Cameron calls on NATO members to increase defense spending to 2.5% of GDP

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron called on the governments of NATO allies to increase defense spending during a speech at the National Cyber Security Center, Politico reports.

In his speech, Cameron criticized European allies who seem "unwilling to invest in defense even as war rages on our continent." He called on the NATO countries to set a "new benchmark" – to spend 2.5% of GDP on defense. Britain plans to reach this figure by 2030.

Cameron also said that "security is definitely on the ballot paper" in the UK general election this fall.

The head of British diplomacy noted that "from Talinn to Warsaw, from Prague to Bucharest, a chill has once more descended across the European continent, with those nations closest to Russia seeing what is happening in Ukraine and wondering if they will be next."

"This is a world more dangerous, more volatile, more confrontational than most of us have ever known. We need to face up to that fact and act accordingly — not in a year or two, not in a few months, but now," Cameron stressed.

On March 13, the spokeswoman of the White House, Karine Jean-Pierre, said that the American administration hopes that the number of NATO states that will increase their contributions to defense needs to 2% of their own GDP will increase in the coming months, ahead of the summit in Washington.

On May 4, The Telegraph reported that Donald Trump, if he wins the US election, is considering plans to force NATO members to increase defense spending to 3% of GDP.