UK leader Starmer to host NATO chief Rutte next week
LONDON: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will host NATO head Mark Rutte in London next Monday for talks focusing on defence spending, the government said Thursday.
The meeting comes as Rutte pushes for members of the western military alliance to allocate more money for defence in response to Russia's aggression in Ukraine.
'You can expect the prime minister to raise how we can ensure all allies meet their stated pledges in support of our collective defence, to keep people safe,' Starmer's spokesman told reporters.
US President Donald Trump has demanded that NATO members boost defence budgets to five percent of their GDP at an alliance summit to be held in the Netherlands on June 24-25.
NATO chief says China military expansion 'staggering'
Rutte has put forward a compromise agreement for 3.5 percent of GDP on core military spending by 2032, and 1.5 percent on broader security-related areas such as infrastructure.
Several diplomats say Rutte looks on track to secure the deal for the Hague summit, but a few allies are still hesitant about committing to such levels of spending.
Rutte has been pressing his case for the spending hike to European leaders this week, including during visits to Vilnius and Paris.
Starmer has committed to increasing UK defence spending from 2.3 percent to 2.5 percent from April 2027.
He has also expressed an ambition to raise it again to three percent in the next parliament, likely in the early 2030s.
'It is worth recognising the UK's track record on spending and indeed our contribution to NATO, both in terms of our spending and our capabilities,' Starmer's spokesman said.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters after a NATO meeting of defence ministers in Brussels on Thursday that the UK was 'going to get there' the new targets.
Monday's meeting will be the second time that Rutte has visited Starmer at Downing Street since the latter became UK leader in July 2024, following an earlier visit last October.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Express Tribune
Iran urges Europe not to back IAEA resolution on nuclear compliance
'Mark my words as Europe ponders another major strategic mistake: Iran will react strongly against any violation of its rights,' says Abbas. PHOTO: AFP Listen to article Iran warned European powers on Friday against backing a draft resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency next week accusing Tehran of non-compliance, calling it a 'strategic mistake'. 'Instead of engaging in good faith, the E3 is opting for malign action against Iran at the IAEA Board of Governors,' Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X, referring to Britain, France and Germany. 'Mark my words as Europe ponders another major strategic mistake: Iran will react strongly against any violation of its rights.' The warning from Iran's top diplomat comes as the three European governments prepare to join Washington in backing a censure resolution at next week's board meeting, a diplomatic source told AFP. The resolution would accuse Iran of failing to meet its nuclear obligations and carries the threat of referral to the UN Security Council if Tehran 'does not show goodwill', the source added. Araghchi said Tehran had demonstrated 'years of good cooperation with the IAEA - resulting in a resolution which shut down malign claims of a 'possible military dimension' (PMD) to Iran's peaceful nuclear programme'. 'My country is once again accused of 'non-compliance,'' he added, blaming 'shoddy and politicised reporting'. UN nuclear chief urges 'more transparency' from Iran After years of good cooperation with the IAEA—resulting in a resolution which shut down malign claims of a "possible military dimension" (PMD) to Iran's peaceful nuclear program—my country is once again accused of "non-compliance". Instead of engaging in good faith, the E3 is… — Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) June 6, 2025 The criticism follows a quarterly report from the IAEA last week which cited a 'general lack of cooperation' from Iran and raised concerns over undeclared nuclear material. Tehran rejected the report as politically motivated and based on 'forged documents' it said had been provided by its arch foe Israel. The pressure on Iran comes amid indirect talks with the United States, mediated by Oman since April 12, to forge a new nuclear agreement between the longtime foes. The two sides have been publicly at odds over uranium enrichment, the process that produces fuel for nuclear reactors or, in highly extended form, the material for a nuclear warhead. Iran insists it has the right to enrich uranium under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the issue is 'non-negotiable'. But in a post on his Truth Social network on Monday, President Donald Trump said the United States 'WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM' by Iran. Tehran and Washington are seeking a new agreement to replace a 2015 deal with major powers which Trump unilaterally abandoned during his first term in 2018. The agreement quickly unravelled as Trump reimposed sweeping sanctions and Tehran began walking back its own commitments a year later. Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, well above the 3.67 percent cap set by the 2015 deal but below the 90 percent threshold required for a nuclear warhead. Britain, France and Germany, which were all party to the 2015 deal, are considering whether to trigger a 'snapback' of UN sanctions under its dispute resolution mechanism – an option that expires on the deal's 10th anniversary in October.
