(ANSA-AFP) - BRUSSELS, JAN 22 - The EU's top diplomat Kaja
Kallas said Wednesday that the bloc must heed US President
Donald Trump's demand to spend more on defence, as she issued a
stark warning over the threat from Russia. Kallas's rallying cry
was the latest in a slew of increasingly alarming warnings on
defence from European officials, who have been calling for a
"wake-up call" on defence since Moscow's tanks rolled into
Ukraine in 2022. Trump has ramped up the pressure by warning
Washington's European allies that he could withhold US
protection, calling for NATO to more than double its defence
spending target. "President Trump is right to say that we don't
spend enough. It's time to invest," Kallas said in a keynote
speech at a conference in Brussels. "The United States, they are
our strongest ally, and must remain so." "The EU's message to
the US is clear, we must do more for our own defence and
shoulder a fair share of responsibility for Europe's security,"
she said. EU countries have increased their military budgets
since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in
2022. But politicians acknowledge they will have to go further
as they struggle to match Moscow's vast military output. "Russia
poses an existential threat to our security today, tomorrow and
for as long as we under-invest in our defence," said Kallas, a
former prime minister of Estonia. "Many of our national
intelligence agencies are giving us the information that Russia
could test EU's readiness to defend itself in three to five
years. Who else are we listening to?" (ANSA-AFP).
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