4th Dec 2024 09:29
(Alliance News) - UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy urged European Nato members to step up defence spending ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House.
The US president-elect has been highly critical of European states relying on American tax dollars for their security.
Lammy said Nato allies needed to "get serious" about the need to increase defence budgets.
He said "the time to act is now" – although the government is yet to set out its own plans for increasing spending on defence to 2.5% of gross domestic product.
At a meeting of Nato's foreign ministers in Brussels, Lammy highlighted Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Vladimir Putin's role in conflicts around the world as a reason for higher military budgets in the West.
"We're living in very dangerous times, and as we look across the world, with war here on our continent in Europe, with the tremendous aggression that we're seeing across the Middle East, with the hand of Iran so present in the Middle East and with this rising conflict in Sudan and now in Syria, there is one country whose hand is in so much of it, and that is Russia," he said.
"And that is why, as we meet here discussing these important issues, it's hugely important that we step up defence spending, across Nato allies particularly.
"In the UK, we are at 2.3%, heading to 2.5% as soon as we can get there, and we urge all allies across the Nato family to get serious about defence spending.
"All of our populations require us to understand the tremendous security challenges that we are facing at this time, the time to act is now."
Ahead of the meeting Lammy also called for Nato to increase military support for Ukraine and step up efforts to deter co-operation between Putin and his allies following the deployment of 10,000 North Korea troops to assist Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Brussels meeting come as questions continue to be asked about the impact of a second Trump presidency on western support for Ukraine, after the incoming president said he wanted to end the conflict on "day one" of his term.
On Monday, Keir Starmer said Ukraine needed to be put in the "strongest possible position for negotiations", the first time the prime minister has acknowledged the possibility of a negotiated end to the conflict.
But he also stressed the UK would back Ukraine "for as long as it takes".
By David Hughes, PA Political Editor
Press Association: News
source: PA
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