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
Iran FM warns European powers against ‘strategic mistake' at nuclear watchdog
TEHRAN: Iran warned European powers on Friday against backing a draft resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency next week accusing Tehran of non-compliance, calling it a 'strategic mistake'. 'Instead of engaging in good faith, the E3 is opting for malign action against Iran at the IAEA Board of Governors,' Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X, referring to Britain, France and Germany. 'Mark my words as Europe ponders another major strategic mistake: Iran will react strongly against any violation of its rights.' The warning from Iran's top diplomat comes as the three European governments prepare to join Washington in backing a censure resolution at next week's board meeting, a diplomatic source told AFP. The resolution would accuse Iran of failing to meet its nuclear obligations and carries the threat of referral to the UN Security Council if Tehran 'does not show goodwill', the source added. Araghchi said Tehran had demonstrated 'years of good cooperation with the IAEA - resulting in a resolution which shut down malign claims of a 'possible military dimension' (PMD) to Iran's peaceful nuclear programme'. 'My country is once again accused of 'non-compliance,'' he added, blaming 'shoddy and politicised reporting'. UN nuclear chief urges 'more transparency' from Iran The criticism follows a quarterly report from the IAEA last week which cited a 'general lack of cooperation' from Iran and raised concerns over undeclared nuclear material. Tehran rejected the report as politically motivated and based on 'forged documents' it said had been provided by its arch foe Israel. The pressure on Iran comes amid indirect talks with the United States, mediated by Oman since April 12, to forge a new nuclear agreement between the longtime foes. The two sides have been publicly at odds over uranium enrichment, the process that produces fuel for nuclear reactors or, in highly extended form, the material for a nuclear warhead. Iran insists it has the right to enrich uranium under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the issue is 'non-negotiable'. But in a post on his Truth Social network on Monday, President Donald Trump said the United States 'WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM' by Iran. Tehran and Washington are seeking a new agreement to replace a 2015 deal with major powers which Trump unilaterally abandoned during his first term in 2018. The agreement quickly unravelled as Trump reimposed sweeping sanctions and Tehran began walking back its own commitments a year later. Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, well above the 3.67 percent cap set by the 2015 deal but below the 90 percent threshold required for a nuclear warhead. Britain, France and Germany, which were all party to the 2015 deal, are considering whether to trigger a 'snapback' of UN sanctions under its dispute resolution mechanism – an option that expires on the deal's 10th anniversary in October.
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
Germany's Merz says ‘no doubt' US to stick with NATO
BERLIN: Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday he had 'no doubt' the United States would remain in NATO after a high-stakes meeting with President Donald Trump in the White House. Merz said he had raised the issue directly with Trump in talks on Thursday, during the chancellor's first trip to Washington since taking office last month. 'The question that was asked was: do you have any plans to leave NATO? I can say it was answered with a very clear no,' Merz said at an event hosted by the German family-owned business association. 'I have no doubt at all that the American government will stick to NATO now after we all said we're doing more, we're making sure that we can defend ourselves in Europe. 'I think this expectation was not unjustified. We have unfortunately been free-riders on American security guarantees for years and that's changing,' he said. Germany to boost military by up to 60,000 troops under new NATO targets Merz earlier this year spearheaded moves to exempt most defence spending from Germany's strict constitutional debt limits and has signalled his intention to raise military spending by tens of billions of euros. During an Oval Office press conference Thursday, Trump welcomed Merz's moves to increase spending to patch up Germany's dilapidated military. 'I know that you are spending more money on defence now, quite a bit more money, and that's a positive thing,' Trump said. The US president has lobbied NATO partners to up their spending commitments to five percent of GDP from the current level of two percent. Defence ministers from the US-led military alliance met in Brussels on Thursday to discuss a change to the spending target ahead of a NATO summit later this month. US defence chief Pete Hegseth indicated allies were close to a deal to boost military budgets. NATO chief Mark Rutte has put forward a proposal to meet Trump's target that would see members spend 3.5 percent of GDP in core military areas by 2032, and 1.5 percent on broader security-related items such as infrastructure.
