major power has so many friends and allies as the United States has in NATO. So I look forward to welcoming President Biden to Brussels. We had a very good discussion and I look forward to have him and all the other NATO leaders at the NATO summit.

Q. Will you convene another NATO-Russia council before the summit?

We also discussed the Russia, and we agree on the dual tracked approach, meaning the ? and dialogue with Russia. I welcome the fact that President Biden will meet all the NATO leaders before he meets President (Putin) a few days after. I welcome the extension of the new START agreement and NATO allies have been and still are on the forefront of global arms control, nuclear arms control. And we discussed the importance of arms control and also talking with Russia.

Dialogue with Russia is not a sign of weakness. We are strong, we are united, and then we can talk to Russia, and we need to talk to Russia to strive for a better relationship. But even if we don't believe in a better relationship with Russia, we need to manage a difficult relationship with Russia. Arms control, transparency, risk reductions -- all of these issues are important…

Q. (a question on China that was hard to hear)

Well, China is also an issue that was addressed during the meeting with the President. It (will be) an issue that is addressed when the NATO leaders meeting next Monday.

And what we see is that, of course, the rise of China poses some opportunities for our economies, for trade, and we need to talk to China on issues like, and engage with China on issues like, climate change and arms control.

At the same time, China will soon have the biggest economy in the world. They already have the second largest defense budget, the biggest Navy and they're investing heavily in advanced military capabilities and they don't share our values. We see that in the way they crack down on democratic protests in Hong Kong, how they deal with minorities, the Uyghurs, and how they coerce neighbors, and how they threaten Taiwan.

So we need to stand up for the rules based on international order, and we need to work more closely with partners including, including the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan, and I expect this will be an issue that will be addressed.

Q. What is your biggest challenge going into the summit?

I think the biggest challenge is that we live in a much more unpredictable world. And we see much more global competition. So we need to be prepared for a wide range of different challenges and threats, at the same time -- a more assertive Russia responsible for aggressive actions against neighbors; China coercing neighbors, and investing heavily in new military capabilities; cyber threats, we see more sophisticated, and frequent cyber attacks against the NATO allies, including as we have seen in the United States recently.

So it is this fact that we have a much more complex and unpredictable security environment that makes it even more important to have strong international institutions. In an age of global competition, we need to strengthen NATO, and that was the message from the President and that's the message from me.

Q. What will a successful summit look like?

This summit will be a strong demonstration of transAtlantic unity, of Europe and North America standing together in NATO, because we are stronger, we are safer together in the more unpredictable world. A strong NATO is good for Europe, but it's also good for the United States, and I look forward to send that message when all the NATO leaders meet.