2024-04-07 14:45:54
NATO members must think about the future of the alliance and increase defense spending, recognizing that the world has entered a pre-war period.
As Day.Az reports with reference to TASS, the head of the British Ministry of Defense, Grant Shapps, wrote about this in an opinion article for The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
“Already 10 years ago, NATO allies agreed to spend 2% of GDP on defense, and we need to plan to increase this figure to strengthen our defense. However, some countries still do not spend even 2%. This cannot continue, we cannot play Russian roulette with our futures,” Shapps wrote. “On this day, we must again urgently think about the future of the alliance. We have entered the pre-war period from the post-war period,” he added.
According to the British minister, the threat to the alliance members allegedly comes from Russia, Iran, China and the DPRK. To contain it, Shapps considers it necessary to provide further support to Kyiv and increase military spending by NATO members, as well as investment in the defense sector for the production of weapons and ammunition.
Speaking on Wednesday in Brussels at a conference on the future of NATO, Foreign Minister David Cameron also emphasized the need to support Ukraine in order to prevent Russia from winning the conflict. Otherwise, Cameron said, NATO faces a “very bleak future” in which the ability of alliance members to meet their collective defense obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty will be called into question.
“In many ways, the future of NATO will depend on when we make Ukraine a member of the alliance,” said Cameron, who also emphasized that a major role in determining the future of the organization will be played by whether a new generation of Westerners will support NATO and understand the important role of the alliance in own life.
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