LONDON: London and Berlin on Wednesday hailed a “milestone” in military cooperation, as they signed a new defense pact that would see German submarine-hunting planes operate from British bases and counter threats from Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Europe’s two biggest defense spenders said the Trinity House Agreement, signed by defense ministers John Healey and Boris Pistorius, would strengthen NATO’s “European pillar” at a time of increased threat from the east.
An eye-catching part of the deal is the prospect of German Boeing P-8 aircraft patrolling the skies of the North Atlantic from a base in northern Scotland.
Another will see German arms giant Rheinmetall open a UK factory making artillery gun barrels, using British steel.
Healey told a joint news conference that European allies needed to take on more responsibility for European security “and this is the driving force behind our NATO-first UK defense strategy.
“We share the same threats: war in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East, growing Russian aggression. We share the same values: democracy, individual freedom, rule of law,” he said.
Pistorius added that it was “our responsibility in Europe to strengthen the European angle, the European pillar of NATO.
“The US will shift their focus more to the Indo Pacific... so it is only a matter a question of, ‘will they do much less in Europe because of that, or only a little bit less?’.
“But anyway, we would have to do more, and this is our task.”
The agreement is the first between the UK and Germany and aims to put previously ad hoc cooperation between the two countries on a more regular footing.
The artillery factory would support more than 400 jobs, while the two countries will undertake joint work to develop deep strike weapons that can travel further with more precision than current systems, including Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
The two armies will train together more often in a bid to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank, with fears for security in Baltic states and Scandinavia because of Russia’s actions against Ukraine.
“The Trinity House Agreement is a milestone moment in our relationship with Germany,” Healey said.
The deal “will be the first pillar” of a “new and wider friendship treaty for us,” he added.
Pistorius said the deal was evidence that “the UK and Germany are moving closer together,” following 14 years of Conservative rule that saw the UK exit the European Union.
“We must not take security in Europe for granted,” he warned.
“Russia is waging war against Ukraine, it is increasing its weapons production immensely and has repeatedly launched hybrid attacks on our partners in Eastern Europe.
“With the Trinity House Agreement, we are showing that the NATO Allies have recognized what these times require,” he added.
But former UK defense minister Ben Wallace said on X that if the deal “is to mean anything then Germany would have agreed with UK requests to send Taurus to Ukraine... otherwise it is pretty hollow and made up of stuff we are already doing or had started.”
Germany is currently refusing to supply Ukraine with Taurus missiles with a range of over 500 kilometers (310 miles) over fears that they could hit Russian territory.
UK and Germany sign ‘milestone’ defense deal
https://arab.news/jvate
UK and Germany sign ‘milestone’ defense deal
- Europe’s two biggest defense spenders said the Trinity House Agreement would strengthen NATO’s “European pillar” at a time of increased threat from the east
- An eye-catching part of the deal is the prospect of German Boeing P-8 aircraft patrolling the skies of the North Atlantic from a base in northern Scotland
US and Mideast countries seek Kyiv's drone expertise as Russia-Ukraine talks put on ice
KYIV, Ukraine: The United States and its allies in the Middle East are seeking Ukraine's expertise in countering Iran's Shahed drones, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Various countries, including the United States, have approached Ukraine for help in defending against the Iranian drones, Zelenskyy said late Wednesday. He said he has spoken in recent days with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait about possible cooperation.
Russia has fired tens of thousands of Shaheds at Ukraine since it invaded its neighbor just over four years ago, launching a swarm of more than 800 drones and decoys in its biggest nighttime barrage. Iran has responded to joint U.S.-Israeli strikes by launching the same type of drones at countries in the Middle East.
Ukrainian assistance in countering Iranian drones will be provided only if it does not weaken Ukraine's own defenses, and if it adds leverage to Kyiv's diplomatic efforts to stop the Russian invasion, according to the Ukrainian leader.
"We help to defend from war those who help us, Ukraine, bring a just end to the war" with Russia, Zelenskyy said. Later Thursday, Zelenskyy said he had received a U.S. request for support to defend against the drones in the Middle East and had given the order for equipment to be provided along with Ukrainian experts without providing further details.
"Ukraine helps partners who help our security and the protection of our people's lives," he added in a social media post.
Trump, in an interview Thursday with Reuters, said, "Certainly I'll take, you know, any assistance from any country."
Ukraine has battle-tested drone defenses
Ukraine has pioneered the development of cut-price drone killers that cost as little as $1,000, rewriting the air defense rule book and making other countries take notice.
European countries got a wake-up call last September on the changed nature of air defense when Poland scrambled multimillion-dollar military assets, including F-35 and F-16 fighter jets and Black Hawk helicopters, in response to airspace violations by cheap drones.
Ukrainian manufacturers have developed low-cost interceptor drones specifically designed to hunt and destroy Shaheds, and its rapidly expanding drone industry is producing excess capacity.
Zelenskyy announced earlier this year that Ukraine would begin exporting the battle-tested systems.
The European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said before chairing a meeting of EU and Gulf foreign ministers via video link Thursday that the talks would look at how Ukraine's experience can help countries counter Iranian drones.
Middle East war delays Russia-Ukraine talks
The Iran war, now in its sixth day, has drawn international attention away from Europe's biggest conflict since World War II, and forced the postponement of a new round of U. S-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine planned for this week, Zelenskyy said.
Western governments and analysts say the Russia-Ukraine war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, while there is no sign that yearlong U.S.-led peace efforts will stop the fighting any time soon.
"Right now, because of the situation around Iran, there are not yet the necessary signals for a trilateral meeting," Zelenskyy said. "But as soon as the security situation and the overall political context allow us to resume that trilateral diplomatic work, it will be done."
Zelenskyy thanked the United States for the return from Russia on Thursday of 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Russia's Defense Ministry also said it received the same number of prisoners from Ukraine and thanked the U.S. and United Arab Emirates for mediating.
Prisoner swaps have been one of the few tangible results of the talks. Vladimir Medinsky, a Russian negotiator, said on social media that a total of 500 prisoners from each side would be exchanged between Thursday and Friday.
Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to drag out the negotiations so that he can press on with Russia's invasion while escaping further U.S. sanctions.
He urged the U.S. administration to look at the Russia-Ukraine war and the war in the Middle East as linked.
"In reality, Russia and Iran are close allies that act in concert — Iran supplies weapons and Russia helps Iran develop its defense industry. These are interconnected conflicts," Merezhko told The Associated Press.
Ukraine's army has recently pushed back Russian forces at some points along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Localized Ukrainian counterattacks liberated more territory than Ukrainian forces lost in the last two weeks of February, the Washington-based think tank said this week, estimating the recovered land at about 257 square kilometers (100 square miles) since Jan. 1.
