“As we fight this war and lay the groundwork for peace and security, we must build the armed forces of Europe so that Europe’s future depends only on Europeans, and decisions about Europe are made in Europe,” he said.
David Lammy has warned failure to deal with Russia over Ukraine would cost the UK billions, as the US said Europe would be excluded from talks over the country’s future.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, the foreign secretary said Ukraine had an “irreversible pathway towards Nato” and pointed to the approximate 7 per cent of gross domestic product countries spent on defence in the Cold War, against the current UK rate of 2.3 per cent.
At the same conference the US President’s special envoy for Ukraine revealed Europe would be consulted but ultimately excluded during peace talks.
During his address to the event, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the creation of an “army of Europe”, suggesting the continent could not rely on the US for its defence any longer.
