NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte made a pilgrimage to the Chatham House/Royal Institute for International Affairs think tank in London yesterday, where he delivered a speech on “Building a Better NATO,” and welcomed Keir Starmer’s Strategic Defense Review for its “NATO first” orientation. He said he was “really impressed” by Starmer’s plans. Asked if the U.K. should increase taxes even further in order to fund the rearmament program, he replied: “it is not up to me,” reported RT.
“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.
“We will build a better NATO,” he declared during his prepared remarks. “One that is stronger, fairer and more lethal, so that we can continue to keep our people safe, and our adversaries at bay.”
