Foreign Secretary of the UK, David Cameron, called on NATO allies to increase defense spending due to the threat of a large-scale war with Russia, according to Politico.
During his first major speech at the National Cyber Security Centre after returning to office in November, the head of British diplomacy criticized European allies who do not want to invest (in defense) even when there is a war on our continent.
He called on NATO allies to set a new benchmark for defense spending at 2.5% of GDP, ahead of the summit marking NATO's 75th anniversary, scheduled for July 9-11.
London has promised to reach 2.5% by 2030. The opposition Labour Party has refused to repeat the promise, stating that the government has not explained how it will be funded.
Cameron also stated that security will be on the ballot in the upcoming general elections in Britain this fall.
In his view, from Talinn to Warsaw, from Prague to Bucharest, a chill has once more descended across the European continent, with those nations closest to Russia seeing what is happening in Ukraine and wondering if they will be next.
"This is a world more dangerous, more volatile, more confrontational than most of us have ever known. We need to face up to that fact and act accordingly - not in a year or two, not in a few months, but now," said the head of British diplomacy.
Risk of a large-scale war between NATO and Russia
Recently, European leaders have increasingly warned of the high risk of a large-scale war between Russia and NATO member countries. This is evidenced by the large number of cases of Russian sabotage being recorded in Europe.
For this reason, the US, EU, and NATO countries have stepped up their provision of weapons to Ukraine to resist Russia, trying to prevent the enemy's advancement and the growing threat to the collective West.
The Estonian government has called on European countries to be prepared to discuss the possibility of sending their troops to Ukraine.
In Lithuania, it was stated that the deployment of foreign troops to Ukraine would show Putin that it is not up to him to decide what aid the West should provide and to whom.
Meanwhile, several neutral European countries have called on NATO to deepen cooperation through intelligence sharing and participation in military exercises.
Polish President Andrzej Duda does not rule out that Russia could attack NATO countries as early as 2026.
