LONDON (AP) – Europe's security is “at risk” and President-elect Donald Trump is right to say NATO allies should increase military spending, Britain's top diplomat says. he said on Thursday.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “The post-Cold War peace is completely over.”
“Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are exactly right when they say Europe needs to do more to protect its continent. Pretending otherwise with Russia on the march is short-sighted.” Mr Lamy said in a speech in London, describing the centre-left Labor government's approach to foreign policy, which he called “progressive realism”.
Lamy said people often ask him when the world will get back to normal, and “my answer is, it won't.” Europe's future security is at risk. ”
President Trump has long expressed skepticism about NATO, openly questioning the value of the alliance that has defined American foreign policy for decades and calling for member states to fail to meet defense spending targets. They are threatening not to defend it.
President Trump said this week that NATO countries should spend at least 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, up from the current goal of 2%. He also said he would not rule out the possibility of using military force to seize control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The UK spends 2.3% of GDP on defence, and plans to increase this to 2.5%.
Ramey said that President Trump's unpredictability and “rhetorical intensity” are part of his signature style, but that “we're not just talking about rhetoric and words, we're being driven by (his) actions as president.” There is a possibility that you will be guided.”
He said he did not believe President Trump would occupy Greenland, noting that concerns about the future of NATO had grown during the Trump administration's first term.
“And it turns out we're not at risk. Now we have more members, we have more defense spending, and it's going from strength to strength,” Ramey said.
Mr. Lammy spoke of his friendship with Mr. Vance, the vice president-elect, and has been at the forefront of the British government's efforts to forge better relations with Mr. Trump's inner circle.
The situation has been undermined by Trump ally Elon Musk, who in recent days has sent out a barrage of inflammatory tweets attacking Prime Minister Keir Starmer and calling for him to be removed and jailed.
Lamy said he was “really concerned about some of the things I've seen” from Musk. But he said British officials had not asked Trump or other members of the incoming administration to rein in the CEOs of Company X and Tesla.
“I am not aware that Elon Musk's name was mentioned” in discussions with the Trump campaign, he said, noting that Musk's role in the administration as efficiency czar focuses on domestic issues. did.
