UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he is ready to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine “if necessary,” later backing President Trump’s calls for Nato members to boost defence spending.
Shortly after beginning his second term – once removed – the US president said he wanted to see all Nato allied nations reach a target of five per cent GDP on defence spending.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) binds 32 countries across the Western world in a powerful collective security agreement.
New US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth explained to reporters earlier in the month that this is because the work would be considered a non-Nato mission, not covered under Article 5, which guarantees collective security for allied nations.
Speaking on Friday, Mr Merz told the German broadcaster: “We must prepare for the possibility that Donald Trump will no longer uphold NATO’s mutual defense commitment unconditionally,”.
