British Foreign Minister David Cameron on Wednesday called for NATO allies to bolster defense spending and production in support of Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion.
“Allies need to step up and spend more on defense in the face of continued Russian aggression and a more dangerous world,” Cameron will say in a speech on the occasion of 75 years of NATO history since its founding April 4, 1949.
The British minister will ask the allies to endorse British-led initiatives to procure NATO standard missiles and munitions for the Ukrainian armed forces. The UK has spent billions of dollars in its support for Ukraine since 2022 when the invasion began.
“With Ukraine closer to NATO than ever, we must sustain the critical support Ukraine needs to win the war,” Cameron said.
Speaking at a meeting of NATO’s foreign ministers, Cameron will also welcome Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom to the NATO alliance.
Sweden officially joined NATO in March, two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced it to rethink its national security policy and conclude that support for the alliance was the Scandinavian nation’s best guarantee of safety.
Cameron also pointed to NATO’s commitment to integrating Ukraine into the alliance, reaffirming all allies’ consensus on Ukraine’s future NATO membership.
In February, Britain had announced a new package of sanctions against Russia and said it was seeking to diminish Russian President Vladimir Putin’s weapons arsenal and war chest.
UK’s Cameron calls for increased NATO spending amid Ukraine conflict
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UK’s Cameron calls for increased NATO spending amid Ukraine conflict
- The UK has spent billions of dollars in its support for Ukraine since 2022 when the invasion began
Putin and Trump discuss Iran and Ukraine wars: Kremlin
- Putin and Trump held a one-hour call in their first talks since December
MOSCOW: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump on Monday discussed the Iran war and Ukraine conflict during a “frank and constructive” telephone call, the Kremlin said.
Putin and Trump held a one-hour call in their first talks since December and Washington sought the discussion, Putin’s diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
“The accent was placed on the situation surrounding the conflict with Iran and the bilateral negotiations underway with the representatives of the United States on settling the Ukrainian question,” Ushakov said.
Ushakov said Putin called for a “quick political and diplomatic settlement” to the US-Israeli war against Iran, which has been a key ally for Russia.
The Russian leader also gave Trump “a description of the current situation on the line of contact where Russian troops are progressing with a lot of success,” he added, referring to the Ukraine war.
Putin “positively evaluated the mediation efforts undertaken” by Trump in the Ukraine conflict, the adviser said. A series of talks have been held between Russian and US officials and between Russian, US and Ukrainian officials, but with no breakthrough in efforts to reach a ceasefire.
Ushakov said Washington had wanted to “discuss a series of extremely important questions linked to the current international situation.”
“The conversation was serious and constructive,” he added.
Trump and Putin held a summit in Alaska in August last year.
