BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 14. Europe must take
primary responsibility for its own defense, Prime Minister of the
UK Keir Starmer said at the Munich Security Conference, Trend reports.
“There is no British security without Europe and no European
security without Britain. That is the lesson of history and is
today’s reality as well. So together we must rise to this moment.
We must spend more, deliver more and coordinate more. And
crucially, we must do this with the United States”, he said.
Starmer noted that US contribution to European security over 80
years is unparalleled.
“We recognize that things are changing. The US national security
strategy spells out that Europe must take primary responsibility
for its own defense. That is the new normal. There have been a
series of thoughtful interventions about what this means, including
the argument that we are at a moment of rupture”, he said.
Starmer noted that the world has changed fundamentally.
“But in responding to that change, we must not disregard
everything that has sustained us for the last 80 years. That could
prove to be a moment of destruction. But instead, I believe, we
must make this a moment of creation. Instead of a moment of
rupture, we must make it one of radical renewal. So rather than
pretending that we can simply replace all US capabilities, we
should focus on diversifying and decreasing some dependencies. We
should deliver generational investments that move us from
over-dependence to interdependence. I am talking about a vision of
European security and greater European autonomy that does not
herald US withdrawal but answers the call for more burden sharing
in full and remakes the ties that have served us so well”, he
said.
