NATO chief tells Brits to boost defense spending or learn Russian
British people will have to learn to speak Russian if the UK fails to implement Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plan to drastically boost defense spending, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has said. Moscow has dismissed claims that it plans to invade NATO countries as fearmongering by Western politicians.
Last week, Starmer unveiled his cabinet’s Strategic Defense Review, promising to invest billions more in weapons factories, drones, and submarines to make Britain “a battle-ready, armor-clad nation with the strongest alliances and the most advanced capabilities.” London’s policy will “always be NATO first,” he said. However, the prime minister declined to set a deadline for the UK to reach its goal of increasing defense spending to 3% of GDP.
Speaking at Chatham House in London on Monday, Rutte said he was “really impressed” by Starmer’s plans.
Asked if the UK should increase taxes even further in order to fund the rearmament program, he replied: “it is not up to me.”
“I mean, what I know is that if we want to keep our societies safe... look, if you do not do this, if you would not go to the 5%, including the 3.5% core defense spending, you could still have the National Health Service, or in other countries their health systems, the pension system, etc., but you had better learn to speak Russian,” he said.
Rutte reiterated his claim that Russia could be ready to target NATO countries within the next five years.
“The new generation of Russian missiles travel at many times the speed of sound. The distance between European capitals is only a matter of minutes. There is no longer east or west. There is just NATO,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected allegations that Moscow harbors any aggressive intentions toward NATO countries, calling them “nonsense” designed to alarm the public and legitimize major hikes in defense spending.
Moscow has been increasingly critical of Britain’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that the UK is “100%” helping Kiev to conduct terrorist attacks inside Russian territory.
