The British Defence Secretary has warned that NATO members who are not paying 2% of the GDP on defence are playing “Russian roulette” with our future.
Shapps said that West is now in a “pre-war world” and just 11 out of 32 members have met the 2% target on defence in 2023.
Writing in the Telegraph, Shapps said, “We must look beyond that target to shore up our defences.
“Yet some nations are still failing to meet even the two percent. That cannot continue. We can’t afford to play Russian roulette with our future.”
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He added, “Paying tribute to NATO’s past is not enough. Today we must give urgent thought once again to the alliance’s future. We have moved from a post-war to a pre-war world.”
The Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron said the West must “win the argument for NATO again” as Europe is in the same situation as it was in 1938 when the UK and France were faced with Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany at the Munich conference.
He said, “What we face today is as simple as then. We have a tyrant in Europe who is trying to redraw borders by force and there are two choices.
“You can appease that approach or you can confront that approach.”
Lord Cameron said, “I think we have to win the argument for NATO all over again with a new generation, a generation that can see, yes, look at the threat that Ukraine has faced from Russia, but I think we need to go back to a more foundational argument, which is this.
“Fundamentally, the greatness of NATO is it allows countries to choose their own future.”
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